WhenToBird

Charadrius melodus · Charadriidae

When Do Piping Plovers Arrive in Illinois?

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

Piping Plovers arrive in Illinois in mid April, peak in late July (3.0% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakJul 22-31late July
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: late July. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 3.0% of Illinois checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 29700 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 20189 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 19784 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 26641 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 20478 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 21967 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 28735 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 24223 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 26775 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 27579 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 27193 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 42278 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 34579 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 38290 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 39261 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.7% of 59584 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.1% of 60485 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.4% of 59647 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.0% of 43173 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.1% of 47913 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.6% of 31151 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 27692 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.3% of 23983 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.5% of 28448 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.0% of 21273 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.2% of 19284 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.9% of 17712 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.3% of 24500 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.6% of 18498 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.9% of 19331 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 19983 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 31892 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 26396 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 25011 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 23597 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 30638 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 23949 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 24412 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 22359 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 29794 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.3% of 21877 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 19742 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 18989 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 23905 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 16935 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 16687 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 20931 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 29011 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 Illinois 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 Illinois

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cook CountyBest mid July · 5031 checklists that week, 432,644 in all8.9%
  2. Lake CountyBest early August · 1499 checklists that week, 113,940 in all5.8%
  3. Logan CountyBest late April · 77 checklists that week, 1,522 in all2.0%
  4. Mason CountyBest early October · 44 checklists that week, 5,020 in all1.4%
  5. McLean CountyBest late May · 936 checklists that week, 24,517 in all0.5%
  6. Rock Island CountyBest the second week of August · 254 checklists that week, 12,910 in all0.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Waukegan BeachLake County, best late June · 49 checklists that week, 658 in all87%
  2. Lincoln (Abraham) (Montrose - Wilson Beach)Cook County, best the second week of July · 86 checklists that week, 3,062 in all84%
  3. Lincoln (Abraham)Cook County, best mid July · 556 checklists that week, 40,318 in all66%
  4. Jackson (Andrew) (Jackson Park Beach)Cook County, best the second week of August · 36 checklists that week, 754 in all61%
  5. Lincoln (Abraham) (northwest)Cook County, best mid May · 20 checklists that week, 299 in all57%
  6. North Beach ParkLake County, best early August · 200 checklists that week, 5,726 in all38%

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

Best time of day

In Illinois, the Piping Plover is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (484) to judge1 am: too few checklists (631) to judge2 am: too few checklists (485) to judge3 am: too few checklists (610) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2321) to judge5 am: too few checklists (23536) to judge6 am: 1.7% of 95511 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 164584 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 163654 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 141804 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 122882 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 100640 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 89894 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 82729 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 79801 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 82169 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 75124 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 57708 checklists6 pm: 0.7% of 41843 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (20943) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6131) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1677) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (843) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (448) 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%0.1%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0.1%0.3%0.5%1.7%
May1.1%1.4%2.0%2.1%
June1.6%1.2%1.3%1.5%
July2.0%2.2%2.9%3.3%
August2.6%1.9%0.7%0.2%
September0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
October0%0%0.1%0.2%
November0.3%0.1%0.1%0.2%
December0.2%0.1%0%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Michigan: arrives the second week of May, 3 weeks later than Illinois
  • Nebraska: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than Illinois
  • Alabama: arrives mid July, 12 weeks later than Illinois
  • North Carolina: arrives early March, 6 weeks earlier than Illinois

Common questions

When do Piping Plovers arrive in Illinois?
Piping Plovers arrive in Illinois in mid April, peak in late July (3.0% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Piping Plovers leave Illinois?
Most Piping Plovers have left Illinois by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Piping Plover in Illinois?
The Piping Plover is reported most often in late July, on about 3.0% of Illinois checklists.
Where in Illinois are Piping Plovers seen most often?
By county, Cook County, Lake County, and Logan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Piping Plover (counties with at least 200 checklists).