WhenToBird

Sayornis phoebe · Tyrannidae

When Do Eastern Phoebes Arrive in Pennsylvania?

Adult Eastern Phoebe
Photo: Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Eastern Phoebes reach Pennsylvania in the second week of March, are common by mid March, peak in early April (26% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 8-14the second week of March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 1-7early April
Most gone byOct 22-31late October

Best: early April. First arrivals the second week of March; most are gone by late October. Peak: on about 26% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.3% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.3% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.7% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 12% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 24% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 30% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 26% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 21% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 20% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 19% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 19% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 18% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 16% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 16% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 17% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 16% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 14% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 12% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 13% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 15% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 17% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 21% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 26% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 27% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 21% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.5% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.7% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.8% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.6% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% 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. Juniata CountyBest mid September · 104 checklists that week, 9,807 in all50%
  2. Schuylkill CountyBest early April · 612 checklists that week, 22,261 in all47%
  3. Blair CountyBest early April · 360 checklists that week, 13,387 in all46%
  4. Wayne CountyBest mid September · 153 checklists that week, 10,444 in all45%
  5. Pike CountyBest the second week of April · 404 checklists that week, 17,484 in all44%
  6. Carbon CountyBest early April · 546 checklists that week, 16,269 in all44%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Woodland LakeMonroe County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 725 in all100%
  2. Lower LakeMonroe County, best the second week of April · 31 checklists that week, 1,218 in all90%
  3. Stairway LakeSchuylkill County, best early April · 59 checklists that week, 818 in all84%
  4. Kernsville Dam Recreational AreaBerks County, best early October · 30 checklists that week, 936 in all84%
  5. Swatara State ParkSchuylkill County, best early April · 53 checklists that week, 1,376 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Eastern Phoebe is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (18% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%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: 20% of 92903 checklists7 am: 17% of 241233 checklists8 am: 15% of 271994 checklists9 am: 13% of 236842 checklists10 am: 12% of 199508 checklists11 am: 9.9% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 9.3% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 8.9% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 8.5% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 8.5% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 9.5% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 12% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 11% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 7.9% 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
January0.3%0.3%0.3%0.3%
February0.3%0.3%0.2%0.3%
March0.7%3.7%12%24%
April30%26%21%20%
May19%19%19%18%
June16%16%17%17%
July16%14%12%11%
August11%11%12%13%
September15%17%21%26%
October27%21%16%7.5%
November2.7%0.8%0.6%0.4%
December0.5%0.4%0.4%0.3%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives mid February, 3 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia: arrives late February, 2 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • Delaware: arrives early March, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey: arrives early March, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Eastern Phoebes arrive in Pennsylvania?
Eastern Phoebes reach Pennsylvania in the second week of March, are common by mid March, peak in early April (26% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.
When do Eastern Phoebes leave Pennsylvania?
Most Eastern Phoebes have left Pennsylvania by late October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early November.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Phoebe in Pennsylvania?
The Eastern Phoebe is reported most often in early April, on about 26% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Eastern Phoebes seen most often?
By county, Juniata County, Schuylkill County, and Blair County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Phoebe (counties with at least 200 checklists).