WhenToBird

Setophaga americana · Parulidae

When Do Northern Parulas Arrive in Louisiana?

Adult Northern Parula
Photo: Terry Woodward, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Parulas reach Louisiana in late February, are common by early March, peak in early April (16% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 22-28late February
Common byMar 1-7early March
PeakApr 1-7early April
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: early April. First arrivals late February; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 16% of Louisiana checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febrare
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 8384 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 6265 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 6825 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 8776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 5956 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 6291 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 8044 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 5946 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.4% of 5981 checklistsMar 8-14: 10% of 6307 checklistsMar 15-21: 15% of 6747 checklistsMar 22-31: 17% of 10487 checklistsApr 1-7: 16% of 8037 checklistsApr 8-14: 15% of 9577 checklistsApr 15-21: 13% of 11372 checklistsApr 22-30: 11% of 14344 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.5% of 8193 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.4% of 6823 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.0% of 4818 checklistsMay 22-31: 9.8% of 6206 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.7% of 3660 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.1% of 3455 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.2% of 3084 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.3% of 3904 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.3% of 3240 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.5% of 3235 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.8% of 3167 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.7% of 4328 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 3192 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.2% of 3394 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.9% of 3502 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.5% of 5658 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.0% of 4366 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.0% of 4648 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.3% of 4369 checklistsSep 22-30: 7.1% of 6418 checklistsOct 1-7: 8.4% of 5375 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.6% of 6213 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.1% of 5553 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.1% of 8879 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 6231 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 5011 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 4856 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 6696 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 4530 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 4883 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 5833 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 9940 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. East Feliciana ParishBest late March · 47 checklists that week, 1,037 in all69%
  2. West Feliciana ParishBest late March · 83 checklists that week, 2,336 in all58%
  3. St. James ParishBest mid March · 11 checklists that week, 667 in all50%
  4. Assumption ParishBest the second week of June · 25 checklists that week, 1,199 in all47%
  5. St. Martin ParishBest mid March · 173 checklists that week, 4,923 in all46%
  6. La Salle ParishBest early April · 25 checklists that week, 847 in all45%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Pearl River Wildlife Management AreaSt. Tammany Parish, best mid May · 21 checklists that week, 505 in all96%
  2. Port Hudson State Historic SiteEast Feliciana Parish, best late March · 35 checklists that week, 679 in all96%
  3. Tickfaw State ParkLivingston Parish, best late March · 28 checklists that week, 674 in all86%
  4. Lake VillarsAscension Parish, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 234 in all84%
  5. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and PreserveJefferson Parish, best early April · 35 checklists that week, 789 in all83%

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

Best time of day

In Louisiana, the Northern Parula is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (7.2% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (110) to judge1 am: too few checklists (95) to judge2 am: too few checklists (78) to judge3 am: too few checklists (145) to judge4 am: too few checklists (266) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2981) to judge6 am: 5.7% of 21115 checklists7 am: 7.1% of 38843 checklists8 am: 7.4% of 36306 checklists9 am: 6.8% of 31934 checklists10 am: 5.6% of 27208 checklists11 am: 5.3% of 20733 checklists12 pm: 4.6% of 18505 checklists1 pm: 5.0% of 17383 checklists2 pm: 4.7% of 17422 checklists3 pm: 4.4% of 17005 checklists4 pm: 4.0% of 17170 checklists5 pm: 4.1% of 12536 checklists6 pm: 2.8% of 8080 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3798) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (676) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (311) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (206) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (93) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.2%0.1%0.1%0.3%
March3.4%10%15%17%
April16%15%13%11%
May9.5%8.4%9.0%9.8%
June8.7%9.1%7.2%6.3%
July5.3%3.5%1.8%1.7%
August1.4%1.2%1.9%2.5%
September3.0%4.0%4.3%7.1%
October8.4%7.6%6.1%3.1%
November0.5%0.6%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Mississippi: arrives early March, 1 week later than Louisiana
  • Alabama: arrives early March, 1 week later than Louisiana
  • Texas: arrives the second week of March, 2 weeks later than Louisiana
  • Arkansas: arrives mid March, 3 weeks later than Louisiana

Common questions

When do Northern Parulas arrive in Louisiana?
Northern Parulas reach Louisiana in late February, are common by early March, peak in early April (16% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Northern Parulas leave Louisiana?
Most Northern Parulas have left Louisiana by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early November.
When is the best time to see a Northern Parula in Louisiana?
The Northern Parula is reported most often in early April, on about 16% of Louisiana checklists.
Where in Louisiana are Northern Parulas seen most often?
By county, East Feliciana Parish, West Feliciana Parish, and St. James Parish have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Parula (counties with at least 200 checklists).