WhenToBird

Anas platyrhynchos · Anatidae

When Do Mallards Arrive in Maine?

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

Mallards are in Maine all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from early March, peak in late March (32% of checklists), and fall back by mid May. In the quietest week (early July) they are still on about 9.4% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 1-7early March
PeakMar 22-31late March
Fall back byMay 15-21mid May
FewestJul 1-7early July

Best: late March. Here all year; numbers build from early March and fall back by mid May. Peak: on about 32% of Maine checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 22% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 20% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 20% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 18% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 17% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 20% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 23% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 25% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 30% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 32% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 32% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 29% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 28% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 28% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 25% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 24% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 23% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 15% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 11% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.9% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.6% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 9.9% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 14% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 15% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 16% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 16% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 19% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 20% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 19% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 20% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 22% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 24% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 27% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 26% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 25% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 23% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 21% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 21% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 20% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 20% of 14285 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 Maine 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 Maine

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Androscoggin CountyBest early November · 353 checklists that week, 16,955 in all58%
  2. Aroostook CountyBest late September · 271 checklists that week, 16,817 in all47%
  3. Penobscot CountyBest early April · 1452 checklists that week, 56,895 in all47%
  4. Knox CountyBest the second week of January · 523 checklists that week, 34,453 in all41%
  5. Kennebec CountyBest late March · 1524 checklists that week, 48,185 in all38%
  6. Sagadahoc CountyBest late March · 593 checklists that week, 21,736 in all37%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nonesuch CoveCumberland County, best mid November · 41 checklists that week, 1,083 in all100%
  2. Medomak River ReservoirLincoln County, best late October · 22 checklists that week, 870 in all100%
  3. South BasinYork County, best late January · 21 checklists that week, 287 in all100%
  4. East Branch Sebasticook River ReservoirPenobscot County, best early November · 57 checklists that week, 827 in all99%

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

Best time of day

In Maine, the Mallard is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (22% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (510) to judge1 am: too few checklists (517) to judge2 am: too few checklists (581) to judge3 am: too few checklists (3242) to judge4 am: too few checklists (7221) to judge5 am: 20% of 19895 checklists6 am: 22% of 54578 checklists7 am: 21% of 92775 checklists8 am: 20% of 86962 checklists9 am: 19% of 78989 checklists10 am: 19% of 70954 checklists11 am: 18% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 19% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 20% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 21% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 20% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 20% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 19% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 17% of 18309 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14287) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5336) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2253) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1518) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (720) 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
January22%20%20%19%
February18%17%16%20%
March23%25%30%32%
April32%29%28%28%
May25%24%23%19%
June15%12%11%8.9%
July9.6%9.9%10%11%
August14%15%15%16%
September16%16%19%20%
October19%20%22%24%
November27%26%25%23%
December21%21%20%20%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Mallards arrive in Maine?
Mallards are in Maine all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from early March, peak in late March (32% of checklists), and fall back by mid May. In the quietest week (early July) they are still on about 9.4% of checklists.
When do Mallards leave Maine?
Mallards never fully leave Maine: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid May, but some are still reported in every week, about 9.4% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Mallard in Maine?
The Mallard is reported most often in late March, on about 32% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Mallards seen most often?
By county, Androscoggin County, Aroostook County, and Penobscot County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mallard (counties with at least 200 checklists).