WhenToBird

Setophaga caerulescens · Parulidae

When Do Black-throated Blue Warblers Arrive in Florida?

Adult male Black-throated Blue Warbler
Photo: Dan Vickers, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black-throated Blue Warblers are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in mid August, peak in the second week of October (11% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of January.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakOct 8-14the second week of October
Most gone byJan 8-14the second week of January

Best: the second week of October. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by the second week of January. Peak: on about 11% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.3% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.9% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.5% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.7% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 11% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 8.4% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.0% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.3% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.9% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.5% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.0% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.6% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.9% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 10% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 6.8% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.6% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.1% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.7% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.5% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Miami-Dade CountyBest the second week of October · 2344 checklists that week, 118,849 in all45%
  2. Broward CountyBest the second week of October · 1592 checklists that week, 57,530 in all41%
  3. Palm Beach CountyBest the second week of October · 2448 checklists that week, 118,595 in all29%
  4. Monroe CountyBest the second week of October · 1361 checklists that week, 62,908 in all25%
  5. St. Lucie CountyBest the second week of October · 421 checklists that week, 21,132 in all16%
  6. Orange CountyBest late April · 2719 checklists that week, 96,878 in all15%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. A D Barnes County ParkMiami-Dade County, best the second week of October · 183 checklists that week, 3,421 in all83%
  2. Snapper Creek ParkMiami-Dade County, best the second week of October · 26 checklists that week, 552 in all83%
  3. Cliff LakeBroward County, best early October · 103 checklists that week, 1,950 in all83%
  4. Kendale Lakes ParkMiami-Dade County, best the second week of October · 27 checklists that week, 665 in all82%
  5. All-American ParkMiami-Dade County, best early October · 34 checklists that week, 342 in all81%
  6. Enchanted LakeMiami-Dade County, best the second week of October · 74 checklists that week, 1,558 in all80%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Black-throated Blue Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (2.8% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 1.6% of 94591 checklists7 am: 2.8% of 296183 checklists8 am: 2.9% of 319987 checklists9 am: 2.5% of 254830 checklists10 am: 2.2% of 209480 checklists11 am: 2.0% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 2.0% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 1.9% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 1.8% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 1.9% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 1.9% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 2.0% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 1.7% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January0.4%0.3%0.4%0.3%
February0.4%0.3%0.2%0.3%
March0.3%0.4%0.4%0.4%
April0.9%2.5%6.7%11%
May8.4%4.0%1.3%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0%0%
July0%0%0%0.1%
August0%0.1%0.1%0.9%
September1.5%3.0%4.6%6.9%
October11%12%10%6.8%
November3.6%2.1%0.9%0.7%
December0.7%0.5%0.6%0.5%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives the second week of April, 17 weeks earlier than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives the second week of April, 17 weeks earlier than Florida
  • North Carolina: arrives the second week of April, 17 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Tennessee: arrives mid April, 16 weeks earlier than Florida

Common questions

When do Black-throated Blue Warblers arrive in Florida?
Black-throated Blue Warblers are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in mid August, peak in the second week of October (11% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of January.
When do Black-throated Blue Warblers leave Florida?
Most Black-throated Blue Warblers have left Florida by the second week of January, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black-throated Blue Warbler in Florida?
The Black-throated Blue Warbler is reported most often in the second week of October, on about 11% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Black-throated Blue Warblers seen most often?
By county, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-throated Blue Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).