WhenToBird

Protonotaria citrea · Parulidae

When Do Prothonotary Warblers Arrive in North Carolina?

Adult Prothonotary Warbler
Photo: chloe ⋆˚꩜｡, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Prothonotary Warblers reach North Carolina in early April, are common by the second week of April, peak in late April (8.2% of checklists), and most are gone by early July.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byJul 1-7early July

Best: late April. First arrivals early April; most are gone by early July. Peak: on about 8.2% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 0% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.4% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.6% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.2% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.1% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 8.2% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.3% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 7.6% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.4% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.9% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.1% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.9% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.9% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.6% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.5% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.9% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.6% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.4% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.4% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.1% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.7% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 34796 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Gates CountyBest the second week of June · 83 checklists that week, 4,066 in all80%
  2. Tyrrell CountyBest late April · 57 checklists that week, 2,289 in all66%
  3. Bertie CountyBest late April · 25 checklists that week, 1,408 in all65%
  4. Chowan CountyBest early May · 86 checklists that week, 2,544 in all54%
  5. Columbus CountyBest late April · 47 checklists that week, 2,001 in all52%
  6. Anson CountyBest early May · 64 checklists that week, 2,224 in all52%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. River Park NorthPitt County, best the second week of May · 33 checklists that week, 1,036 in all97%
  2. Dismal Swamp State ParkCamden County, best late May · 21 checklists that week, 225 in all93%
  3. The Conservation Fund - Palmetto-Peartree PreserveTyrrell County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 266 in all86%
  4. Lower Haw River State Natural AreaChatham County, best late April · 248 checklists that week, 2,467 in all83%
  5. Buckhorn LakeChatham County, best late April · 40 checklists that week, 385 in all83%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Prothonotary Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (4.1% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (520) to judge1 am: too few checklists (489) to judge2 am: too few checklists (442) to judge3 am: too few checklists (544) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1621) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9671) to judge6 am: 6.1% of 50335 checklists7 am: 3.4% of 150152 checklists8 am: 2.7% of 182902 checklists9 am: 2.4% of 158933 checklists10 am: 2.4% of 128398 checklists11 am: 2.1% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 1.9% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 1.5% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 1.4% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 1.3% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 1.3% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 1.5% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 1.9% of 33196 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19700) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6160) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1943) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1119) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0.1%0.2%
April2.4%6.6%8.2%8.1%
May8.2%7.3%7.6%7.4%
June6.9%6.1%5.9%4.9%
July3.6%2.5%1.9%1.6%
August1.4%1.4%1.4%1.1%
September0.7%0.4%0.3%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives late March, 1 week earlier than North Carolina
  • Virginia: arrives early April, in the same week than North Carolina
  • District of Columbia: arrives mid April, 2 weeks later than North Carolina
  • Georgia: arrives early April, in the same week than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Prothonotary Warblers arrive in North Carolina?
Prothonotary Warblers reach North Carolina in early April, are common by the second week of April, peak in late April (8.2% of checklists), and most are gone by early July.
When do Prothonotary Warblers leave North Carolina?
Most Prothonotary Warblers have left North Carolina by early July, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late August.
When is the best time to see a Prothonotary Warbler in North Carolina?
The Prothonotary Warbler is reported most often in late April, on about 8.2% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Prothonotary Warblers seen most often?
By county, Gates County, Tyrrell County, and Bertie County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Prothonotary Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).