WhenToBird

Anas platyrhynchos · Anatidae

When Do Mallards Arrive in Pennsylvania?

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

Mallards are in Pennsylvania all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in mid March (31% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of May. In the quietest week (late June) they are still on about 9.8% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildFeb 15-21mid February
PeakMar 15-21mid March
Fall back byMay 8-14the second week of May
FewestJun 22-30late June

Best: mid March. Here all year; numbers build from mid February and fall back by the second week of May. Peak: on about 31% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 22% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 20% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 18% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 19% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 19% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 18% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 27% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 30% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 30% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 31% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 31% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 29% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 28% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 26% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 24% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 22% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 20% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 19% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 17% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 11% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.6% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.7% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 15% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 17% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 18% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 17% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 17% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 14% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 18% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 18% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 20% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 21% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 23% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 24% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 23% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 22% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 19% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 20% of 50651 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 Pennsylvania 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Montour CountyBest the second week of March · 161 checklists that week, 6,082 in all52%
  2. Mifflin CountyBest the second week of March · 146 checklists that week, 6,998 in all50%
  3. Northampton CountyBest late March · 1606 checklists that week, 45,480 in all49%
  4. Wyoming CountyBest early December · 73 checklists that week, 6,156 in all47%
  5. Lebanon CountyBest early March · 915 checklists that week, 33,727 in all45%
  6. Philadelphia CountyBest mid March · 1904 checklists that week, 96,503 in all45%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Reedy SpringBerks County, best mid January · 56 checklists that week, 1,113 in all100%
  2. WoodburyBedford County, best the second week of December · 45 checklists that week, 113 in all100%
  3. Lake KayAdams County, best early January · 37 checklists that week, 476 in all100%
  4. Stover's Dam ParkLebanon County, best late October · 25 checklists that week, 543 in all100%
  5. Childrens LakeCumberland County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 1,655 in all100%
  6. Sweet Arrow Lake County ParkSchuylkill County, best the second week of October · 20 checklists that week, 566 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Mallard is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (22% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 20% of 92903 checklists7 am: 19% of 241233 checklists8 am: 19% of 271994 checklists9 am: 20% of 236842 checklists10 am: 20% of 199508 checklists11 am: 20% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 20% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 21% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 22% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 22% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 22% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 21% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 21% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 17% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) 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%18%19%
February19%19%18%27%
March30%30%31%31%
April29%28%26%24%
May22%20%19%17%
June13%11%10%9.6%
July9.7%11%13%15%
August17%18%17%17%
September16%15%14%16%
October17%18%18%20%
November21%23%23%24%
December23%22%19%20%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Mallards arrive in Pennsylvania?
Mallards are in Pennsylvania all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in mid March (31% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of May. In the quietest week (late June) they are still on about 9.8% of checklists.
When do Mallards leave Pennsylvania?
Mallards never fully leave Pennsylvania: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of May, but some are still reported in every week, about 9.8% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Mallard in Pennsylvania?
The Mallard is reported most often in mid March, on about 31% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Mallards seen most often?
By county, Montour County, Mifflin County, and Northampton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mallard (counties with at least 200 checklists).