WhenToBird

Anas platyrhynchos · Anatidae

Mallard: When and Where to See It

Adult male Mallard
Photo: euqirneto, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Mallard reaches Pennsylvania first, around mid February, and Alaska last, around mid March.

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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0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 24% of 1114036 checklistsJan 8-14: 23% of 824708 checklistsJan 15-21: 22% of 825978 checklistsJan 22-31: 22% of 1105853 checklistsFeb 1-7: 22% of 779772 checklistsFeb 8-14: 20% of 864504 checklistsFeb 15-21: 19% of 1127933 checklistsFeb 22-28: 25% of 840124 checklistsMar 1-7: 27% of 839610 checklistsMar 8-14: 29% of 870138 checklistsMar 15-21: 30% of 898456 checklistsMar 22-31: 30% of 1335637 checklistsApr 1-7: 30% of 1030617 checklistsApr 8-14: 29% of 1124024 checklistsApr 15-21: 28% of 1194575 checklistsApr 22-30: 28% of 1675723 checklistsMay 1-7: 27% of 1449080 checklistsMay 8-14: 26% of 1538353 checklistsMay 15-21: 26% of 1219898 checklistsMay 22-31: 23% of 1452282 checklistsJun 1-7: 19% of 900636 checklistsJun 8-14: 17% of 829907 checklistsJun 15-21: 16% of 773255 checklistsJun 22-30: 15% of 916255 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 717733 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 658223 checklistsJul 15-21: 16% of 638752 checklistsJul 22-31: 17% of 895727 checklistsAug 1-7: 18% of 655651 checklistsAug 8-14: 19% of 650038 checklistsAug 15-21: 20% of 654639 checklistsAug 22-31: 20% of 974928 checklistsSep 1-7: 20% of 765914 checklistsSep 8-14: 20% of 738674 checklistsSep 15-21: 19% of 750433 checklistsSep 22-30: 20% of 944196 checklistsOct 1-7: 20% of 760106 checklistsOct 8-14: 21% of 793131 checklistsOct 15-21: 22% of 728727 checklistsOct 22-31: 24% of 959954 checklistsNov 1-7: 25% of 709464 checklistsNov 8-14: 25% of 693424 checklistsNov 15-21: 25% of 653952 checklistsNov 22-30: 25% of 871137 checklistsDec 1-7: 25% of 627591 checklistsDec 8-14: 23% of 642427 checklistsDec 15-21: 22% of 775638 checklistsDec 22-31: 22% of 1132751 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Pooled across every state in the data, so it leans toward states with the most birders.

States, in order of first arrivals

StatePatternFirst arrivalsPeakMost gone byPeak %
PennsylvaniaAll year, most in springFeb 15-21Mar 15-21May 8-1431%
IowaAll year, most in springFeb 22-28Mar 8-14Apr 22-3041%
NebraskaAll year, most in springFeb 22-28Apr 8-14May 8-1432%
WisconsinAll year, most in springMar 1-7Apr 8-14May 15-2148%
South DakotaAll year, most in springMar 1-7Apr 8-14May 15-2147%
MaineAll year, most in springMar 1-7Mar 22-31May 15-2132%
New HampshireAll year, most in springMar 1-7Mar 22-31May 8-1429%
MinnesotaAll year, most in springMar 8-14Apr 15-21Jun 1-755%
MontanaAll year, most in springMar 8-14Apr 15-21May 15-2151%
WyomingAll year, most in springMar 8-14Apr 15-21May 22-3145%
VermontAll year, most in springMar 8-14Apr 1-7May 8-1430%
North DakotaAll year, most in springMar 15-21Apr 22-30Jun 15-2155%
AlaskaAll year, most in springMar 15-21Apr 15-21May 15-2147%
IdahoAll year, most in winterOct 15-21Apr 1-7May 15-2150%
KansasAll year, most in winterOct 22-31Dec 8-14Apr 1-729%
North CarolinaAll year, most in winterOct 22-31Mar 8-14May 8-1418%
ArkansasAll year, most in winterOct 22-31Jan 8-14Mar 8-1416%
West VirginiaAll year, most in winterNov 1-7Dec 1-7Apr 8-1426%
MississippiAll year, most in winterNov 1-7Nov 22-30Feb 22-2811%
AlabamaAll year, most in winterNov 8-14Jan 15-21Mar 8-1412%
South CarolinaAll year, most in winterNov 8-14Jan 8-14May 1-710%
ArizonaAll year, most in winterSep 8-14Nov 22-30Apr 1-724%
District of ColumbiaYear-round–Mar 15-21–49%
IllinoisYear-round–Mar 22-31–49%
ColoradoYear-round–Apr 15-21–47%
MichiganYear-round–Apr 1-7–47%
NevadaYear-round–Jan 8-14–42%
WashingtonYear-round–Mar 15-21–41%
OhioYear-round–Mar 22-31–40%
UtahYear-round–Apr 8-14–40%
IndianaYear-round–Mar 15-21–39%
MassachusettsYear-round–Mar 22-31–39%
OregonYear-round–Apr 1-7–38%
New JerseyYear-round–Mar 15-21–36%
New YorkYear-round–Mar 22-31–37%
CaliforniaYear-round–Mar 15-21–33%
ConnecticutYear-round–Mar 22-31–32%
Rhode IslandYear-round–Mar 22-31–32%
MarylandYear-round–Mar 1-7–30%
OklahomaYear-round–Dec 1-7–30%
KentuckyYear-round–Mar 1-7–26%
DelawareYear-round–Mar 1-7–25%
VirginiaYear-round–Jan 22-31–26%
New MexicoYear-round–Dec 1-7–25%
TennesseeYear-round–Dec 1-7–24%
MissouriYear-round–Mar 1-7–20%
GeorgiaYear-round–Nov 22-30–13%
LouisianaYear-round–Jan 22-31–12%
TexasYear-round–Dec 1-7–11%
FloridaYear-round–Feb 22-28–5.4%
HawaiiYear-round–Jan 1-7–5.0%

Winter visitor in: Kansas, West Virginia, Mississippi, Arizona, Idaho, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina