WhenToBird

Passerina cyanea · Cardinalidae

When Do Indigo Buntings Arrive in Florida?

Adult male Indigo Bunting
Photo: Kathy Richardson, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Indigo Buntings are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in mid September, peak in mid October (9.1% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of December.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakOct 15-21mid October
Most gone byDec 8-14the second week of December

Best: mid October. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by the second week of December. Peak: on about 9.1% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0.9% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.0% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.2% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.3% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.2% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.2% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.2% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.2% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.6% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.6% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.2% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.4% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.7% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.9% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.8% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.2% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.8% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.1% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.0% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.0% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.9% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.8% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.9% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.8% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.6% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.5% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.5% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.1% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.1% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.4% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.4% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.2% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.7% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Calhoun CountyBest the second week of June · 15 checklists that week, 570 in all44%
  2. Jefferson CountyBest the second week of July · 63 checklists that week, 4,323 in all43%
  3. Jackson CountyBest late July · 32 checklists that week, 1,959 in all32%
  4. Gilchrist CountyBest the second week of October · 31 checklists that week, 1,979 in all32%
  5. Washington CountyBest the second week of October · 22 checklists that week, 1,773 in all29%
  6. Santa Rosa CountyBest mid April · 457 checklists that week, 15,001 in all29%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Felts Audubon PreserveManatee County, best the second week of March · 60 checklists that week, 1,978 in all95%
  2. J. R. Alford GreenwayLeon County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 638 in all81%
  3. Chapmans Pond at Kanapaha ParkAlachua County, best the second week of October · 99 checklists that week, 1,537 in all78%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Indigo Bunting is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (3.5% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 2.3% of 94591 checklists7 am: 3.8% of 296183 checklists8 am: 3.3% of 319987 checklists9 am: 2.5% of 254830 checklists10 am: 2.1% of 209480 checklists11 am: 1.8% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 1.7% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 1.7% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 1.7% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 1.8% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 1.8% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 1.7% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January0.9%1.0%1.2%1.3%
February1.2%1.2%1.2%1.2%
March1.2%1.6%1.6%2.2%
April3.4%5.7%8.9%6.8%
May4.2%1.8%1.1%1.0%
June1.3%1.0%0.9%1.0%
July0.9%0.8%1.0%0.9%
August0.9%0.8%0.6%0.5%
September0.4%0.4%0.8%1.5%
October4.1%8.1%11%8.4%
November4.4%2.2%1.1%0.9%
December0.8%0.8%0.7%0.7%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives the second week of April, 21 weeks earlier than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives the second week of April, 21 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives late March, 23 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives late March, 23 weeks earlier than Florida

Common questions

When do Indigo Buntings arrive in Florida?
Indigo Buntings are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in mid September, peak in mid October (9.1% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of December.
When do Indigo Buntings leave Florida?
Most Indigo Buntings have left Florida by the second week of December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Indigo Bunting in Florida?
The Indigo Bunting is reported most often in mid October, on about 9.1% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Indigo Buntings seen most often?
By county, Calhoun County, Jefferson County, and Jackson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Indigo Bunting (counties with at least 200 checklists).