WhenToBird

Pluvialis squatarola · Charadriidae

When Do Black-bellied Plovers Arrive in New York?

Adult Black-bellied Plover
Photo: Евгений Маринкин, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black-bellied Plovers arrive in New York in late July, peak in mid August (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byDec 1-7early December

Best: mid August. First arrivals late July; most are gone by early December. Peak: on about 2.7% of New York checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.6% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.3% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.8% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.3% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.1% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.5% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 3.0% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.6% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.0% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.6% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.1% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.6% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.4% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.2% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.8% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.0% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.8% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.4% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.0% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.5% 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. Nassau CountyBest late October · 2075 checklists that week, 95,019 in all16%
  2. Suffolk CountyBest mid August · 3149 checklists that week, 208,865 in all12%
  3. Queens CountyBest late May · 2609 checklists that week, 76,201 in all10%
  4. Kings CountyBest mid August · 1784 checklists that week, 134,897 in all8.9%
  5. Monroe CountyBest late September · 3113 checklists that week, 166,009 in all8.5%
  6. Oswego CountyBest mid September · 498 checklists that week, 39,208 in all8.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Marina West Town Boat LaunchNassau County, best mid October · 20 checklists that week, 402 in all98%
  2. Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Area (Pelican Island)Suffolk County, best early September · 28 checklists that week, 249 in all94%
  3. Cupsoque County ParkSuffolk County, best late August · 103 checklists that week, 1,837 in all92%
  4. Lido Beach State Tidal WetlandNassau County, best mid May · 137 checklists that week, 2,631 in all82%
  5. Sagaponack PondSuffolk County, best mid August · 22 checklists that week, 657 in all77%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Black-bellied Plover is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.2% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 1.4% of 124869 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 298506 checklists8 am: 1.0% of 337334 checklists9 am: 1.1% of 307787 checklists10 am: 1.0% of 270801 checklists11 am: 1.1% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.9% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.7% 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
January0.6%0.5%0.4%0.3%
February0.4%0.3%0.2%0.2%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.2%0.3%0.4%
May0.5%0.8%1.5%2.3%
June1.1%0.4%0.3%0.2%
July0.2%0.2%0.3%0.7%
August1.4%2.5%3.0%2.6%
September2.0%1.6%2.1%2.6%
October2.4%2.2%1.8%2.0%
November1.8%1.4%1.1%1.0%
December0.7%0.6%0.4%0.5%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives late July, in the same week than New York
  • Vermont: arrives mid August, 3 weeks later than New York
  • Delaware: arrives mid March, 17 weeks earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Black-bellied Plovers arrive in New York?
Black-bellied Plovers arrive in New York in late July, peak in mid August (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.
When do Black-bellied Plovers leave New York?
Most Black-bellied Plovers have left New York by early December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black-bellied Plover in New York?
The Black-bellied Plover is reported most often in mid August, on about 2.7% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Black-bellied Plovers seen most often?
By county, Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Queens County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-bellied Plover (counties with at least 200 checklists).