WhenToBird

Tringa melanoleuca · Scolopacidae

When Do Greater Yellowlegses Arrive in New York?

Adult Greater Yellowlegs
Photo: Irina Mitine, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Greater Yellowlegses reach New York in early July, are common by the second week of July, peak in late August (6.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 1-7early July
Common byJul 8-14the second week of July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone byNov 8-14the second week of November

Best: late August. First arrivals early July; most are gone by the second week of November. Peak: on about 6.4% of New York checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0.3% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.3% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.2% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.9% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.0% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.3% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.7% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.1% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.9% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.1% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.1% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.4% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.5% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.3% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.0% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.1% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.7% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.3% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.4% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.8% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.3% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.3% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.2% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.0% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.9% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.2% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.4% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.4% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.7% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.7% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.5% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% 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. Seneca CountyBest late August · 1382 checklists that week, 47,387 in all40%
  2. Queens CountyBest the second week of August · 1254 checklists that week, 76,201 in all31%
  3. Genesee CountyBest early September · 358 checklists that week, 17,726 in all21%
  4. Nassau CountyBest the second week of August · 1233 checklists that week, 95,019 in all20%
  5. Clinton CountyBest mid October · 131 checklists that week, 8,764 in all18%
  6. Wayne CountyBest mid April · 1035 checklists that week, 37,738 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Santapogue NeckSuffolk County, best early September · 38 checklists that week, 634 in all97%
  2. Montezuma Wetlands - Carncross Salt Marsh PreserveWayne County, best late April · 105 checklists that week, 1,535 in all91%
  3. Timber Point State Tidal WetlandSuffolk County, best the second week of September · 25 checklists that week, 1,645 in all91%
  4. Turtle Cove (Rodman Neck)Bronx County, best mid April · 29 checklists that week, 1,187 in all91%
  5. Parsonage CoveNassau County, best early October · 112 checklists that week, 5,941 in all90%
  6. Northern Montezuma Wma (Crusoe Creek)Wayne County, best the second week of July · 24 checklists that week, 447 in all90%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Greater Yellowlegs is most often listed on checklists started between 4 and 6 pm (2.7% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%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: 3.0% of 124869 checklists7 am: 2.2% of 298506 checklists8 am: 2.2% of 337334 checklists9 am: 2.7% of 307787 checklists10 am: 2.4% of 270801 checklists11 am: 2.4% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 2.1% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 2.2% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 2.2% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 2.1% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 2.9% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 2.5% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 2.5% 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
January0.3%0.3%0.3%0.4%
February0.3%0.2%0.2%0.2%
March0.2%0.3%0.4%1.0%
April1.9%3.0%4.3%4.7%
May4.1%3.1%1.9%1.1%
June0.6%0.4%0.2%0.4%
July1.1%2.4%3.5%4.3%
August5.0%6.1%6.7%6.3%
September6.4%4.8%4.3%4.3%
October4.2%4.0%3.9%4.2%
November3.4%2.4%1.7%0.7%
December0.5%0.4%0.5%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives late June, 1 week earlier than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives late June, 1 week earlier than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early April, 12 weeks earlier than New York
  • Vermont: arrives late July, 3 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Greater Yellowlegses arrive in New York?
Greater Yellowlegses reach New York in early July, are common by the second week of July, peak in late August (6.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.
When do Greater Yellowlegses leave New York?
Most Greater Yellowlegses have left New York by the second week of November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid November.
When is the best time to see a Greater Yellowlegs in New York?
The Greater Yellowlegs is reported most often in late August, on about 6.4% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Greater Yellowlegses seen most often?
By county, Seneca County, Queens County, and Genesee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Greater Yellowlegs (counties with at least 200 checklists).