WhenToBird

Protonotaria citrea · Parulidae

When Do Prothonotary Warblers Arrive in Texas?

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

Prothonotary Warblers mostly pass through Texas: they arrive in late March, peak in mid April (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Most gone byMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: mid April. First arrivals late March; most are gone by the second week of May. Peak: on about 3.6% of Texas checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.9% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.1% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.1% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.8% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.0% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.3% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.2% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.9% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.9% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.8% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.2% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.4% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.6% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 73015 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 Texas 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 Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Red River CountyBest the second week of June · 11 checklists that week, 1,179 in all62%
  2. Delta CountyBest early June · 15 checklists that week, 636 in all35%
  3. Freestone CountyBest the second week of May · 25 checklists that week, 1,088 in all29%
  4. Liberty CountyBest mid April · 151 checklists that week, 3,558 in all27%
  5. Harrison CountyBest early June · 61 checklists that week, 3,112 in all27%
  6. Camp CountyBest the second week of July · 18 checklists that week, 939 in all23%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Heard Science Museum and SanctuaryCollin County, best early May · 59 checklists that week, 1,452 in all77%
  2. Martin Dies, Jr. State Park (north)Jasper County, best early May · 24 checklists that week, 272 in all71%
  3. Martin Dies, Jr. State Park (Spring Creek)Jasper County, best mid April · 31 checklists that week, 255 in all60%
  4. Martin Dies, Jr. State Park (Rush Creek)Tyler County, best mid April · 24 checklists that week, 318 in all55%
  5. Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge (Turtle Bayou)Chambers County, best late April · 39 checklists that week, 300 in all53%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Prothonotary Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 0.8% of 74687 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 285131 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 329960 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 267889 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 218205 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 0.2% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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%0%
February0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0%0.1%0.4%0.9%
April2.1%3.1%4.8%3.0%
May1.3%1.2%0.9%0.9%
June0.8%0.8%0.6%0.6%
July0.5%0.3%0.3%0.2%
August0.2%0.3%0.3%0.4%
September0.4%0.7%0.6%0.2%
October0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
November0.1%0%0%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: arrives the second week of March, 2 weeks earlier than Texas
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of April, 2 weeks later than Texas
  • Arkansas: arrives early April, 1 week later than Texas
  • Mississippi: arrives mid March, 1 week earlier than Texas

Common questions

When do Prothonotary Warblers arrive in Texas?
Prothonotary Warblers mostly pass through Texas: they arrive in late March, peak in mid April (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.
When do Prothonotary Warblers leave Texas?
Most Prothonotary Warblers have left Texas by the second week of May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Prothonotary Warbler in Texas?
The Prothonotary Warbler is reported most often in mid April, on about 3.6% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Prothonotary Warblers seen most often?
By county, Red River County, Delta County, and Freestone County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Prothonotary Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).