WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in Pennsylvania?

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

Red-winged Blackbirds are in Pennsylvania all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from early March, peak in late April (52% of checklists), and fall back by late July. In the quietest week (the second week of January) they are still on about 4.4% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 1-7early March
PeakApr 22-30late April
Fall back byJul 22-31late July
FewestJan 8-14the second week of January

Best: late April. Here all year; numbers build from early March and fall back by late July. Peak: on about 52% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 4.3% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.6% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 4.2% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.6% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 6.2% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 11% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 29% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 37% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 42% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 44% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 46% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 47% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 49% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 51% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 54% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 51% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 50% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 49% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 49% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 47% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 44% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 43% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 40% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 39% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 39% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 35% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 29% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 22% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.9% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.7% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.1% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.5% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.0% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 18% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 21% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 20% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 17% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 14% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 9.7% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 6.8% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 5.3% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 5.2% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.2% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.3% of 50651 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Greene CountyBest the second week of April · 100 checklists that week, 2,997 in all74%
  2. Bradford CountyBest late April · 230 checklists that week, 6,088 in all70%
  3. Montour CountyBest late April · 304 checklists that week, 6,082 in all70%
  4. Susquehanna CountyBest early May · 736 checklists that week, 22,573 in all70%
  5. Lawrence CountyBest early June · 359 checklists that week, 15,430 in all68%
  6. Venango CountyBest late April · 112 checklists that week, 2,831 in all68%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Owls Nest ParkBucks County, best mid April · 20 checklists that week, 708 in all100%
  2. Municipal LandDelaware County, best late April · 30 checklists that week, 628 in all100%
  3. Delaware Canal State ParkBucks County, best early June · 20 checklists that week, 692 in all100%
  4. State Game Land 169Cumberland County, best early March · 20 checklists that week, 545 in all100%
  5. Armstrong Open SpaceLycoming County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 554 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (36% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 40% of 92903 checklists7 am: 34% of 241233 checklists8 am: 32% of 271994 checklists9 am: 29% of 236842 checklists10 am: 26% of 199508 checklists11 am: 23% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 22% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 22% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 22% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 23% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 27% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 33% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 34% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 32% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) 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
January4.3%4.6%4.2%4.6%
February6.2%11%16%29%
March37%42%44%46%
April47%49%51%54%
May51%50%49%49%
June47%44%43%40%
July39%39%35%29%
August22%16%11%7.9%
September6.7%6.1%6.5%9.0%
October15%18%21%20%
November17%14%9.7%6.8%
December5.3%5.2%5.2%4.3%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives late February, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia: arrives late February, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • Delaware: arrives mid February, 2 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey: arrives early March, in the same week than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in Pennsylvania?
Red-winged Blackbirds are in Pennsylvania all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from early March, peak in late April (52% of checklists), and fall back by late July. In the quietest week (the second week of January) they are still on about 4.4% of checklists.
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave Pennsylvania?
Red-winged Blackbirds never fully leave Pennsylvania: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late July, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.4% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in Pennsylvania?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in late April, on about 52% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, Greene County, Bradford County, and Montour County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).