WhenToBird

Setophaga americana · Parulidae

When Do Northern Parulas Arrive in New York?

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

Northern Parulas arrive in New York in mid April, peak in the second week of May (17% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of July.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Most gone byJul 8-14the second week of July

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by the second week of July. Peak: on about 17% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.6% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 19% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 15% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.6% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.9% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.9% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.7% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.6% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.2% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.7% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.1% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.5% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.8% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.6% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 11% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 8.8% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.1% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.5% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.4% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 62470 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 New York 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 New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. New York CountyBest the second week of May · 9537 checklists that week, 187,471 in all48%
  2. Kings CountyBest the second week of May · 5403 checklists that week, 134,897 in all47%
  3. Queens CountyBest the second week of May · 2924 checklists that week, 76,201 in all40%
  4. Franklin CountyBest mid June · 627 checklists that week, 20,717 in all35%
  5. Hamilton CountyBest the second week of June · 876 checklists that week, 13,964 in all34%
  6. Bronx CountyBest the second week of May · 870 checklists that week, 24,489 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Wards Island ParkNew York County, best late September · 108 checklists that week, 306 in all98%
  2. Garvies Point County PreserveNassau County, best mid September · 84 checklists that week, 826 in all91%
  3. Van Cortlandt Park (Woodlawn)Bronx County, best the second week of May · 23 checklists that week, 135 in all84%
  4. Rocky Point Pine Barrens State ForestSuffolk County, best mid September · 34 checklists that week, 392 in all84%
  5. Valley Stream State ParkNassau County, best the second week of May · 83 checklists that week, 700 in all81%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Northern Parula is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (6.6% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 7.8% of 124869 checklists7 am: 6.1% of 298506 checklists8 am: 4.8% of 337334 checklists9 am: 4.1% of 307787 checklists10 am: 3.2% of 270801 checklists11 am: 2.7% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 2.4% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 2.3% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 2.2% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 2.1% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 2.3% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 2.7% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 1.5% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0.1%
April0.1%0.2%0.4%4.6%
May16%19%15%3.6%
June1.9%1.9%1.7%1.6%
July2.2%1.7%1.1%0.3%
August0.2%0.2%0.5%1.8%
September5.6%11%15%13%
October8.8%4.1%1.5%0.4%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • Vermont: arrives late April, 1 week later than New York

Common questions

When do Northern Parulas arrive in New York?
Northern Parulas arrive in New York in mid April, peak in the second week of May (17% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of July.
When do Northern Parulas leave New York?
Most Northern Parulas have left New York by the second week of July, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Northern Parula in New York?
The Northern Parula is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 17% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Northern Parulas seen most often?
By county, New York County, Kings County, and Queens County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Parula (counties with at least 200 checklists).