WhenToBird

Stelgidopteryx serripennis · Hirundinidae

When Do Northern Rough-winged Swallows Arrive in Kentucky?

Adult Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Photo: Peter Chen 2.0, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Rough-winged Swallows reach Kentucky in mid March, are common by late March, peak in late April (14% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byAug 15-21mid August

Best: late April. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by mid August. Peak: on about 14% of Kentucky checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 6923 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 4900 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 5016 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 6611 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 4986 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 5677 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 8880 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 5567 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 5397 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 5462 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.9% of 5733 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.2% of 9043 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.0% of 6763 checklistsApr 8-14: 11% of 7498 checklistsApr 15-21: 13% of 8486 checklistsApr 22-30: 15% of 13396 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 10825 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 11495 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 7363 checklistsMay 22-31: 12% of 8800 checklistsJun 1-7: 11% of 5381 checklistsJun 8-14: 11% of 5244 checklistsJun 15-21: 11% of 4730 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.3% of 5470 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.4% of 4567 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.0% of 4287 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.9% of 4097 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.4% of 6044 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.3% of 4647 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.0% of 4256 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.6% of 4484 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.5% of 6434 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.7% of 5450 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.5% of 5157 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.3% of 5530 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.8% of 6710 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.8% of 5403 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.4% of 5943 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.1% of 4873 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 6584 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 5008 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 4677 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 4419 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 5933 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 4479 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 4687 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 6239 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 7976 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ballard CountyBest mid August · 13 checklists that week, 513 in all63%
  2. Fulton CountyBest early October · 12 checklists that week, 1,443 in all52%
  3. Taylor CountyBest the second week of June · 12 checklists that week, 740 in all52%
  4. Logan CountyBest the second week of August · 31 checklists that week, 1,991 in all48%
  5. Russell CountyBest the second week of April · 16 checklists that week, 1,208 in all46%
  6. Greenup CountyBest late April · 11 checklists that week, 325 in all42%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Peter W. Pfeiffer Fish HatcheryFranklin County, best early May · 21 checklists that week, 1,265 in all85%
  2. Minor Clark Fish HatcheryRowan County, best late April · 38 checklists that week, 882 in all83%
  3. Putney Pond and WoodlandsJefferson County, best early June · 28 checklists that week, 1,412 in all81%

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

Best time of day

In Kentucky, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (6.3% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (140) to judge1 am: too few checklists (120) to judge2 am: too few checklists (88) to judge3 am: too few checklists (95) to judge4 am: too few checklists (151) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1289) to judge6 am: 7.5% of 8227 checklists7 am: 6.0% of 24608 checklists8 am: 5.2% of 36577 checklists9 am: 5.1% of 34626 checklists10 am: 4.9% of 28796 checklists11 am: 4.9% of 22781 checklists12 pm: 4.6% of 19848 checklists1 pm: 4.3% of 19369 checklists2 pm: 4.2% of 19367 checklists3 pm: 4.0% of 19618 checklists4 pm: 4.2% of 19464 checklists5 pm: 4.7% of 16639 checklists6 pm: 5.8% of 12714 checklists7 pm: 5.9% of 8457 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (3447) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (684) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (267) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (158) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0.1%0.9%4.2%
April9.0%11%13%15%
May13%13%11%12%
June11%11%11%8.3%
July6.4%6.0%4.9%4.4%
August5.3%5.0%4.6%3.5%
September2.7%2.5%2.3%2.8%
October1.8%1.4%1.1%0.3%
November0.1%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Tennessee: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than Kentucky
  • Indiana: arrives late March, 1 week later than Kentucky
  • Ohio: arrives late March, 1 week later than Kentucky
  • Illinois: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Kentucky

Common questions

When do Northern Rough-winged Swallows arrive in Kentucky?
Northern Rough-winged Swallows reach Kentucky in mid March, are common by late March, peak in late April (14% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.
When do Northern Rough-winged Swallows leave Kentucky?
Most Northern Rough-winged Swallows have left Kentucky by mid August, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Northern Rough-winged Swallow in Kentucky?
The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is reported most often in late April, on about 14% of Kentucky checklists.
Where in Kentucky are Northern Rough-winged Swallows seen most often?
By county, Ballard County, Fulton County, and Taylor County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Rough-winged Swallow (counties with at least 200 checklists).