WhenToBird

Pipilo erythrophthalmus · Passerellidae

When Do Eastern Towhees Arrive in New York?

Adult male Eastern Towhee
Photo: Jonathan Layman, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Eastern Towhees reach New York in late March, are common by the second week of April, peak in early May (19% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakMay 1-7early May
Most gone byOct 22-31late October

Best: early May. First arrivals late March; most are gone by late October. Peak: on about 19% of New York checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.6% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.6% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.7% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.6% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.6% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.6% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.6% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.8% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.4% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.6% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 21% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 20% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 15% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 13% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 12% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.1% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.2% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.0% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.0% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.1% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.9% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.4% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.3% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 13% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 13% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.6% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.3% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.3% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.0% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.1% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.9% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.1% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.0% of 62470 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 New York 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 New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Columbia CountyBest the second week of May · 1186 checklists that week, 28,454 in all38%
  2. Jefferson CountyBest late May · 1254 checklists that week, 26,171 in all37%
  3. Kings CountyBest late April · 5987 checklists that week, 134,897 in all36%
  4. Chemung CountyBest mid May · 665 checklists that week, 21,260 in all35%
  5. Cortland CountyBest the second week of May · 351 checklists that week, 10,206 in all34%
  6. Dutchess CountyBest early May · 2835 checklists that week, 76,123 in all34%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Chaumont BarrensJefferson County, best the second week of May · 22 checklists that week, 345 in all99%
  2. Otis Pike Preserve - West (Jones Pond)Suffolk County, best late June · 27 checklists that week, 743 in all98%
  3. Hope G. Iselin PreserveNassau County, best mid May · 25 checklists that week, 325 in all98%
  4. Minnewaska State Park Preserve (Sams Point)Ulster County, best the second week of May · 35 checklists that week, 310 in all97%
  5. Green Lakes State ParkOnondaga County, best mid May · 33 checklists that week, 184 in all96%
  6. Town of Poughkeepsie LandDutchess County, best late April · 119 checklists that week, 1,081 in all95%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Eastern Towhee is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 16% of 124869 checklists7 am: 12% of 298506 checklists8 am: 10% of 337334 checklists9 am: 8.5% of 307787 checklists10 am: 7.1% of 270801 checklists11 am: 5.8% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 5.0% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 4.7% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 4.4% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 4.3% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 5.1% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 6.1% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 6.3% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January0.8%0.6%0.6%0.7%
February0.6%0.6%0.6%0.6%
March0.6%0.7%0.8%1.1%
April2.4%6.6%14%21%
May20%16%15%13%
June13%12%13%12%
July12%12%11%10%
August9.1%7.2%6.0%6.0%
September6.1%6.9%7.4%9.3%
October13%13%9.6%5.3%
November2.3%1.2%1.1%1.0%
December1.1%0.9%1.1%1.0%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives early March, 3 weeks earlier than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives the second week of April, 2 weeks later than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early March, 3 weeks earlier than New York
  • Vermont: arrives the second week of April, 2 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Eastern Towhees arrive in New York?
Eastern Towhees reach New York in late March, are common by the second week of April, peak in early May (19% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.
When do Eastern Towhees leave New York?
Most Eastern Towhees have left New York by late October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of November.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Towhee in New York?
The Eastern Towhee is reported most often in early May, on about 19% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Eastern Towhees seen most often?
By county, Columbia County, Jefferson County, and Kings County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Towhee (counties with at least 200 checklists).