WhenToBird

Setophaga castanea · Parulidae

When Do Bay-breasted Warblers Arrive in New York?

Adult Bay-breasted Warbler
Photo: Roger A. Morales-Flores, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Bay-breasted Warblers mostly pass through New York: they arrive in early May, peak in mid May (5.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byJun 1-7early June

Best: mid May. First arrivals early May; most are gone by early June. Peak: on about 5.4% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 0% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.1% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.9% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.7% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.4% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.3% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.8% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.5% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.2% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 62470 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 New York 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Allegany CountyBest mid September · 185 checklists that week, 11,955 in all15%
  2. Monroe CountyBest late May · 6681 checklists that week, 166,009 in all14%
  3. New York CountyBest mid May · 7697 checklists that week, 187,471 in all14%
  4. Queens CountyBest mid May · 2641 checklists that week, 76,201 in all12%
  5. Kings CountyBest mid May · 4642 checklists that week, 134,897 in all12%
  6. Schuyler CountyBest the second week of September · 236 checklists that week, 12,381 in all12%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Goodwin ParkMonroe County, best late May · 398 checklists that week, 1,998 in all62%
  2. Buck PondMonroe County, best late May · 213 checklists that week, 1,602 in all49%
  3. Braddock PointMonroe County, best late May · 148 checklists that week, 3,345 in all47%
  4. Town of Webster LandMonroe County, best late August · 20 checklists that week, 434 in all45%
  5. Amherst State ParkErie County, best the second week of September · 107 checklists that week, 3,404 in all41%
  6. Valley Stream State ParkNassau County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 700 in all40%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Bay-breasted Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.0% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 2.4% of 124869 checklists7 am: 1.8% of 298506 checklists8 am: 1.4% of 337334 checklists9 am: 1.1% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0%0%0.1%
May0.5%4.1%9.9%2.7%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.4%1.4%
September3.3%5.8%5.5%3.2%
October0.8%0.2%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives early May, in the same week than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives early May, in the same week than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late August, 15 weeks later than New York
  • Vermont: arrives mid August, 14 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Bay-breasted Warblers arrive in New York?
Bay-breasted Warblers mostly pass through New York: they arrive in early May, peak in mid May (5.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.
When do Bay-breasted Warblers leave New York?
Most Bay-breasted Warblers have left New York by early June, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Bay-breasted Warbler in New York?
The Bay-breasted Warbler is reported most often in mid May, on about 5.4% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Bay-breasted Warblers seen most often?
By county, Allegany County, Monroe County, and New York County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Bay-breasted Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).