WhenToBird

Acanthis flammea · Fringillidae

When Do Redpolls Arrive in New York?

Redpolls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in early November, peak in the second week of February (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 1-7early November
Common byNov 1-7early November
PeakFeb 8-14the second week of February
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: the second week of February. First arrivals early November; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 1.7% of New York checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octrare
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.7% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.7% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.2% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.7% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.1% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.5% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.2% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.3% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.7% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 0% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.0% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.8% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.0% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% of 62470 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 New York 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 New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lewis CountyBest late January · 42 checklists that week, 5,920 in all21%
  2. Franklin CountyBest mid February · 414 checklists that week, 20,717 in all14%
  3. St. Lawrence CountyBest mid February · 1004 checklists that week, 32,234 in all12%
  4. Clinton CountyBest early February · 71 checklists that week, 8,764 in all9.6%
  5. Herkimer CountyBest early February · 299 checklists that week, 20,872 in all8.5%
  6. Jefferson CountyBest early February · 360 checklists that week, 26,171 in all8.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lakeview PointOnondaga County, best the second week of November · 54 checklists that week, 1,385 in all40%
  2. Mount PleasantTompkins County, best early January · 24 checklists that week, 502 in all35%
  3. Niagara County-Krull Park LandNiagara County, best the second week of November · 40 checklists that week, 710 in all34%
  4. Braddock Bay State ParkMonroe County, best late November · 102 checklists that week, 5,802 in all31%
  5. Sunken MeadowSuffolk County, best early February · 66 checklists that week, 2,403 in all30%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Redpoll is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 0.4% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January0.7%0.8%0.7%1.2%
February1.7%2.1%1.5%1.2%
March1.2%1.3%1.0%0.7%
April0.4%0.2%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0%0%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0.1%
September0%0%0%0%
October0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0.5%1.0%0.8%1.0%
December0.8%0.8%0.6%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • Vermont: arrives early November, in the same week than New York
  • New Hampshire: arrives the second week of November, 1 week later than New York
  • Maine: arrives the second week of November, 1 week later than New York
  • Michigan: arrives early November, in the same week than New York

Common questions

When do Redpolls arrive in New York?
Redpolls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in early November, peak in the second week of February (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Redpolls leave New York?
Most Redpolls have left New York by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Redpoll in New York?
The Redpoll is reported most often in the second week of February, on about 1.7% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Redpolls seen most often?
By county, Lewis County, Franklin County, and St. Lawrence County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Redpoll (counties with at least 200 checklists).