WhenToBird

Setophaga tigrina · Parulidae

When Do Cape May Warblers Arrive in New York?

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

Cape May Warblers arrive in New York in mid August, peak in the second week of September (5.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakSep 8-14the second week of September
Most gone byOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: the second week of September. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by the second week of October. Peak: on about 5.5% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junrare
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.4% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.9% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.4% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.1% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.6% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.2% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.7% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.5% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.0% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.2% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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.

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Where in New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Allegany CountyBest the second week of September · 203 checklists that week, 11,955 in all17%
  2. Cortland CountyBest the second week of September · 128 checklists that week, 10,206 in all13%
  3. Delaware CountyBest mid September · 453 checklists that week, 18,557 in all12%
  4. New York CountyBest the second week of May · 9537 checklists that week, 187,471 in all12%
  5. Cattaraugus CountyBest the second week of September · 187 checklists that week, 12,342 in all12%
  6. Washington CountyBest the second week of September · 133 checklists that week, 15,060 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Wards Island ParkNew York County, best late September · 108 checklists that week, 306 in all73%
  2. Park PreserveTompkins County, best early September · 40 checklists that week, 1,055 in all55%
  3. Hillview ReservoirWestchester County, best the second week of September · 20 checklists that week, 546 in all55%
  4. Crab Hollow State ForestAllegany County, best early September · 20 checklists that week, 498 in all53%
  5. Welwyn County PreserveNassau County, best the second week of September · 43 checklists that week, 673 in all51%
  6. Central Park (north 25)New York County, best mid May · 33 checklists that week, 213 in all51%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Cape May Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.3% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%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: 2.8% of 124869 checklists7 am: 2.1% of 298506 checklists8 am: 1.5% of 337334 checklists9 am: 1.2% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 1.1% 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
January0.1%0.1%0%0%
February0%0%0.1%0%
March0%0%0%0.1%
April0%0.1%0.1%0.4%
May3.1%6.4%4.9%0.5%
June0.1%0.1%0%0%
July0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.3%1.4%3.1%
September4.6%6.2%5.7%4.5%
October2.0%1.2%0.7%0.2%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives mid August, in the same week than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early August, 2 weeks earlier than New York
  • Vermont: arrives mid August, in the same week than New York

Common questions

When do Cape May Warblers arrive in New York?
Cape May Warblers arrive in New York in mid August, peak in the second week of September (5.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.
When do Cape May Warblers leave New York?
Most Cape May Warblers have left New York by the second week of October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Cape May Warbler in New York?
The Cape May Warbler is reported most often in the second week of September, on about 5.5% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Cape May Warblers seen most often?
By county, Allegany County, Cortland County, and Delaware County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Cape May Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).