WhenToBird

Junco hyemalis · Passerellidae

When Do Dark-eyed Juncos Arrive in North Carolina?

Adult male Dark-eyed Junco
Photo: Jimmy Dee, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Dark-eyed Juncos are in North Carolina all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of November, peak in mid February (31% of checklists), and fall back by late March. In the quietest week (the second week of October) they are still on about 3.6% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildNov 8-14the second week of November
PeakFeb 15-21mid February
Fall back byMar 22-31late March
FewestOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: mid February. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of November and fall back by late March. Peak: on about 31% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 30% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 31% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 31% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 29% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 25% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 30% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 34% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 29% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 29% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 29% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 29% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 23% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.6% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.3% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.2% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.9% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.5% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.1% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.8% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.3% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.0% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.5% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.7% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.4% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.3% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.6% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.3% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.2% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.2% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 3.9% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.6% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.2% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.7% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.0% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.7% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.1% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.6% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 4.2% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.4% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 17% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 26% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 28% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 29% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 31% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 30% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 28% of 34796 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ashe CountyBest the second week of January · 94 checklists that week, 6,425 in all77%
  2. Avery CountyBest late February · 111 checklists that week, 8,724 in all73%
  3. Stokes CountyBest the second week of January · 56 checklists that week, 5,660 in all67%
  4. Mitchell CountyBest early September · 55 checklists that week, 2,981 in all66%
  5. Yancey CountyBest early January · 113 checklists that week, 11,714 in all65%
  6. Caswell CountyBest mid November · 25 checklists that week, 2,804 in all65%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Trout Lake (northeast)Watauga County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 322 in all100%
  2. Great Smoky Mountains National ParkSwain County, best mid August · 20 checklists that week, 543 in all98%
  3. Mount Mitchell State Park (Wilson Ridge)Yancey County, best the second week of July · 21 checklists that week, 259 in all98%
  4. North Cherokee National Forest & Wildlife Management AreaMitchell County, best mid September · 20 checklists that week, 356 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Dark-eyed Junco is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (18% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (520) to judge1 am: too few checklists (489) to judge2 am: too few checklists (442) to judge3 am: too few checklists (544) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1621) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9671) to judge6 am: 8.7% of 50335 checklists7 am: 18% of 150152 checklists8 am: 18% of 182902 checklists9 am: 17% of 158933 checklists10 am: 16% of 128398 checklists11 am: 15% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 16% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 15% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 16% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 16% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 12% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 6.9% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 4.9% of 33196 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19700) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6160) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1943) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1119) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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
January30%31%31%29%
February25%30%34%29%
March29%29%29%23%
April14%7.6%4.3%4.2%
May3.9%4.5%5.1%4.8%
June5.3%6.0%6.5%5.7%
July6.4%6.3%5.6%5.3%
August4.2%4.2%3.9%3.6%
September4.2%4.7%5.0%4.7%
October3.1%3.6%4.2%8.4%
November17%23%26%28%
December29%31%30%28%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives late October, 2 weeks earlier than North Carolina
  • Virginia: arrives the second week of October, 4 weeks earlier than North Carolina
  • West Virginia: arrives early November, 1 week earlier than North Carolina
  • District of Columbia: arrives early October, 5 weeks earlier than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Dark-eyed Juncos arrive in North Carolina?
Dark-eyed Juncos are in North Carolina all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of November, peak in mid February (31% of checklists), and fall back by late March. In the quietest week (the second week of October) they are still on about 3.6% of checklists.
When do Dark-eyed Juncos leave North Carolina?
Dark-eyed Juncos never fully leave North Carolina: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late March, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.6% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Dark-eyed Junco in North Carolina?
The Dark-eyed Junco is reported most often in mid February, on about 31% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Dark-eyed Juncos seen most often?
By county, Ashe County, Avery County, and Stokes County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Dark-eyed Junco (counties with at least 200 checklists).