WhenToBird

Bucephala clangula · Anatidae

When Do Common Goldeneyes Arrive in Maine?

Adult male Common Goldeneye
Photo: Bjoern Rost, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Common Goldeneyes are winter birds in Maine: the first arrive in late October, they are common by early December, peak in early February (17% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 22-31late October
Common byDec 1-7early December
PeakFeb 1-7early February
Most gone byApr 1-7early April

Best: early February. First arrivals late October; most are gone by early April. Peak: on about 17% of Maine checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octrare
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 16% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 16% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 16% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 17% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 16% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 17% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 16% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 16% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 15% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 14% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 12% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.5% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.8% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.7% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.4% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.6% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.3% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.5% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.6% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.9% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.7% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.4% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.2% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 5.6% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.1% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 9.2% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 11% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 15% of 14285 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 Maine 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 Maine

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sagadahoc CountyBest mid February · 671 checklists that week, 21,736 in all36%
  2. Aroostook CountyBest mid November · 147 checklists that week, 16,817 in all28%
  3. Lincoln CountyBest early February · 664 checklists that week, 59,429 in all23%
  4. Waldo CountyBest the second week of January · 605 checklists that week, 33,433 in all21%
  5. Hancock CountyBest mid February · 1962 checklists that week, 118,358 in all20%
  6. Washington CountyBest the second week of January · 333 checklists that week, 35,967 in all20%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Quamphegan BrookYork County, best late January · 31 checklists that week, 166 in all98%
  2. Long CoveWaldo County, best late February · 21 checklists that week, 2,744 in all96%
  3. Hadley PointHancock County, best early March · 30 checklists that week, 1,341 in all96%
  4. Passagassawakeag RiverWaldo County, best mid January · 23 checklists that week, 453 in all93%
  5. Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management AreaCumberland County, best the second week of February · 36 checklists that week, 4,768 in all92%
  6. Simpson PointCumberland County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 492 in all92%

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

Best time of day

In Maine, the Common Goldeneye is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (6.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (510) to judge1 am: too few checklists (517) to judge2 am: too few checklists (581) to judge3 am: too few checklists (3242) to judge4 am: too few checklists (7221) to judge5 am: 0.6% of 19895 checklists6 am: 2.2% of 54578 checklists7 am: 3.3% of 92775 checklists8 am: 4.3% of 86962 checklists9 am: 5.0% of 78989 checklists10 am: 6.0% of 70954 checklists11 am: 6.2% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 6.5% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 7.0% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 6.8% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 6.1% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 3.7% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 1.9% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 1.1% of 18309 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14287) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5336) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2253) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1518) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (720) 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
January16%16%16%17%
February16%17%14%16%
March16%15%14%12%
April8.5%4.8%2.7%1.4%
May0.6%0.3%0.4%0.4%
June0.4%0.5%0.5%0.4%
July0.4%0.4%0.5%0.4%
August0.5%0.4%0.3%0.2%
September0.3%0.3%0.3%0.3%
October0.5%0.6%0.9%1.7%
November3.4%5.2%5.6%7.1%
December9.2%11%13%15%

Neighboring states

  • New Hampshire: arrives early November, 1 week later than Maine
  • Massachusetts: arrives early November, 1 week later than Maine
  • Vermont: arrives mid October, 1 week earlier than Maine
  • Rhode Island: arrives mid November, 3 weeks later than Maine

Common questions

When do Common Goldeneyes arrive in Maine?
Common Goldeneyes are winter birds in Maine: the first arrive in late October, they are common by early December, peak in early February (17% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.
When do Common Goldeneyes leave Maine?
Most Common Goldeneyes have left Maine by early April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid April.
When is the best time to see a Common Goldeneye in Maine?
The Common Goldeneye is reported most often in early February, on about 17% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Common Goldeneyes seen most often?
By county, Sagadahoc County, Aroostook County, and Lincoln County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Goldeneye (counties with at least 200 checklists).