WhenToBird

Stelgidopteryx serripennis · Hirundinidae

When Do Northern Rough-winged Swallows Arrive in Pennsylvania?

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

Northern Rough-winged Swallows reach Pennsylvania in mid March, are common by early April, peak in late April (15% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byAug 1-7early August

Best: late April. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by early August. Peak: on about 15% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  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%20%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.1% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.4% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 10% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 15% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 16% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 14% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 12% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.9% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.3% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.2% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.2% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.0% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.6% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 6.4% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.2% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.3% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.6% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.0% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.2% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.9% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.1% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.1% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.4% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.1% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.5% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Philadelphia CountyBest early July · 1095 checklists that week, 96,503 in all26%
  2. Lycoming CountyBest mid April · 728 checklists that week, 29,685 in all26%
  3. Dauphin CountyBest mid April · 1018 checklists that week, 35,877 in all25%
  4. Northampton CountyBest early May · 1874 checklists that week, 45,480 in all24%
  5. Beaver CountyBest late April · 453 checklists that week, 8,775 in all23%
  6. Perry CountyBest late April · 342 checklists that week, 10,281 in all22%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Flat Rock ParkMontgomery County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 702 in all98%
  2. Kutztown Elementary SchoolBerks County, best late April · 37 checklists that week, 301 in all94%
  3. Deadman Island (historical)Allegheny County, best late May · 33 checklists that week, 817 in all89%
  4. Schuylkill River Open SpaceMontgomery County, best mid April · 54 checklists that week, 2,272 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (6.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 8.0% of 92903 checklists7 am: 5.5% of 241233 checklists8 am: 5.1% of 271994 checklists9 am: 5.0% of 236842 checklists10 am: 4.7% of 199508 checklists11 am: 4.6% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 4.4% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 4.4% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 4.1% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 4.2% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 4.7% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 6.2% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 7.3% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 6.4% 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
January0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.3%2.1%
April6.4%10%15%16%
May14%13%12%11%
June9.9%9.3%9.2%9.2%
July8.0%7.6%6.4%6.2%
August5.3%4.6%4.0%3.2%
September2.9%2.1%2.1%2.4%
October2.1%1.5%0.8%0.3%
November0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
December0.4%0.2%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives mid March, in the same week than Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia: arrives mid March, in the same week than Pennsylvania
  • Delaware: arrives late March, 1 week later than Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey: arrives late March, 1 week later than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Northern Rough-winged Swallows arrive in Pennsylvania?
Northern Rough-winged Swallows reach Pennsylvania in mid March, are common by early April, peak in late April (15% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.
When do Northern Rough-winged Swallows leave Pennsylvania?
Most Northern Rough-winged Swallows have left Pennsylvania by early 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 Pennsylvania?
The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is reported most often in late April, on about 15% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Northern Rough-winged Swallows seen most often?
By county, Philadelphia County, Lycoming County, and Dauphin County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Rough-winged Swallow (counties with at least 200 checklists).