WhenToBird

Eremophila alpestris · Alaudidae

When Do Horned Larks Arrive in Pennsylvania?

Adult Horned Lark
Photo: Laura Gaudette, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Horned Larks are winter birds in Pennsylvania: they arrive in late October, peak in late January (2.9% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 22-31late October
Common byOct 22-31late October
PeakJan 22-31late January
Most gone byApr 22-30late April

Best: late January. First arrivals late October; most are gone by late April. Peak: on about 2.9% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 1.8% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.9% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.8% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.7% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.3% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.7% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.8% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.7% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.7% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.4% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.2% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.1% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.9% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.8% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.8% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.8% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.5% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.6% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.5% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.5% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.5% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.7% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.6% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.4% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.6% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.4% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.0% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.4% 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. Mifflin CountyBest late February · 166 checklists that week, 6,998 in all18%
  2. Montour CountyBest mid January · 83 checklists that week, 6,082 in all14%
  3. Fulton CountyBest the second week of February · 149 checklists that week, 7,004 in all14%
  4. Northumberland CountyBest early February · 148 checklists that week, 9,183 in all12%
  5. Union CountyBest early February · 167 checklists that week, 7,238 in all11%
  6. Lawrence CountyBest mid January · 389 checklists that week, 15,430 in all10%

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Horned Lark is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 0.8% of 92903 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 241233 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 271994 checklists9 am: 1.2% of 236842 checklists10 am: 1.4% of 199508 checklists11 am: 1.3% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 1.2% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 1.2% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 1.3% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 1.2% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 1.1% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 0.8% 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
January1.8%1.9%2.8%2.7%
February3.3%2.7%1.8%1.7%
March1.7%1.4%1.2%1.1%
April0.9%0.9%0.8%0.7%
May0.7%0.6%0.6%0.8%
June0.8%0.8%0.8%0.6%
July0.4%0.4%0.3%0.3%
August0.3%0.3%0.2%0.5%
September0.6%0.5%0.4%0.5%
October0.5%0.5%0.6%0.7%
November1.1%1.2%1.6%1.4%
December1.6%1.4%2.0%1.4%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives late July, 12 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • Delaware: arrives early October, 3 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey: arrives early November, 1 week later than Pennsylvania
  • New York: arrives late October, in the same week than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Horned Larks arrive in Pennsylvania?
Horned Larks are winter birds in Pennsylvania: they arrive in late October, peak in late January (2.9% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.
When do Horned Larks leave Pennsylvania?
Most Horned Larks have left Pennsylvania by late April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Horned Lark in Pennsylvania?
The Horned Lark is reported most often in late January, on about 2.9% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Horned Larks seen most often?
By county, Mifflin County, Montour County, and Fulton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Horned Lark (counties with at least 200 checklists).