WhenToBird

Dumetella carolinensis · Mimidae

When Do Gray Catbirds Arrive in New York?

Adult Gray Catbird
Photo: Melanie Gaddy, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Gray Catbirds reach New York in mid April, are common by early May, peak in mid May (59% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: mid May. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by the second week of October. Peak: on about 59% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%20%40%60%80%Jan 1-7: 1.2% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.9% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.1% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.9% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.8% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.6% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 47% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 59% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 62% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 56% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 52% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 50% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 52% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 52% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 51% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 49% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 47% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 45% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 45% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 45% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 46% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 48% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 48% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 51% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 52% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 48% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 38% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 24% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.0% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.8% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.4% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.8% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.8% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.7% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.1% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.5% 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 mid June · 600 checklists that week, 28,454 in all73%
  2. New York CountyBest the second week of May · 9537 checklists that week, 187,471 in all72%
  3. Kings CountyBest the second week of May · 5403 checklists that week, 134,897 in all72%
  4. Queens CountyBest the second week of May · 2924 checklists that week, 76,201 in all69%
  5. Dutchess CountyBest mid May · 2543 checklists that week, 76,123 in all69%
  6. Richmond CountyBest mid May · 1368 checklists that week, 55,926 in all69%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Town of Poughkeepsie LandDutchess County, best the second week of September · 20 checklists that week, 1,081 in all100%
  2. Kathryn Gorman Ponds ParkRockland County, best mid September · 24 checklists that week, 555 in all100%
  3. Yorktown HeightsWestchester County, best late August · 21 checklists that week, 443 in all100%
  4. Otsiningo County ParkBroome County, best late June · 22 checklists that week, 1,072 in all100%
  5. Elizabeth Alexandra Morton National Wildlife RefugeSuffolk County, best early July · 24 checklists that week, 806 in all100%
  6. County of Broome LandBroome County, best the second week of August · 23 checklists that week, 1,235 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Gray Catbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (37% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%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: 45% of 124869 checklists7 am: 34% of 298506 checklists8 am: 29% of 337334 checklists9 am: 26% of 307787 checklists10 am: 23% of 270801 checklists11 am: 19% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 18% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 17% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 16% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 17% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 20% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 27% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 31% 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
January1.2%1.1%0.9%1.1%
February0.9%0.8%0.7%0.9%
March0.8%0.7%0.7%0.6%
April0.6%0.7%1.2%13%
May47%59%62%56%
June52%50%52%52%
July51%49%47%45%
August45%45%46%48%
September48%51%52%48%
October38%24%13%7.0%
November3.8%2.4%2.1%1.8%
December1.8%1.7%2.1%1.5%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • Vermont: arrives late April, 1 week later than New York

Common questions

When do Gray Catbirds arrive in New York?
Gray Catbirds reach New York in mid April, are common by early May, peak in mid May (59% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.
When do Gray Catbirds leave New York?
Most Gray Catbirds have left New York by the second week of October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late October.
When is the best time to see a Gray Catbird in New York?
The Gray Catbird is reported most often in mid May, on about 59% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Gray Catbirds seen most often?
By county, Columbia County, New York County, and Kings County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Gray Catbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).