WhenToBird

Catharus minimus · Turdidae

When Do Gray-cheeked Thrushes Arrive in North Carolina?

Adult Gray-cheeked Thrush
Photo: Jonathan Layman, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Gray-cheeked Thrushes mostly pass through North Carolina: they arrive in mid September, peak in early October (2.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: early October. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by the second week of October. Peak: on about 2.6% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.5% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.4% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.0% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% 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. Rockingham CountyBest early October · 199 checklists that week, 11,764 in all15%
  2. Stokes CountyBest early October · 102 checklists that week, 5,660 in all12%
  3. Graham CountyBest mid September · 52 checklists that week, 2,381 in all12%
  4. Henderson CountyBest early October · 650 checklists that week, 33,437 in all8.1%
  5. Transylvania CountyBest early October · 385 checklists that week, 18,992 in all7.6%
  6. McDowell CountyBest early October · 120 checklists that week, 5,848 in all7.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Swift Creek BluffsWake County, best late September · 42 checklists that week, 462 in all36%
  2. Santeetlah GapGraham County, best late September · 50 checklists that week, 341 in all22%
  3. Mecklenburg County Open Space - Latta ParkMecklenburg County, best late May · 37 checklists that week, 1,868 in all18%
  4. Triangle Land Conservancy - Johnston Mill Nature PreserveOrange County, best late September · 27 checklists that week, 691 in all18%
  5. Lake OverlookOrange County, best the second week of October · 24 checklists that week, 631 in all16%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Gray-cheeked Thrush is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.6% of 50335 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 150152 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 182902 checklists9 am: 0.2% of 158933 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 128398 checklists11 am: 0.1% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 0.1% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 0.1% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 0.1% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 0.1% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 0.1% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 0.1% 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0%0.1%0.1%
May0.2%0.7%0.5%0.1%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0.1%
September0.1%0.2%1.2%2.5%
October3.4%2.0%0.7%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives mid September, in the same week than North Carolina
  • Virginia: arrives mid September, in the same week than North Carolina
  • West Virginia: arrives mid September, in the same week than North Carolina
  • District of Columbia: arrives early May, 18 weeks earlier than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Gray-cheeked Thrushes arrive in North Carolina?
Gray-cheeked Thrushes mostly pass through North Carolina: they arrive in mid September, peak in early October (2.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.
When do Gray-cheeked Thrushes leave North Carolina?
Most Gray-cheeked Thrushes have left North Carolina by the second week of October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Gray-cheeked Thrush in North Carolina?
The Gray-cheeked Thrush is reported most often in early October, on about 2.6% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Gray-cheeked Thrushes seen most often?
By county, Rockingham County, Stokes County, and Graham County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Gray-cheeked Thrush (counties with at least 200 checklists).