WhenToBird

Passerina cyanea · Cardinalidae

When Do Indigo Buntings Arrive in New York?

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

Indigo Buntings reach New York in late April, are common by the second week of May, peak in late June (13% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byMay 8-14the second week of May
PeakJun 22-30late June
Most gone byAug 1-7early August

Best: late June. First arrivals late April; most are gone by early August. Peak: on about 13% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.7% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.1% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 12% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 13% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 13% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.4% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.8% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.2% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 3.2% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.1% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.7% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.8% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.5% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.3% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.0% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.8% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Montgomery CountyBest mid July · 237 checklists that week, 17,048 in all33%
  2. Orange CountyBest late May · 2815 checklists that week, 74,227 in all33%
  3. Rockland CountyBest late May · 1406 checklists that week, 35,579 in all31%
  4. Otsego CountyBest the second week of June · 458 checklists that week, 15,810 in all31%
  5. Delaware CountyBest the second week of July · 359 checklists that week, 18,557 in all30%
  6. Putnam CountyBest late May · 466 checklists that week, 13,177 in all30%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Teatown Lake Reservation Land (Cliffdale Pond)Westchester County, best mid June · 30 checklists that week, 512 in all98%
  2. Bear Mountain State ParkRockland County, best late May · 26 checklists that week, 288 in all95%
  3. Denning PointDutchess County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 932 in all90%
  4. Ogden Mills and Ruth Livingston Mills Memorial State ParkDutchess County, best mid June · 26 checklists that week, 836 in all90%
  5. Mount Loretto Unique AreaRichmond County, best mid June · 28 checklists that week, 1,328 in all90%
  6. Flag SwampOrange County, best early June · 94 checklists that week, 1,086 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Indigo Bunting is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (6.5% of those checklists).

0%5%10%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: 8.8% of 124869 checklists7 am: 5.6% of 298506 checklists8 am: 4.4% of 337334 checklists9 am: 3.8% of 307787 checklists10 am: 3.3% of 270801 checklists11 am: 2.7% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 2.3% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 2.1% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 2.0% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 1.8% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 2.1% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 2.7% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 3.4% 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%0.1%0%0.1%
February0.1%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0.1%
April0%0.1%0.2%0.7%
May3.7%7.1%11%12%
June13%12%13%13%
July13%12%11%9.4%
August7.8%5.2%3.2%2.1%
September1.7%1.8%2.5%3.3%
October3.0%1.8%0.6%0.2%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives late April, in the same week than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives late April, in the same week than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late April, in the same week than New York
  • Vermont: arrives early May, 1 week later than New York

Common questions

When do Indigo Buntings arrive in New York?
Indigo Buntings reach New York in late April, are common by the second week of May, peak in late June (13% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.
When do Indigo Buntings leave New York?
Most Indigo Buntings have left New York by early August, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Indigo Bunting in New York?
The Indigo Bunting is reported most often in late June, on about 13% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Indigo Buntings seen most often?
By county, Montgomery County, Orange County, and Rockland County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Indigo Bunting (counties with at least 200 checklists).