WhenToBird

Protonotaria citrea · Parulidae

When Do Prothonotary Warblers Arrive in Virginia?

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

Prothonotary Warblers reach Virginia in early April, are common by the second week of April, peak in late April (6.7% 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 6.7% of Virginia checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  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%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0% of 32817 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 25111 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 25510 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 34492 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 24950 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 28224 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 43578 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 26467 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 25851 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 25901 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 26747 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 40819 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 31351 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.6% of 33239 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.0% of 37284 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.3% of 54364 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.5% of 47698 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.5% of 46174 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.5% of 36444 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.7% of 43203 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.1% of 28503 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.8% of 25485 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.5% of 23728 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.9% of 28785 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.4% of 22294 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.4% of 20481 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.6% of 18914 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.3% of 26976 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.3% of 19555 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.1% of 18744 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.2% of 18721 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.1% of 28763 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 23594 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 22581 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 23036 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 29687 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 24321 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 23946 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 22191 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 30161 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 21431 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 22758 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 19988 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 27665 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 19324 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 20316 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 25675 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 38677 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 Virginia 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 Virginia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Suffolk CountyBest late April · 654 checklists that week, 8,168 in all68%
  2. King and Queen CountyBest the second week of May · 73 checklists that week, 1,759 in all51%
  3. Southampton CountyBest late May · 73 checklists that week, 717 in all47%
  4. Greensville CountyBest mid May · 23 checklists that week, 454 in all42%
  5. New Kent CountyBest late May · 166 checklists that week, 5,342 in all37%
  6. Danville CountyBest late April · 57 checklists that week, 1,494 in all27%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (north)Suffolk County, best early May · 45 checklists that week, 439 in all98%
  2. Dismal Swamp Canal Trail (Douglas Landing)Chesapeake County, best the second week of April · 22 checklists that week, 169 in all97%
  3. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (west)Suffolk County, best late April · 46 checklists that week, 266 in all96%
  4. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife RefugeSuffolk County, best late May · 27 checklists that week, 508 in all95%
  5. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (northwest)Suffolk County, best late April · 87 checklists that week, 463 in all95%
  6. Canoe LaunchChesterfield County, best late April · 42 checklists that week, 513 in all95%

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

Best time of day

In Virginia, the Prothonotary Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.6% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (485) to judge1 am: too few checklists (488) to judge2 am: too few checklists (423) to judge3 am: too few checklists (565) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1410) to judge5 am: too few checklists (10265) to judge6 am: 5.1% of 64788 checklists7 am: 3.0% of 169128 checklists8 am: 2.3% of 180748 checklists9 am: 1.9% of 153462 checklists10 am: 1.6% of 128966 checklists11 am: 1.4% of 104204 checklists12 pm: 1.3% of 91604 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 85547 checklists2 pm: 1.0% of 82355 checklists3 pm: 1.0% of 82265 checklists4 pm: 1.0% of 76714 checklists5 pm: 1.2% of 56782 checklists6 pm: 1.3% of 40131 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24290) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7744) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2383) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1122) 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%0.1%
April0.6%2.6%6.0%7.3%
May6.5%5.5%5.5%5.7%
June5.1%4.8%4.5%3.9%
July3.4%2.4%1.6%1.3%
August1.3%1.1%1.2%1.1%
September0.9%0.5%0.2%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • District of Columbia: arrives mid April, 2 weeks later than Virginia
  • Maryland: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than Virginia
  • Delaware: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than Virginia
  • North Carolina: arrives early April, in the same week than Virginia

Common questions

When do Prothonotary Warblers arrive in Virginia?
Prothonotary Warblers reach Virginia in early April, are common by the second week of April, peak in late April (6.7% of checklists), and most are gone by early July.
When do Prothonotary Warblers leave Virginia?
Most Prothonotary Warblers have left Virginia 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 Virginia?
The Prothonotary Warbler is reported most often in late April, on about 6.7% of Virginia checklists.
Where in Virginia are Prothonotary Warblers seen most often?
By county, Suffolk County, King and Queen County, and Southampton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Prothonotary Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).