WhenToBird

Setophaga tigrina · Parulidae

When Do Cape May Warblers Arrive in Iowa?

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

Cape May Warblers mostly pass through Iowa: they arrive in mid August, peak in the second week of September (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakSep 8-14the second week of September
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: the second week of September. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 2.3% of Iowa checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 5551 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 3498 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 3803 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 4807 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 3613 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 4173 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 5796 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 4394 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 5295 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 5679 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 5418 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 8613 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 6970 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 7511 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 8321 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 11976 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 11725 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.2% of 12626 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.6% of 9372 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.2% of 10330 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 5472 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 4568 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 3870 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 4780 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 4201 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 3605 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 3621 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 5093 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 3931 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 3488 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 3802 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.0% of 6293 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.1% of 5328 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.7% of 4622 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.0% of 4367 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.1% of 6086 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.4% of 4708 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 4791 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 4429 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 5633 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 4090 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 3416 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 3398 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 4679 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 3442 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 3322 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 4619 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 5113 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 Iowa 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 Iowa

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Dubuque CountyBest the second week of September · 207 checklists that week, 9,863 in all14%
  2. Clinton CountyBest the second week of May · 40 checklists that week, 1,160 in all11%
  3. Washington CountyBest mid September · 23 checklists that week, 1,746 in all9.0%
  4. Shelby CountyBest the second week of May · 21 checklists that week, 354 in all7.1%
  5. Worth CountyBest the second week of May · 19 checklists that week, 333 in all6.8%
  6. Jackson CountyBest early September · 26 checklists that week, 1,765 in all6.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake Macbride State ParkJohnson County, best mid September · 20 checklists that week, 890 in all36%
  2. Eagle Point Park (Deer Creek)Clinton County, best early May · 38 checklists that week, 153 in all30%
  3. Mines of Spain State Recreation Area (Catfish Creek)Dubuque County, best early September · 24 checklists that week, 244 in all30%
  4. Cedar Lake ParkLinn County, best mid September · 27 checklists that week, 1,387 in all28%
  5. Mines of Spain State Recreation AreaDubuque County, best early September · 34 checklists that week, 754 in all21%

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

Best time of day

In Iowa, the Cape May Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (96) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (67) to judge3 am: too few checklists (82) to judge4 am: too few checklists (201) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1888) to judge6 am: 1.3% of 11313 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 25717 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 29755 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 28897 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 26343 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 21210 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 17662 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 16595 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 16405 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 17030 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 17378 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 14251 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 10349 checklists7 pm: 0.1% of 6233 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2002) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (392) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (186) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (87) 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%
May0.8%2.2%1.6%0.2%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0.1%0.3%1.0%
September2.1%2.7%2.0%1.1%
October0.4%0.1%0.1%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0.1%0.1%0%

Neighboring states

  • Wisconsin: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than Iowa
  • Minnesota: arrives early May, 14 weeks earlier than Iowa
  • Illinois: arrives mid August, in the same week than Iowa
  • Indiana: arrives mid August, in the same week than Iowa

Common questions

When do Cape May Warblers arrive in Iowa?
Cape May Warblers mostly pass through Iowa: they arrive in mid August, peak in the second week of September (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Cape May Warblers leave Iowa?
Most Cape May Warblers have left Iowa by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Cape May Warbler in Iowa?
The Cape May Warbler is reported most often in the second week of September, on about 2.3% of Iowa checklists.
Where in Iowa are Cape May Warblers seen most often?
By county, Dubuque County, Clinton County, and Washington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Cape May Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).