WhenToBird

Limosa fedoa · Scolopacidae

When Do Marbled Godwits Arrive in Florida?

Adult Marbled Godwit
Photo: Elliott Gordon, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Marbled Godwits arrive in Florida in mid June, peak in late August (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 15-21mid June
Common byJun 15-21mid June
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone byApr 22-30late April

Best: late August. First arrivals mid June; most are gone by late April. Peak: on about 1.5% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.7% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.6% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.8% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.6% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.6% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.6% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.8% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.9% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.8% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.3% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.3% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.3% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.1% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.2% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.2% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.3% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.4% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.4% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.4% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.7% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.3% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.1% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.0% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.1% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.0% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.9% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.0% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.7% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.7% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Taylor CountyBest the second week of August · 22 checklists that week, 1,937 in all43%
  2. Franklin CountyBest late August · 274 checklists that week, 20,336 in all19%
  3. Wakulla CountyBest late September · 337 checklists that week, 27,521 in all10%
  4. Dixie CountyBest late October · 41 checklists that week, 2,113 in all9.0%
  5. Pinellas CountyBest late July · 2093 checklists that week, 148,901 in all8.8%
  6. Lee CountyBest mid August · 985 checklists that week, 110,404 in all7.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Fred Howard County ParkPinellas County, best late October · 49 checklists that week, 1,778 in all87%
  2. San Carlos Bay - Bunche Beach PreserveLee County, best mid September · 45 checklists that week, 4,331 in all81%
  3. Courtney Campbell Boat RampHillsborough County, best late January · 30 checklists that week, 421 in all69%
  4. Saint Jean KeyPinellas County, best mid July · 114 checklists that week, 11,623 in all66%
  5. Double PondFranklin County, best late March · 70 checklists that week, 2,632 in all62%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Marbled Godwit is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 0.6% of 94591 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.9% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January0.8%0.8%0.7%0.6%
February0.8%0.6%0.5%0.6%
March0.6%0.7%0.7%0.8%
April0.9%0.8%0.7%0.4%
May0.3%0.3%0.3%0.3%
June0.3%0.4%0.3%0.5%
July0.7%1.1%1.2%1.2%
August1.3%1.4%1.4%1.4%
September1.7%1.3%1.2%0.8%
October1.1%1.0%1.1%1.0%
November0.9%1.0%0.9%0.9%
December0.7%0.7%0.7%0.7%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives mid July, 4 weeks later than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives the second week of September, 11 weeks later than Florida
  • North Carolina: arrives early July, 2 weeks later than Florida
  • Delaware: arrives mid September, 12 weeks later than Florida

Common questions

When do Marbled Godwits arrive in Florida?
Marbled Godwits arrive in Florida in mid June, peak in late August (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.
When do Marbled Godwits leave Florida?
Most Marbled Godwits have left Florida by late April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Marbled Godwit in Florida?
The Marbled Godwit is reported most often in late August, on about 1.5% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Marbled Godwits seen most often?
By county, Taylor County, Franklin County, and Wakulla County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Marbled Godwit (counties with at least 200 checklists).