WhenToBird

Charadrius melodus · Charadriidae

When Do Piping Plovers Arrive in Florida?

Adult Piping Plover
Photo: Caroline Quinn, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Piping Plovers arrive in Florida in mid July, peak in late August (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: late August. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 1.5% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.9% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.9% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.7% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.8% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.6% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.8% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.1% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.4% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.5% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.5% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.5% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.1% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.0% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.9% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.9% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.0% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.1% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.2% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.0% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.0% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.8% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Franklin CountyBest mid August · 190 checklists that week, 20,336 in all5.9%
  2. Lee CountyBest early September · 1214 checklists that week, 110,404 in all5.6%
  3. Pinellas CountyBest the second week of October · 2571 checklists that week, 148,901 in all4.9%
  4. Broward CountyBest early August · 629 checklists that week, 57,530 in all4.3%
  5. Volusia CountyBest the second week of December · 962 checklists that week, 52,415 in all3.9%
  6. Monroe CountyBest late August · 816 checklists that week, 62,908 in all3.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. San Carlos Bay - Bunche Beach PreserveLee County, best mid November · 68 checklists that week, 4,331 in all76%
  2. Crandon BeachMiami-Dade County, best mid August · 43 checklists that week, 3,699 in all68%
  3. Saint Jean KeyPinellas County, best mid August · 87 checklists that week, 11,623 in all52%
  4. John U. Lloyd Beach State ParkBroward County, best mid August · 55 checklists that week, 2,561 in all46%
  5. Fort George InletDuval County, best mid November · 78 checklists that week, 3,199 in all45%
  6. Fort Matanzas National MonumentSt. Johns County, best late January · 29 checklists that week, 872 in all44%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Piping Plover is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 0.7% of 94591 checklists7 am: 0.9% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January0.8%0.9%0.9%0.9%
February0.9%0.7%0.5%0.7%
March0.7%0.8%0.7%0.6%
April0.5%0.5%0.5%0.4%
May0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.4%0.8%
August1.1%1.4%1.5%1.5%
September1.5%1.1%1.0%0.8%
October0.8%0.8%0.9%0.9%
November1.0%1.1%1.2%1.0%
December1.0%0.8%0.7%0.8%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives late July, 1 week later than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives mid July, in the same week than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives mid July, in the same week than Florida
  • North Carolina: arrives early March, 18 weeks earlier than Florida

Common questions

When do Piping Plovers arrive in Florida?
Piping Plovers arrive in Florida in mid July, peak in late August (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Piping Plovers leave Florida?
Most Piping Plovers have left Florida by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Piping Plover in Florida?
The Piping Plover is reported most often in late August, on about 1.5% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Piping Plovers seen most often?
By county, Franklin County, Lee County, and Pinellas County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Piping Plover (counties with at least 200 checklists).