WhenToBird

Nannopterum auritum · Phalacrocoracidae

When Do Double-crested Cormorants Arrive in North Carolina?

Adult Double-crested Cormorant
Photo: jubileej, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Double-crested Cormorants are in North Carolina all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in the second week of March (19% of checklists), and fall back by mid April. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 4.5% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakMar 8-14the second week of March
Fall back byApr 15-21mid April
FewestJun 15-21mid June

Best: the second week of March. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of October and fall back by mid April. Peak: on about 19% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 17% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 16% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 15% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 18% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 19% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 19% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 19% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 19% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 17% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 15% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 12% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 8.4% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.3% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 7.2% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.8% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.2% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.3% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.4% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.8% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.8% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.3% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.8% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.9% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.4% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.7% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.8% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.4% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.6% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.1% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.9% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 17% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 17% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 19% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 19% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 18% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 16% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 18% 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. New Hanover CountyBest mid December · 621 checklists that week, 33,362 in all56%
  2. Dare CountyBest the second week of November · 1202 checklists that week, 83,121 in all55%
  3. Chowan CountyBest the second week of April · 73 checklists that week, 2,544 in all52%
  4. Carteret CountyBest early November · 456 checklists that week, 27,746 in all48%
  5. Montgomery CountyBest late September · 25 checklists that week, 1,895 in all47%
  6. Currituck CountyBest early April · 160 checklists that week, 8,172 in all47%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cane Creek ParkUnion County, best late March · 24 checklists that week, 566 in all100%
  2. B. Everett Jordan Lake (Beaver Creek)Chatham County, best late March · 21 checklists that week, 442 in all100%
  3. High Rock LakeRowan County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 328 in all100%
  4. B. Everett Jordan Lake (Bells)Chatham County, best the second week of April · 111 checklists that week, 400 in all99%
  5. Cape HatterasDare County, best late February · 39 checklists that week, 1,295 in all98%
  6. City of Raleigh Greenway - Middle Crabtree Creek TrailWake County, best the second week of March · 31 checklists that week, 2,060 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Double-crested Cormorant is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (14% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 14% of 50335 checklists7 am: 14% of 150152 checklists8 am: 13% of 182902 checklists9 am: 12% of 158933 checklists10 am: 12% of 128398 checklists11 am: 12% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 13% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 13% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 14% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 13% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 12% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 8.9% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 7.4% 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
January17%17%16%15%
February15%14%12%18%
March19%19%19%19%
April17%15%12%10%
May8.4%7.3%7.2%6.8%
June5.2%4.3%4.4%4.8%
July4.8%5.3%4.8%5.9%
August7.4%8.7%10%9.8%
September9.4%8.6%9.1%8.9%
October11%12%16%17%
November17%18%19%19%
December18%16%14%18%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Double-crested Cormorants arrive in North Carolina?
Double-crested Cormorants are in North Carolina all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in the second week of March (19% of checklists), and fall back by mid April. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 4.5% of checklists.
When do Double-crested Cormorants leave North Carolina?
Double-crested Cormorants never fully leave North Carolina: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid April, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.5% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Double-crested Cormorant in North Carolina?
The Double-crested Cormorant is reported most often in the second week of March, on about 19% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Double-crested Cormorants seen most often?
By county, New Hanover County, Dare County, and Chowan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Double-crested Cormorant (counties with at least 200 checklists).