WhenToBird

Sialia sialis · Turdidae

Eastern Bluebird: When and Where to See It

Adult male Eastern Bluebird
Photo: Dan Vickers, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Eastern Bluebird reaches Illinois first, around the second week of September, and District of Columbia last, around the second week of October.

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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0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 10% of 1114036 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.6% of 824708 checklistsJan 15-21: 9.7% of 825978 checklistsJan 22-31: 10% of 1105853 checklistsFeb 1-7: 11% of 779772 checklistsFeb 8-14: 12% of 864504 checklistsFeb 15-21: 13% of 1127933 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 840124 checklistsMar 1-7: 13% of 839610 checklistsMar 8-14: 14% of 870138 checklistsMar 15-21: 14% of 898456 checklistsMar 22-31: 14% of 1335637 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 1030617 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 1124024 checklistsApr 15-21: 13% of 1194575 checklistsApr 22-30: 14% of 1675723 checklistsMay 1-7: 14% of 1449080 checklistsMay 8-14: 14% of 1538353 checklistsMay 15-21: 13% of 1219898 checklistsMay 22-31: 12% of 1452282 checklistsJun 1-7: 12% of 900636 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 829907 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 773255 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 916255 checklistsJul 1-7: 12% of 717733 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 658223 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 638752 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 895727 checklistsAug 1-7: 10% of 655651 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.3% of 650038 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.1% of 654639 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.1% of 974928 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.3% of 765914 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.5% of 738674 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 750433 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 944196 checklistsOct 1-7: 13% of 760106 checklistsOct 8-14: 13% of 793131 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 728727 checklistsOct 22-31: 14% of 959954 checklistsNov 1-7: 14% of 709464 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 693424 checklistsNov 15-21: 12% of 653952 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 871137 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 627591 checklistsDec 8-14: 11% of 642427 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 775638 checklistsDec 22-31: 11% of 1132751 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Pooled across every state in the data, so it leans toward states with the most birders.

States, in order of first arrivals

StatePatternFirst arrivalsPeakMost gone byPeak %
MinnesotaSummer visitorFeb 22-28Jun 15-21Nov 1-712%
WisconsinSummer visitorFeb 22-28Jul 8-14Nov 1-712%
South DakotaSummer visitorMar 8-14May 22-31Nov 8-143.7%
North DakotaSummer visitorMar 22-31Jun 22-30Oct 22-313.3%
IllinoisAll year, most in fallSep 8-14Oct 15-21Nov 8-1413%
Rhode IslandAll year, most in fallOct 1-7Nov 1-7Nov 22-3010%
District of ColumbiaAll year, most in fallOct 8-14Nov 1-7Nov 22-3016%
MaineAll year, most in springFeb 1-7Mar 22-31May 15-2115%
New MexicoWinter visitorSep 15-21Dec 8-14May 1-74.1%
North CarolinaYear-round–Mar 8-14–44%
TennesseeYear-round–Mar 8-14–43%
GeorgiaYear-round–Feb 22-28–42%
AlabamaYear-round–Mar 1-7–40%
South CarolinaYear-round–Feb 22-28–41%
VirginiaYear-round–Mar 15-21–38%
MarylandYear-round–Oct 22-31–34%
MississippiYear-round–Mar 1-7–34%
ArkansasYear-round–Mar 1-7–32%
MissouriYear-round–Mar 15-21–30%
West VirginiaYear-round–Oct 15-21–26%
IndianaYear-round–Oct 22-31–25%
KansasYear-round–Oct 15-21–25%
KentuckyYear-round–Oct 22-31–24%
PennsylvaniaYear-round–Oct 22-31–23%
DelawareYear-round–Oct 22-31–23%
LouisianaYear-round–Feb 8-14–21%
New HampshireYear-round–Mar 8-14–21%
OhioYear-round–Oct 22-31–20%
OklahomaYear-round–Nov 1-7–20%
IowaYear-round–Oct 15-21–19%
ConnecticutYear-round–Oct 22-31–17%
New JerseyYear-round–Nov 8-14–17%
MassachusettsYear-round–Mar 15-21–14%
MichiganYear-round–May 1-7–15%
FloridaYear-round–Jun 8-14–13%
TexasYear-round–Nov 22-30–13%
New YorkYear-round–Jun 1-7–11%
VermontYear-round–Mar 15-21–11%
NebraskaYear-round–Oct 15-21–8.4%

Winter visitor in: Maine

Summer visitor in: Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota