WhenToBird

Pandion haliaetus · Pandionidae

When Do Ospreys Arrive in Maryland?

Adult female Osprey
Photo: Bill Levine, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Ospreys reach Maryland in early March, are common by mid March, peak in the second week of August (26% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakAug 8-14the second week of August
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: the second week of August. First arrivals early March; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 26% of Maryland checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 28716 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 21449 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 21267 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 29144 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 21347 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 22166 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 29986 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 22427 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.4% of 21389 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.1% of 22192 checklistsMar 15-21: 14% of 22823 checklistsMar 22-31: 22% of 33720 checklistsApr 1-7: 25% of 25513 checklistsApr 8-14: 23% of 27718 checklistsApr 15-21: 23% of 29328 checklistsApr 22-30: 21% of 42595 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 38532 checklistsMay 8-14: 19% of 42722 checklistsMay 15-21: 18% of 31936 checklistsMay 22-31: 18% of 36903 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 23191 checklistsJun 8-14: 17% of 21853 checklistsJun 15-21: 18% of 21000 checklistsJun 22-30: 18% of 25133 checklistsJul 1-7: 18% of 18715 checklistsJul 8-14: 19% of 16376 checklistsJul 15-21: 21% of 15793 checklistsJul 22-31: 23% of 21969 checklistsAug 1-7: 26% of 16013 checklistsAug 8-14: 26% of 15249 checklistsAug 15-21: 26% of 15674 checklistsAug 22-31: 22% of 24925 checklistsSep 1-7: 18% of 19808 checklistsSep 8-14: 14% of 18513 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 21901 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.5% of 22901 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.3% of 19111 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.2% of 18482 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.5% of 17380 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.3% of 23992 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.2% of 17915 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.7% of 18905 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 16259 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 22852 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 16108 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 16512 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 18952 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 29728 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 Maryland 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 Maryland

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Queen Anne's CountyBest early August · 590 checklists that week, 26,875 in all72%
  2. Calvert CountyBest the second week of August · 673 checklists that week, 43,807 in all65%
  3. Talbot CountyBest the second week of August · 449 checklists that week, 31,140 in all57%
  4. Dorchester CountyBest early August · 224 checklists that week, 26,161 in all56%
  5. Kent CountyBest early August · 155 checklists that week, 13,396 in all51%
  6. Cecil CountyBest mid August · 239 checklists that week, 18,620 in all50%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sedgewick CoveQueen Anne's County, best early August · 66 checklists that week, 3,164 in all100%
  2. Shallow CreekBaltimore County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 257 in all100%
  3. Lynwood T Kellam Memorial Recreational ParkCalvert County, best early July · 24 checklists that week, 375 in all100%
  4. Mount Calvert Historic SitePrince George's County, best mid April · 25 checklists that week, 442 in all100%
  5. Blackwalnut CoveTalbot County, best early August · 47 checklists that week, 2,044 in all100%
  6. Queen Anne CountyQueen Anne's County, best early August · 23 checklists that week, 461 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Maryland, the Osprey is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (15% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (486) to judge1 am: too few checklists (451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (447) to judge3 am: too few checklists (766) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2076) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11098) to judge6 am: 19% of 56604 checklists7 am: 13% of 139255 checklists8 am: 11% of 148626 checklists9 am: 12% of 126820 checklists10 am: 11% of 106973 checklists11 am: 10% of 87483 checklists12 pm: 9.8% of 74808 checklists1 pm: 9.6% of 69428 checklists2 pm: 9.8% of 67800 checklists3 pm: 9.8% of 67688 checklists4 pm: 11% of 60927 checklists5 pm: 14% of 43876 checklists6 pm: 15% of 32930 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19051) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5708) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1977) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1170) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (635) 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%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
March1.4%5.1%14%22%
April25%23%23%21%
May19%19%18%18%
June18%17%18%18%
July18%19%21%23%
August26%26%26%22%
September18%14%12%9.5%
October6.3%5.2%3.5%2.3%
November1.2%0.7%0.3%0.2%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • District of Columbia: arrives early March, in the same week than Maryland
  • Delaware: arrives the second week of March, 1 week later than Maryland
  • Virginia: arrives late February, 1 week earlier than Maryland
  • Pennsylvania: arrives mid March, 2 weeks later than Maryland

Common questions

When do Ospreys arrive in Maryland?
Ospreys reach Maryland in early March, are common by mid March, peak in the second week of August (26% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Ospreys leave Maryland?
Most Ospreys have left Maryland by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late October.
When is the best time to see a Osprey in Maryland?
The Osprey is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 26% of Maryland checklists.
Where in Maryland are Ospreys seen most often?
By county, Queen Anne's County, Calvert County, and Talbot County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Osprey (counties with at least 200 checklists).