Seasonal Presence and Relative Frequency of Selected Species

Iowa Birding Highlights

This list summarizes the seasonal presence of selected bird species in Iowa, indicating whether each species occurs year-round, during the breeding season, or during the non-breeding season (winter and migration). Within each seasonal category, species are numbered and ordered from least to most frequently observed in the United States based on eBird frequency data. This ordering reflects how commonly a species has been observed by U.S. birders over time and is used here as a relative priority indicator, not as a measure of local abundance or the likelihood of encountering a species at a specific site or season within Iowa.

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Iowa Birding Highlights

Year-round Residents

  1. Greater Prairie-Chicken

  2. Northern Bobwhite

Breeding Residents

  1. Henslow’s Sparrow

  2. Upland Sandpiper

  3. Cerulean Warbler

  4. Black-billed Cuckoo

  5. Kentucky Warbler

  6. American Woodcock

  7. Sedge Wren

  8. Clay-colored Sparrow

  9. Bell’s Vireo

  10. Mississippi Kite

  11. Blue-winged Warbler

  12. Louisiana Waterthrush

  13. Prothonotary Warbler

  14. Least Tern

  15. Bobolink

  16. Dickcissel

  17. Hooded Warbler

  18. Prairie Warbler

  19. Willow Flycatcher

  20. Least Flycatcher

  21. Yellow-throated Warbler

  22. Veery

  23. Orchard Oriole

  24. Summer Tanager

  25. Scarlet Tanager

  26. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

  27. Baltimore Oriole

  28. Indigo Bunting

Non-breeding Residents

  1. Smith’s Longspur

  2. Hudsonian Godwit

  3. White-winged Crossbill

  4. Snowy Owl

  5. Northern Shrike

  6. Snow Bunting

  7. Harris’s Sparrow

  8. Rough-legged Hawk

  9. Lesser Black-backed Gull

  10. Redpoll

  11. American Tree Sparrow

  12. American Black Duck

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