WhenToBird

Pheucticus ludovicianus · Cardinalidae

When Do Rose-breasted Grosbeaks Arrive in New York?

Adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Photo: Nancy Overholtz, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks reach New York in mid April, are common by late April, peak in the second week of May (22% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 22% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.6% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 25% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 22% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 15% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 12% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 11% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 10% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.9% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.0% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.8% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.2% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.7% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.1% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.2% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.5% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.5% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 11% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 7.0% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.7% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.5% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Dutchess CountyBest the second week of May · 3101 checklists that week, 76,123 in all40%
  2. Tioga CountyBest mid May · 685 checklists that week, 21,713 in all40%
  3. Columbia CountyBest the second week of May · 1186 checklists that week, 28,454 in all39%
  4. St. Lawrence CountyBest mid May · 962 checklists that week, 32,234 in all38%
  5. Schuyler CountyBest the second week of May · 518 checklists that week, 12,381 in all37%
  6. Cortland CountyBest mid May · 358 checklists that week, 10,206 in all36%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. McKinney PondDutchess County, best mid May · 46 checklists that week, 317 in all87%
  2. Town of Poughkeepsie LandDutchess County, best mid May · 135 checklists that week, 1,081 in all85%
  3. National Audubon Society Lands (Stissing)Dutchess County, best mid May · 28 checklists that week, 262 in all84%
  4. Tivoli Bays WmaDutchess County, best the second week of May · 29 checklists that week, 459 in all82%
  5. Nuclear LakeDutchess County, best mid May · 23 checklists that week, 248 in all81%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (11% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 15% of 124869 checklists7 am: 9.9% of 298506 checklists8 am: 7.3% of 337334 checklists9 am: 5.6% of 307787 checklists10 am: 4.4% of 270801 checklists11 am: 3.7% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 3.3% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 3.1% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 2.9% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 2.9% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 3.5% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 4.9% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 5.9% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
March0%0%0%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.2%3.6%
May19%25%22%15%
June12%12%13%11%
July10%8.9%7.0%6.8%
August6.2%5.7%5.1%5.2%
September6.5%9.5%11%7.0%
October2.7%0.5%0.2%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives mid April, in the same week than New York
  • Vermont: arrives late April, 1 week later than New York

Common questions

When do Rose-breasted Grosbeaks arrive in New York?
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks reach New York in mid April, are common by late April, peak in the second week of May (22% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Rose-breasted Grosbeaks leave New York?
Most Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have left New York by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in New York?
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 22% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Rose-breasted Grosbeaks seen most often?
By county, Dutchess County, Tioga County, and Columbia County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (counties with at least 200 checklists).