WhenToBird

Birding spot · Polk County, Iowa

Birding at Saylorville Recreation Area: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Saylorville Recreation Area are Ring-billed Gull (96%), American White Pelican (92%), and Mallard (69%). It is busiest in spring, when 86 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of May (89 species). 186 species have been reported here across 1,723 complete checklists from 276 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: 31 species on 5%+ of 79 checklistsJan 8-14: 35 species on 5%+ of 55 checklistsJan 15-21: 33 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsJan 22-31: 33 species on 5%+ of 92 checklistsFeb 1-7: 32 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsFeb 8-14: 31 species on 5%+ of 55 checklistsFeb 15-21: 36 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsFeb 22-28: 44 species on 5%+ of 56 checklistsMar 1-7: 44 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsMar 8-14: 50 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsMar 15-21: 49 species on 5%+ of 49 checklistsMar 22-31: 54 species on 5%+ of 73 checklistsApr 1-7: 55 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsApr 8-14: 53 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsApr 15-21: 67 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsApr 22-30: 76 species on 5%+ of 41 checklistsMay 1-7: 87 species on 5%+ of 38 checklistsMay 8-14: 89 species on 5%+ of 42 checklistsMay 15-21: 84 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsMay 22-31: 79 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsJun 1-7: 67 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsJun 8-14: low data (4 checklists)Jun 15-21: 66 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsJun 22-30: 71 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsJul 1-7: low data (4 checklists)Jul 8-14: low data (8 checklists)Jul 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Jul 22-31: 59 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsAug 1-7: low data (6 checklists)Aug 8-14: low data (6 checklists)Aug 15-21: 62 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsAug 22-31: 61 species on 5%+ of 15 checklistsSep 1-7: 61 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsSep 8-14: 85 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsSep 15-21: 71 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsSep 22-30: 61 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsOct 1-7: 60 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsOct 8-14: 46 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsOct 15-21: 53 species on 5%+ of 30 checklistsOct 22-31: 54 species on 5%+ of 49 checklistsNov 1-7: 44 species on 5%+ of 42 checklistsNov 8-14: 53 species on 5%+ of 40 checklistsNov 15-21: 40 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsNov 22-30: 38 species on 5%+ of 74 checklistsDec 1-7: 32 species on 5%+ of 47 checklistsDec 8-14: 31 species on 5%+ of 47 checklistsDec 15-21: 41 species on 5%+ of 58 checklistsDec 22-31: 43 species on 5%+ of 80 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1Ring-billed Gull96%
  2. 2American White Pelican92%
  3. 3Mallard69%
  4. 4Bald Eagle64%
  5. 5Canada Goose63%
  6. 6Hooded Merganser55%
  7. 7Great Blue Heron53%
  8. 8Double-crested Cormorant52%
  9. 9Dark-eyed Junco36%
  10. 10Blue Jay35%
  11. 11Red-bellied Woodpecker34%
  12. 12European Starling32%
  13. 13American Herring Gull29%
  14. 14Downy Woodpecker28%
  15. 15Northern Flicker26%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 34 species

  1. Canada Goose94%
  2. Mallard92%
  3. Bald Eagle87%
  4. American White Pelican73%
  5. Common Goldeneye47%

Spring 86 species

  1. Canada Goose86%
  2. American Robin72%
  3. Great Blue Heron66%
  4. Red-winged Blackbird65%
  5. Ring-billed Gull61%

Summer 64 species

  1. Great Blue Heron88%
  2. Turkey Vulture69%
  3. American Robin65%
  4. Northern Cardinal59%
  5. Indigo Bunting55%

Fall 52 species

  1. Ring-billed Gull93%
  2. American White Pelican88%
  3. Great Blue Heron65%
  4. Canada Goose58%
  5. Mallard57%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Iowa.

Nearby spots

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.