WhenToBird

Poecile carolinensis · Paridae

When Do Carolina Chickadees Arrive in Pennsylvania?

Adult Carolina Chickadee
Photo: Matthew Lumsden, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Carolina Chickadee is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 25% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 13% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 22-30late September
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: late September. Here all year. Peak: on about 25% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 20% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 20% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 19% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 19% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 19% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 19% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 18% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 19% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 19% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 20% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 21% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 22% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 22% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 18% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 17% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 13% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 14% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 15% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 15% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 16% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 18% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 20% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 23% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 24% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 26% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 24% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 25% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 23% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 24% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 23% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 23% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 23% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 23% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 22% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 22% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 21% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 22% of 50651 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest mid November · 338 checklists that week, 23,823 in all58%
  2. Chester CountyBest late September · 3157 checklists that week, 144,121 in all58%
  3. Greene CountyBest the second week of November · 14 checklists that week, 2,997 in all54%
  4. Lancaster CountyBest mid April · 2604 checklists that week, 97,892 in all52%
  5. Cumberland CountyBest early November · 803 checklists that week, 50,879 in all49%
  6. Dauphin CountyBest mid September · 629 checklists that week, 35,877 in all48%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Montour TrailAllegheny County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 171 in all95%
  2. Wheatland Hills ParkLancaster County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 191 in all94%
  3. Tyler ArboretumDelaware County, best the second week of September · 26 checklists that week, 1,631 in all93%
  4. Westtown LakeChester County, best the second week of April · 21 checklists that week, 491 in all92%
  5. Pickering Preserve - CharlestownChester County, best late August · 20 checklists that week, 1,023 in all91%
  6. Chickies Rock County ParkLancaster County, best early May · 26 checklists that week, 250 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Carolina Chickadee is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (24% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 25% of 92903 checklists7 am: 24% of 241233 checklists8 am: 23% of 271994 checklists9 am: 21% of 236842 checklists10 am: 19% of 199508 checklists11 am: 18% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 18% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 18% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 18% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 18% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 16% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 16% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 14% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 9.3% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) 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
January20%20%19%19%
February19%19%19%18%
March17%18%19%19%
April20%21%22%22%
May19%18%17%14%
June13%13%13%14%
July14%15%15%15%
August16%16%18%20%
September23%24%26%24%
October25%23%24%23%
November23%23%23%23%
December22%22%21%22%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Carolina Chickadees arrive in Pennsylvania?
The Carolina Chickadee is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 25% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 13% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Carolina Chickadees leave Pennsylvania?
The Carolina Chickadee does not leave Pennsylvania: it is reported all year, from 13% of checklists in the second week of June to 25% in late September.
When is the best time to see a Carolina Chickadee in Pennsylvania?
The Carolina Chickadee is reported most often in late September, on about 25% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Carolina Chickadees seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Chester County, and Greene County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Carolina Chickadee (counties with at least 200 checklists).