WhenToBird

Anas acuta · Anatidae

When Do Northern Pintails Arrive in Maine?

Adult Northern Pintail
Photo: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Pintails are winter birds in Maine: they arrive in late September, peak in the second week of November (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 22-30late September
Common bySep 22-30late September
PeakNov 8-14the second week of November
Most gone byApr 8-14the second week of April

Best: the second week of November. First arrivals late September; most are gone by the second week of April. Peak: on about 1.9% of Maine checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 1.1% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.0% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.1% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.1% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.9% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.5% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.6% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.9% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.6% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.8% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.3% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.1% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.4% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.0% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.1% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.5% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.7% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.5% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% of 14285 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 Maine 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 Maine

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Androscoggin CountyBest the second week of November · 313 checklists that week, 16,955 in all11%
  2. Sagadahoc CountyBest the second week of March · 338 checklists that week, 21,736 in all9.0%
  3. Penobscot CountyBest the second week of November · 823 checklists that week, 56,895 in all6.2%
  4. Kennebec CountyBest early February · 607 checklists that week, 48,185 in all3.3%
  5. York CountyBest late October · 2122 checklists that week, 101,844 in all3.1%
  6. Aroostook CountyBest the second week of November · 129 checklists that week, 16,817 in all2.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Abagadasset RiverSagadahoc County, best late March · 33 checklists that week, 167 in all56%
  2. South BasinYork County, best early March · 21 checklists that week, 287 in all55%
  3. Great Pond (Biddeford Pool)York County, best the second week of November · 21 checklists that week, 1,098 in all54%
  4. East Branch Sebasticook River ReservoirPenobscot County, best the second week of November · 82 checklists that week, 827 in all50%
  5. Sabattus PondAndroscoggin County, best early November · 39 checklists that week, 152 in all38%
  6. Round PondAndroscoggin County, best mid November · 37 checklists that week, 483 in all37%

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

Best time of day

In Maine, the Northern Pintail is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (510) to judge1 am: too few checklists (517) to judge2 am: too few checklists (581) to judge3 am: too few checklists (3242) to judge4 am: too few checklists (7221) to judge5 am: 0.1% of 19895 checklists6 am: 0.4% of 54578 checklists7 am: 0.4% of 92775 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 86962 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 78989 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 70954 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 18309 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14287) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5336) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2253) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1518) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (720) 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
January1.1%1.0%1.1%0.8%
February1.1%1.0%0.9%1.2%
March1.5%1.6%1.9%1.6%
April1.1%0.8%0.4%0.3%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0%0.1%0.1%0%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0.2%0.3%0.5%0.7%
October0.8%1.1%1.0%1.4%
November2.0%2.1%1.5%0.9%
December0.5%0.7%0.5%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • New Hampshire: arrives early January, 13 weeks later than Maine
  • Massachusetts: arrives the second week of October, 2 weeks later than Maine
  • Vermont: arrives mid February, 19 weeks later than Maine
  • Rhode Island: arrives early October, 1 week later than Maine

Common questions

When do Northern Pintails arrive in Maine?
Northern Pintails are winter birds in Maine: they arrive in late September, peak in the second week of November (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.
When do Northern Pintails leave Maine?
Most Northern Pintails have left Maine by the second week of April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Northern Pintail in Maine?
The Northern Pintail is reported most often in the second week of November, on about 1.9% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Northern Pintails seen most often?
By county, Androscoggin County, Sagadahoc County, and Penobscot County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Pintail (counties with at least 200 checklists).