WhenToBird

Setophaga tigrina · Parulidae

When Do Cape May Warblers Arrive in Florida?

Adult male Cape May Warbler
Photo: Mike Mulqueen, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Cape May Warblers arrive in Florida in mid March, peak in late April (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: late April. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 10% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.5% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.3% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.7% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.5% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 8.0% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.7% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% 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% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.1% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.9% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.9% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.0% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.9% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.1% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.1% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.8% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.3% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.8% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.3% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% 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. Monroe CountyBest late April · 4365 checklists that week, 62,908 in all30%
  2. Broward CountyBest early October · 1145 checklists that week, 57,530 in all26%
  3. Miami-Dade CountyBest early October · 1785 checklists that week, 118,849 in all25%
  4. Franklin CountyBest late April · 945 checklists that week, 20,336 in all21%
  5. Palm Beach CountyBest early October · 2028 checklists that week, 118,595 in all19%
  6. Manatee CountyBest late April · 1817 checklists that week, 63,443 in all19%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kanapaha Botanical GardensAlachua County, best late April · 73 checklists that week, 483 in all87%
  2. Kendale Lakes ParkMiami-Dade County, best the second week of October · 27 checklists that week, 665 in all84%
  3. Spillway ParkPalm Beach County, best the second week of October · 20 checklists that week, 287 in all83%
  4. Orlando ParkBrevard County, best late September · 79 checklists that week, 564 in all77%
  5. Leffis KeyManatee County, best early May · 191 checklists that week, 2,515 in all75%
  6. Enchanted LakeMiami-Dade County, best late April · 82 checklists that week, 1,558 in all74%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Cape May Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (2.4% 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: 1.4% of 94591 checklists7 am: 2.4% of 296183 checklists8 am: 2.4% of 319987 checklists9 am: 2.0% of 254830 checklists10 am: 1.8% of 209480 checklists11 am: 1.6% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 1.5% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 1.4% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 1.4% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 1.5% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 1.6% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 1.6% 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
January0.2%0.2%0.2%0.1%
February0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.2%0.3%0.3%0.5%
April1.3%3.7%9.5%12%
May8.0%2.7%0.5%0.1%
June0.1%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0.1%0.2%
September1.1%2.9%3.9%5.0%
October6.9%8.1%5.1%2.8%
November1.3%0.8%0.5%0.3%
December0.2%0.3%0.3%0.3%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives late December, 11 weeks earlier than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives late August, 21 weeks later than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives the second week of April, 3 weeks later than Florida
  • North Carolina: arrives the second week of August, 19 weeks later than Florida

Common questions

When do Cape May Warblers arrive in Florida?
Cape May Warblers arrive in Florida in mid March, peak in late April (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Cape May Warblers leave Florida?
Most Cape May Warblers have left Florida by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Cape May Warbler in Florida?
The Cape May Warbler is reported most often in late April, on about 10% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Cape May Warblers seen most often?
By county, Monroe County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Cape May Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).