WhenToBird

Botaurus lentiginosus · Ardeidae

When Do American Bitterns Arrive in District of Columbia?

Adult American Bittern
Photo: Kathy Richardson, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

American Bitterns are winter birds in District of Columbia: they arrive in mid September, peak in late October (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of December.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakOct 22-31late October
Most gone byDec 8-14the second week of December

Best: late October. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by the second week of December. Peak: on about 1.7% of District of Columbia checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decuncommon

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 3043 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 2367 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 2140 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 2777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 2012 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 1997 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 2544 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 2252 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 2282 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 2350 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 2432 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 3898 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 3221 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.8% of 3396 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 3718 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 5725 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 5415 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 5268 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 3741 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 3605 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 1902 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 1762 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 1637 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 1727 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 1471 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 1353 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 1297 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 1980 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 1465 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 1311 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 1669 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 2631 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 2482 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 2622 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 2661 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.6% of 3393 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 2457 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 2487 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 2201 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.0% of 2639 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.0% of 2074 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 1967 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 1832 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 2064 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.1% of 1773 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.3% of 2132 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.2% of 2009 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.2% of 2574 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in District of Columbia that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in District of Columbia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. District of Columbia CountyBest late October · 2639 checklists that week, 121,721 in all1.7%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Captial GroundsDistrict of Columbia County, best early October · 55 checklists that week, 2,365 in all6.9%
  2. Anacostia Park Section GDistrict of Columbia County, best mid April · 22 checklists that week, 571 in all3.0%
  3. Rock Creek GardensDistrict of Columbia County, best the second week of May · 142 checklists that week, 1,328 in all0.8%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In District of Columbia, the American Bittern is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (0.4% of those checklists).

0%0.5%12 am: too few checklists (27) to judge1 am: too few checklists (29) to judge2 am: too few checklists (23) to judge3 am: too few checklists (21) to judge4 am: too few checklists (31) to judge5 am: too few checklists (631) to judge6 am: 0.4% of 7391 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 18497 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 18527 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 13285 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 10722 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 8880 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 7456 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 6394 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 6063 checklists3 pm: 0% of 6112 checklists4 pm: 0.1% of 5809 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 5409 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 3982 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (1887) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (423) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (79) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (44) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (33) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0.1%
March0.1%0%0.1%0.2%
April0.6%0.8%0.4%0.4%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0.1%0.1%
September0%0%0%0.6%
October0.2%0.2%1.0%2.0%
November2.0%0.5%0.3%0.6%
December1.1%0.3%0.2%0.2%

Neighboring states

  • New Jersey: arrives early September, 2 weeks earlier than District of Columbia
  • New York: arrives early April, 22 weeks earlier than District of Columbia
  • Vermont: arrives mid April, 20 weeks earlier than District of Columbia
  • New Hampshire: arrives mid April, 20 weeks earlier than District of Columbia

Common questions

When do American Bitterns arrive in District of Columbia?
American Bitterns are winter birds in District of Columbia: they arrive in mid September, peak in late October (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of December.
When do American Bitterns leave District of Columbia?
Most American Bitterns have left District of Columbia by the second week of December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a American Bittern in District of Columbia?
The American Bittern is reported most often in late October, on about 1.7% of District of Columbia checklists.
Where in District of Columbia are American Bitterns seen most often?
By county, District of Columbia County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Bittern (counties with at least 200 checklists).