WhenToBird

Leuconotopicus villosus · Picidae

When Do Hairy Woodpeckers Arrive in Pennsylvania?

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

The Hairy Woodpecker is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 9.0% in its quietest week (mid July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 22-30late September
Quietest weekJul 15-21mid July

Best: late September. Here all year. Peak: on about 18% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 16% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 16% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 16% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 15% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 12% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 12% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 12% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 13% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 13% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 13% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 13% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 13% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.9% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.9% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 10% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 10% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 9.4% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.1% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.7% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.5% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.7% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 14% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 15% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 17% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 18% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 18% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 18% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 16% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 16% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 17% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 17% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 17% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 17% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 18% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 18% of 50651 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Juniata CountyBest the second week of November · 94 checklists that week, 9,807 in all58%
  2. Jefferson CountyBest mid December · 71 checklists that week, 5,956 in all58%
  3. Bedford CountyBest late November · 171 checklists that week, 11,483 in all35%
  4. Susquehanna CountyBest late January · 289 checklists that week, 22,573 in all35%
  5. Forest CountyBest mid January · 30 checklists that week, 5,388 in all33%
  6. Venango CountyBest the second week of December · 22 checklists that week, 2,831 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Woodland LakeMonroe County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 725 in all98%
  2. Ricketts Glenn State ParkLuzerne County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 340 in all80%
  3. Owls Nest ParkBucks County, best the second week of November · 20 checklists that week, 708 in all76%
  4. Lower LakeMonroe County, best the second week of April · 31 checklists that week, 1,218 in all76%
  5. Fort Washington State Park (Lorraine Run)Montgomery County, best late January · 20 checklists that week, 970 in all71%
  6. Riverview ParkAllegheny County, best early January · 21 checklists that week, 447 in all70%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Hairy Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (19% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 18% of 92903 checklists7 am: 19% of 241233 checklists8 am: 17% of 271994 checklists9 am: 14% of 236842 checklists10 am: 13% of 199508 checklists11 am: 12% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 12% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 12% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 13% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 13% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 12% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 11% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 9.9% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 6.5% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) 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
January16%16%16%15%
February15%15%16%13%
March12%12%12%13%
April13%13%13%13%
May13%13%13%11%
June9.9%9.9%10%10%
July10%9.4%9.1%8.7%
August9.5%9.7%11%14%
September15%17%18%18%
October18%17%16%16%
November16%16%17%17%
December17%17%18%18%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: year-round, peaks late September
  • District of Columbia: all year, most in fall, peaks the second week of September
  • Delaware: all year, most in fall, peaks late September
  • New Jersey: year-round, peaks the second week of December

Common questions

When do Hairy Woodpeckers arrive in Pennsylvania?
The Hairy Woodpecker is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 9.0% in its quietest week (mid July).
When do Hairy Woodpeckers leave Pennsylvania?
The Hairy Woodpecker does not leave Pennsylvania: it is reported all year, from 9.0% of checklists in mid July to 18% in late September.
When is the best time to see a Hairy Woodpecker in Pennsylvania?
The Hairy Woodpecker is reported most often in late September, on about 18% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Hairy Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Juniata County, Jefferson County, and Bedford County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Hairy Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).