WhenToBird

Colaptes auratus · Picidae

When Do Northern Flickers Arrive in Pennsylvania?

Adult male Northern Flicker
Photo: Ben, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Flickers are in Pennsylvania all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from late March, peak in mid April (39% of checklists), and fall back by late May. In the quietest week (the second week of February) they are still on about 10% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 22-31late March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Fall back byMay 22-31late May
FewestFeb 8-14the second week of February

Best: mid April. Here all year; numbers build from late March and fall back by late May. Peak: on about 39% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 12% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 11% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 11% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 10% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 10% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 10% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 9.6% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 11% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 24% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 34% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 41% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 41% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 37% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 33% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 28% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 27% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 25% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 24% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 23% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 24% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 24% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 25% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 26% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 25% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 24% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 23% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 23% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 24% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 27% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 31% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 35% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 40% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 39% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 38% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 32% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 28% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 25% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 22% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 20% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 18% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 18% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 16% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 15% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 16% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 15% 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.

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Where in Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bucks CountyBest late September · 2017 checklists that week, 95,030 in all55%
  2. Fulton CountyBest early October · 83 checklists that week, 7,004 in all52%
  3. Chester CountyBest the second week of April · 3427 checklists that week, 144,121 in all51%
  4. Philadelphia CountyBest the second week of April · 2521 checklists that week, 96,503 in all51%
  5. Montour CountyBest mid April · 191 checklists that week, 6,082 in all51%
  6. Lancaster CountyBest the second week of October · 1571 checklists that week, 97,892 in all49%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Woodland LakeMonroe County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 725 in all100%
  2. Union Twp. Recreation AreaBerks County, best the second week of October · 25 checklists that week, 729 in all97%
  3. Doylestown Bike & Hike PathBucks County, best the second week of April · 20 checklists that week, 779 in all96%
  4. Schuylkill Rowing Basin (Lemon Hill)Philadelphia County, best the second week of September · 21 checklists that week, 419 in all94%
  5. Janet Johnston Housenick & William D. Housenick Memorial ParkNorthampton County, best the second week of April · 103 checklists that week, 3,889 in all94%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Northern Flicker is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (33% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%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: 36% of 92903 checklists7 am: 33% of 241233 checklists8 am: 31% of 271994 checklists9 am: 27% of 236842 checklists10 am: 23% of 199508 checklists11 am: 20% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 19% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 19% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 18% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 18% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 18% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 22% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 22% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 15% 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
January12%11%11%10%
February10%10%9.6%11%
March11%13%16%24%
April34%41%41%37%
May33%28%27%25%
June24%23%24%24%
July25%26%25%24%
August23%23%24%27%
September31%35%40%39%
October38%32%28%25%
November22%20%18%18%
December16%15%16%15%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives mid September, 23 weeks later than Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia: arrives late August, 20 weeks later than Pennsylvania
  • Delaware: arrives mid September, 23 weeks later than Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey: arrives early September, 21 weeks later than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Northern Flickers arrive in Pennsylvania?
Northern Flickers are in Pennsylvania all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from late March, peak in mid April (39% of checklists), and fall back by late May. In the quietest week (the second week of February) they are still on about 10% of checklists.
When do Northern Flickers leave Pennsylvania?
Northern Flickers never fully leave Pennsylvania: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late May, but some are still reported in every week, about 10% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Northern Flicker in Pennsylvania?
The Northern Flicker is reported most often in mid April, on about 39% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Northern Flickers seen most often?
By county, Bucks County, Fulton County, and Chester County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Flicker (counties with at least 200 checklists).