WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in Florida?

Adult male Red-winged Blackbird
Photo: infiniteuniverse, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Red-winged Blackbirds are in Florida all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from late January, peak in late May (29% of checklists), and fall back by late July. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 10% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildJan 22-31late January
PeakMay 22-31late May
Fall back byJul 22-31late July
FewestSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: late May. Here all year; numbers build from late January and fall back by late July. Peak: on about 29% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 16% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 18% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 20% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 22% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 22% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 22% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 25% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 25% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 26% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 27% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 28% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 28% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 27% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 27% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 28% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 28% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 27% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 28% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 29% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 29% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 28% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 27% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 26% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 25% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 24% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 20% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 16% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 14% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 13% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.7% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 13% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 16% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 19% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 22% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 22% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 21% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 19% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 18% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 17% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 17% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 16% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 16% 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. Glades CountyBest the second week of May · 152 checklists that week, 6,182 in all70%
  2. Hendry CountyBest the second week of July · 21 checklists that week, 3,103 in all58%
  3. Franklin CountyBest late April · 945 checklists that week, 20,336 in all57%
  4. Madison CountyBest the second week of May · 40 checklists that week, 1,783 in all57%
  5. Okeechobee CountyBest late May · 117 checklists that week, 5,380 in all56%
  6. Bay CountyBest late April · 539 checklists that week, 19,554 in all53%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mease ParkPinellas County, best late May · 45 checklists that week, 2,801 in all100%
  2. Canaveral Marshes Conservation AreaBrevard County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 1,169 in all100%
  3. Lake DestinySeminole County, best early June · 23 checklists that week, 1,410 in all100%
  4. Mobbly Bayou PreservePinellas County, best mid April · 51 checklists that week, 1,161 in all100%
  5. Pine Oaks Preserve Disc Golf CourseMarion County, best early June · 25 checklists that week, 1,648 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (30% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%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: 32% of 94591 checklists7 am: 30% of 296183 checklists8 am: 27% of 319987 checklists9 am: 22% of 254830 checklists10 am: 18% of 209480 checklists11 am: 16% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 15% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 15% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 16% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 18% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 19% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 18% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 19% 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
January16%17%18%20%
February22%22%22%25%
March25%26%27%28%
April28%27%27%28%
May28%27%28%29%
June29%28%27%26%
July25%24%23%20%
August16%14%13%11%
September11%9.7%10%11%
October13%16%19%22%
November22%21%19%18%
December17%17%16%16%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: year-round, peaks the second week of February
  • South Carolina: arrives late December, 4 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Alabama: year-round, peaks the second week of April
  • Mississippi: arrives mid January, 1 week earlier than Florida

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in Florida?
Red-winged Blackbirds are in Florida all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from late January, peak in late May (29% of checklists), and fall back by late July. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 10% of checklists.
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave Florida?
Red-winged Blackbirds never fully leave Florida: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late July, but some are still reported in every week, about 10% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in Florida?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in late May, on about 29% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, Glades County, Hendry County, and Franklin County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).