WhenToBird

Spatula discors · Anatidae

When Do Blue-winged Teals Arrive in Florida?

Adult female Blue-winged Teal
Photo: Guy Babineau, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Blue-winged Teals are winter birds in Florida: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by the second week of October, peak in late January (8.9% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakJan 22-31late January
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: late January. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 8.9% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 8.3% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 8.6% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.9% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.0% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.7% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 8.3% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.0% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.3% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.7% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.8% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.9% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.7% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.6% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.4% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.1% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.7% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.4% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.3% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.9% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.9% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.9% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.5% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.9% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.6% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.8% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 4.3% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.6% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.5% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.2% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 8.0% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 8.1% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 8.5% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 8.0% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 7.1% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.4% 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. Palm Beach CountyBest the second week of March · 3185 checklists that week, 118,595 in all25%
  2. Okaloosa CountyBest early September · 262 checklists that week, 16,003 in all24%
  3. Sarasota CountyBest late January · 4854 checklists that week, 120,976 in all21%
  4. Wakulla CountyBest mid March · 538 checklists that week, 27,521 in all20%
  5. Columbia CountyBest early December · 86 checklists that week, 5,568 in all20%
  6. Madison CountyBest early October · 23 checklists that week, 1,783 in all20%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bahia Beach Coastal RestorationHillsborough County, best late March · 30 checklists that week, 1,167 in all97%
  2. Lake BellevuePinellas County, best late March · 23 checklists that week, 818 in all95%
  3. Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife RefugeCollier County, best early March · 164 checklists that week, 2,746 in all95%
  4. Orlando Wetlands ParkOrange County, best the second week of January · 178 checklists that week, 5,972 in all92%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Blue-winged Teal is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (6.4% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 4.8% of 94591 checklists7 am: 6.5% of 296183 checklists8 am: 6.4% of 319987 checklists9 am: 6.3% of 254830 checklists10 am: 6.0% of 209480 checklists11 am: 5.7% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 5.4% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 5.6% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 5.7% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 5.4% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 5.0% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 3.8% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 2.7% 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
January8.3%8.6%8.9%9.0%
February8.7%8.3%7.0%8.3%
March8.7%8.8%8.9%8.7%
April7.6%6.4%4.1%2.7%
May1.4%0.9%0.6%0.5%
June0.6%0.3%0.3%0.2%
July0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.4%1.1%1.9%
September2.9%2.9%2.5%3.9%
October3.6%3.8%4.3%5.6%
November6.5%7.2%8.0%8.1%
December8.5%8.0%7.1%7.4%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives mid August, in the same week than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives mid August, in the same week than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives mid February, 24 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives mid January, 20 weeks later than Florida

Common questions

When do Blue-winged Teals arrive in Florida?
Blue-winged Teals are winter birds in Florida: the first arrive in mid August, they are common by the second week of October, peak in late January (8.9% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Blue-winged Teals leave Florida?
Most Blue-winged Teals have left Florida by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a Blue-winged Teal in Florida?
The Blue-winged Teal is reported most often in late January, on about 8.9% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Blue-winged Teals seen most often?
By county, Palm Beach County, Okaloosa County, and Sarasota County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Blue-winged Teal (counties with at least 200 checklists).