WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in North Carolina?

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

Red-winged Blackbirds are in North Carolina all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in late April (22% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 4.1% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildFeb 15-21mid February
PeakApr 22-30late April
Fall back byJul 15-21mid July
FewestSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: late April. Here all year; numbers build from mid February and fall back by mid July. Peak: on about 22% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 10% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 10% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 10% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 11% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 12% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 13% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 19% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 19% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 20% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 20% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 21% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 22% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 22% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 23% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 22% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 22% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 22% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 21% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 19% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 17% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 17% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 17% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 16% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 15% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 10% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.9% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.6% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.5% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.3% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.9% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.1% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.4% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.3% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.3% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 14% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 15% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 15% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 15% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 13% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 11% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Gates CountyBest mid November · 63 checklists that week, 4,066 in all82%
  2. Camden CountyBest early March · 34 checklists that week, 1,667 in all60%
  3. Pamlico CountyBest late March · 290 checklists that week, 9,212 in all56%
  4. Currituck CountyBest the second week of March · 106 checklists that week, 8,172 in all55%
  5. Anson CountyBest early May · 64 checklists that week, 2,224 in all54%
  6. Dare CountyBest the second week of June · 1510 checklists that week, 83,121 in all52%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. North BrevardTransylvania County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 346 in all100%
  2. Rosasco Lake UpperWatauga County, best late June · 49 checklists that week, 1,829 in all99%
  3. Wade ParkNew Hanover County, best early May · 20 checklists that week, 349 in all99%
  4. Pea IslandDare County, best the second week of July · 63 checklists that week, 4,121 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (21% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 23% of 50335 checklists7 am: 21% of 150152 checklists8 am: 18% of 182902 checklists9 am: 16% of 158933 checklists10 am: 13% of 128398 checklists11 am: 11% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 11% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 11% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 11% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 12% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 13% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 13% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 14% 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
January10%10%10%11%
February12%13%13%19%
March19%20%20%21%
April22%22%23%22%
May22%21%22%21%
June19%17%17%17%
July17%16%15%12%
August10%7.9%6.6%5.5%
September4.3%3.9%4.1%4.4%
October6.3%8.3%13%14%
November15%15%15%13%
December12%12%12%11%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives late December, 7 weeks earlier than North Carolina
  • Virginia: arrives mid February, in the same week than North Carolina
  • West Virginia: arrives early February, 2 weeks earlier than North Carolina
  • District of Columbia: arrives late February, 1 week later than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in North Carolina?
Red-winged Blackbirds are in North Carolina all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in late April (22% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 4.1% of checklists.
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave North Carolina?
Red-winged Blackbirds never fully leave North Carolina: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid July, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.1% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in North Carolina?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in late April, on about 22% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, Gates County, Camden County, and Pamlico County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).