WhenToBird

Dryocopus pileatus · Picidae

Pileated Woodpecker: When and Where to See It

Adult male Pileated Woodpecker
Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Pileated Woodpecker reaches District of Columbia first, around mid August, and Vermont last, around early September.

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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0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 5.2% of 1114036 checklistsJan 8-14: 5.0% of 824708 checklistsJan 15-21: 5.0% of 825978 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.4% of 1105853 checklistsFeb 1-7: 5.6% of 779772 checklistsFeb 8-14: 5.5% of 864504 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.2% of 1127933 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.1% of 840124 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.1% of 839610 checklistsMar 8-14: 6.4% of 870138 checklistsMar 15-21: 6.7% of 898456 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.4% of 1335637 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.8% of 1030617 checklistsApr 8-14: 8.3% of 1124024 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.4% of 1194575 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.9% of 1675723 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.0% of 1449080 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.4% of 1538353 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.2% of 1219898 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.5% of 1452282 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.8% of 900636 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.3% of 829907 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.9% of 773255 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.4% of 916255 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.1% of 717733 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.7% of 658223 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.5% of 638752 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.7% of 895727 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.1% of 655651 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.6% of 650038 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.3% of 654639 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.6% of 974928 checklistsSep 1-7: 8.9% of 765914 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.4% of 738674 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.8% of 750433 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.2% of 944196 checklistsOct 1-7: 8.9% of 760106 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.9% of 793131 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.2% of 728727 checklistsOct 22-31: 6.8% of 959954 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.4% of 709464 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.9% of 693424 checklistsNov 15-21: 6.0% of 653952 checklistsNov 22-30: 6.1% of 871137 checklistsDec 1-7: 5.8% of 627591 checklistsDec 8-14: 5.8% of 642427 checklistsDec 15-21: 6.3% of 775638 checklistsDec 22-31: 6.1% of 1132751 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Pooled across every state in the data, so it leans toward states with the most birders.

States, in order of first arrivals

StatePatternFirst arrivalsPeakMost gone byPeak %
CaliforniaSummer visitorJan 15-21Jun 1-7Dec 22-311.5%
Rhode IslandSummer visitorJan 22-31May 8-14Dec 8-143.8%
IdahoSummer visitorFeb 22-28Sep 1-7Jan 1-73.4%
MaineAll year, most in springMar 15-21Apr 22-30Jun 8-149.8%
MassachusettsAll year, most in springMar 22-31Apr 22-30Jun 8-146.4%
ConnecticutAll year, most in springApr 8-14May 1-7Jun 15-2111%
KansasAll year, most in springApr 15-21May 8-14May 22-315.7%
District of ColumbiaAll year, most in fallAug 15-21Sep 8-14Oct 1-725%
IowaAll year, most in fallAug 15-21Sep 8-14Sep 22-307.0%
North CarolinaAll year, most in fallAug 22-31Sep 22-30Oct 22-3121%
TennesseeAll year, most in fallAug 22-31Sep 15-21Oct 15-2121%
AlabamaAll year, most in fallAug 22-31Sep 15-21Oct 15-2116%
DelawareAll year, most in fallAug 22-31Sep 8-14Oct 8-1416%
MississippiAll year, most in fallAug 22-31Sep 22-30Oct 15-2116%
VermontAll year, most in fallSep 1-7Sep 15-21Oct 15-2113%
NebraskaSummer visitorNov 1-7May 15-21Jun 22-301.4%
South DakotaWinter visitorOct 22-31Jan 22-31Jun 1-71.0%
North DakotaWinter visitorAug 1-7Feb 1-7Jun 8-143.6%
FloridaYear-round–Sep 15-21–24%
VirginiaYear-round–Sep 15-21–23%
West VirginiaYear-round–Sep 22-30–24%
ArkansasYear-round–Sep 15-21–23%
GeorgiaYear-round–Sep 22-30–21%
MarylandYear-round–Sep 8-14–20%
South CarolinaYear-round–Sep 22-30–21%
IndianaYear-round–Apr 22-30–19%
KentuckyYear-round–Sep 15-21–19%
MissouriYear-round–Sep 15-21–17%
LouisianaYear-round–Sep 8-14–14%
PennsylvaniaYear-round–Sep 8-14–14%
MinnesotaYear-round–Sep 8-14–13%
New HampshireYear-round–May 1-7–12%
OhioYear-round–Apr 15-21–12%
MichiganYear-round–Sep 8-14–11%
New YorkYear-round–May 1-7–9.5%
WisconsinYear-round–Sep 8-14–9.9%
OklahomaYear-round–Sep 8-14–8.3%
New JerseyYear-round–Apr 15-21–7.0%
WashingtonYear-round–Apr 22-30–6.1%
IllinoisYear-round–Sep 8-14–4.8%
MontanaYear-round–Mar 1-7–5.0%
TexasYear-round–Sep 8-14–4.3%
OregonYear-round–Sep 1-7–3.2%

Winter visitor in: South Dakota, North Dakota

Passes through: Connecticut, Kansas

Summer visitor in: California, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Idaho