WhenToBird

Leuconotopicus villosus · Picidae

When Do Hairy Woodpeckers Arrive in Maine?

Adult male Hairy Woodpecker
Photo: yongestation, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Hairy Woodpecker is in Maine all year. It turns up on about 21% of checklists at its peak (mid December) and on 11% in its quietest week (mid July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 15-21mid December
Quietest weekJul 15-21mid July

Best: mid December. Here all year. Peak: on about 21% of Maine checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 18% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 18% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 18% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 21% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 20% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 21% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 19% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 18% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 17% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 16% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 16% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 17% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 18% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 18% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 20% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 18% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 15% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 11% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 10% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 12% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 13% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 14% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 18% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 17% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 19% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 21% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 20% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 20% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 20% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 18% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 19% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 19% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 21% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 21% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 20% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 21% of 14285 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 Maine 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 Maine

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Piscataquis CountyBest late November · 64 checklists that week, 14,837 in all43%
  2. Somerset CountyBest early December · 40 checklists that week, 12,202 in all41%
  3. Aroostook CountyBest the second week of February · 122 checklists that week, 16,817 in all38%
  4. Washington CountyBest early December · 146 checklists that week, 35,967 in all37%
  5. Franklin CountyBest mid February · 215 checklists that week, 14,182 in all37%
  6. Lincoln CountyBest the second week of November · 623 checklists that week, 59,429 in all35%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Great Pond (Richards Pond)Cumberland County, best the second week of April · 33 checklists that week, 628 in all65%
  2. Fields Pond Audubon CenterPenobscot County, best early May · 60 checklists that week, 987 in all60%
  3. Knights CornerWaldo County, best late January · 26 checklists that week, 779 in all58%
  4. Prays Brook Marsh PreserveHancock County, best the second week of May · 39 checklists that week, 304 in all56%

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

Best time of day

In Maine, the Hairy Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (26% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (510) to judge1 am: too few checklists (517) to judge2 am: too few checklists (581) to judge3 am: too few checklists (3242) to judge4 am: too few checklists (7221) to judge5 am: 23% of 19895 checklists6 am: 26% of 54578 checklists7 am: 26% of 92775 checklists8 am: 21% of 86962 checklists9 am: 17% of 78989 checklists10 am: 14% of 70954 checklists11 am: 12% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 12% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 12% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 12% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 12% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 12% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 12% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 10% of 18309 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14287) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5336) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2253) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1518) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (720) 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
January18%18%18%19%
February21%20%21%19%
March18%18%17%16%
April16%17%18%18%
May18%20%18%15%
June13%12%12%11%
July11%10%10%11%
August12%12%13%14%
September16%18%17%19%
October21%20%20%20%
November18%18%19%19%
December21%21%20%21%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Hairy Woodpeckers arrive in Maine?
The Hairy Woodpecker is in Maine all year. It turns up on about 21% of checklists at its peak (mid December) and on 11% in its quietest week (mid July).
When do Hairy Woodpeckers leave Maine?
The Hairy Woodpecker does not leave Maine: it is reported all year, from 11% of checklists in mid July to 21% in mid December.
When is the best time to see a Hairy Woodpecker in Maine?
The Hairy Woodpecker is reported most often in mid December, on about 21% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Hairy Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Piscataquis County, Somerset County, and Aroostook County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Hairy Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).