WhenToBird

Passerina cyanea · Cardinalidae

When Do Indigo Buntings Arrive in Virginia?

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

Indigo Buntings reach Virginia in mid April, are common by early May, peak in mid June (35% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakJun 15-21mid June
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: mid June. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 35% of Virginia checklists.

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

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 32817 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 25111 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 25510 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 34492 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 24950 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 28224 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 43578 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 26467 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 25851 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 25901 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 26747 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 40819 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 31351 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 33239 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 37284 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.6% of 54364 checklistsMay 1-7: 26% of 47698 checklistsMay 8-14: 29% of 46174 checklistsMay 15-21: 33% of 36444 checklistsMay 22-31: 33% of 43203 checklistsJun 1-7: 34% of 28503 checklistsJun 8-14: 34% of 25485 checklistsJun 15-21: 35% of 23728 checklistsJun 22-30: 35% of 28785 checklistsJul 1-7: 34% of 22294 checklistsJul 8-14: 33% of 20481 checklistsJul 15-21: 31% of 18914 checklistsJul 22-31: 30% of 26976 checklistsAug 1-7: 28% of 19555 checklistsAug 8-14: 22% of 18744 checklistsAug 15-21: 14% of 18721 checklistsAug 22-31: 10% of 28763 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.8% of 23594 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.2% of 22581 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.9% of 23036 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.8% of 29687 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.5% of 24321 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.9% of 23946 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.3% of 22191 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 30161 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 21431 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 22758 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 19988 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 27665 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 19324 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 20316 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 25675 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 38677 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 Virginia 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 Virginia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Amelia CountyBest late July · 49 checklists that week, 1,947 in all80%
  2. Charlotte CountyBest mid May · 30 checklists that week, 1,313 in all80%
  3. Russell CountyBest the second week of July · 17 checklists that week, 770 in all73%
  4. Essex CountyBest the second week of May · 98 checklists that week, 2,973 in all72%
  5. Clarke CountyBest mid June · 162 checklists that week, 8,388 in all69%
  6. Floyd CountyBest early July · 74 checklists that week, 3,783 in all68%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Manassas National Battlefield Park (Stony Ridge)Prince William County, best mid June · 29 checklists that week, 273 in all98%
  2. Richmond National Battlefield ParkHenrico County, best late May · 28 checklists that week, 546 in all96%
  3. Banshee Reeks Nature PreserveLoudoun County, best the second week of June · 27 checklists that week, 830 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In Virginia, the Indigo Bunting is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (17% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (485) to judge1 am: too few checklists (488) to judge2 am: too few checklists (423) to judge3 am: too few checklists (565) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1410) to judge5 am: too few checklists (10265) to judge6 am: 22% of 64788 checklists7 am: 15% of 169128 checklists8 am: 13% of 180748 checklists9 am: 12% of 153462 checklists10 am: 10% of 128966 checklists11 am: 9.0% of 104204 checklists12 pm: 7.8% of 91604 checklists1 pm: 7.1% of 85547 checklists2 pm: 6.7% of 82355 checklists3 pm: 6.3% of 82265 checklists4 pm: 6.6% of 76714 checklists5 pm: 8.6% of 56782 checklists6 pm: 11% of 40131 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24290) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7744) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2383) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1122) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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
January0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
March0%0%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%1.0%9.6%
May26%29%33%33%
June34%34%35%35%
July34%33%31%30%
August28%22%14%10%
September7.8%7.2%7.9%8.8%
October7.5%3.9%1.3%0.2%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0%0.1%0%

Neighboring states

  • District of Columbia: arrives mid April, in the same week than Virginia
  • Maryland: arrives late April, 1 week later than Virginia
  • West Virginia: arrives mid April, in the same week than Virginia
  • Delaware: arrives late April, 1 week later than Virginia

Common questions

When do Indigo Buntings arrive in Virginia?
Indigo Buntings reach Virginia in mid April, are common by early May, peak in mid June (35% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Indigo Buntings leave Virginia?
Most Indigo Buntings have left Virginia by the second week of 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 Virginia?
The Indigo Bunting is reported most often in mid June, on about 35% of Virginia checklists.
Where in Virginia are Indigo Buntings seen most often?
By county, Amelia County, Charlotte County, and Russell County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Indigo Bunting (counties with at least 200 checklists).