WhenToBird

Piranga olivacea · Cardinalidae

When Do Scarlet Tanagers Arrive in Kentucky?

Adult Scarlet Tanager
Photo: Shirley Zundell, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Scarlet Tanagers reach Kentucky in the second week of April, are common by mid April, peak in the second week of May (12% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 8-14the second week of April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 12% of Kentucky checklists.

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

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 6923 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 4900 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 5016 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 6611 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 4986 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 5677 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 8880 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 5567 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 5397 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 5462 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 5733 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 9043 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 6763 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 7498 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.8% of 8486 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 13396 checklistsMay 1-7: 14% of 10825 checklistsMay 8-14: 12% of 11495 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.2% of 7363 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.5% of 8800 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.4% of 5381 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.8% of 5244 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.4% of 4730 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.1% of 5470 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.3% of 4567 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.1% of 4287 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.8% of 4097 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.9% of 6044 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.9% of 4647 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.2% of 4256 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.9% of 4484 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.6% of 6434 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.4% of 5450 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.7% of 5157 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.9% of 5530 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.1% of 6710 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.6% of 5403 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.4% of 5943 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 4873 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 6584 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 5008 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 4677 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 4419 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 5933 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 4479 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 4687 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 6239 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 7976 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Edmonson CountyBest the second week of May · 180 checklists that week, 3,497 in all50%
  2. Johnson CountyBest late June · 16 checklists that week, 206 in all46%
  3. Wolfe CountyBest the second week of May · 85 checklists that week, 1,109 in all41%
  4. Menifee CountyBest the second week of June · 18 checklists that week, 437 in all37%
  5. Lyon CountyBest early May · 145 checklists that week, 2,125 in all37%
  6. McCreary CountyBest early May · 24 checklists that week, 847 in all37%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mammoth Cave National Park (Adwell Spring)Edmonson County, best early May · 31 checklists that week, 428 in all67%
  2. Green River Wild RiverEdmonson County, best early May · 35 checklists that week, 408 in all59%
  3. Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (O'Brien Branch)Lyon County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 177 in all54%
  4. Floracliff Nature SanctuaryFayette County, best the second week of May · 40 checklists that week, 730 in all52%
  5. Middle Creek ParkBoone County, best the second week of May · 36 checklists that week, 231 in all52%
  6. Henderson County Preserve 01Henderson County, best the second week of May · 74 checklists that week, 955 in all47%

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

Best time of day

In Kentucky, the Scarlet Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (5.2% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (140) to judge1 am: too few checklists (120) to judge2 am: too few checklists (88) to judge3 am: too few checklists (95) to judge4 am: too few checklists (151) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1289) to judge6 am: 6.2% of 8227 checklists7 am: 4.9% of 24608 checklists8 am: 4.6% of 36577 checklists9 am: 3.7% of 34626 checklists10 am: 3.0% of 28796 checklists11 am: 2.8% of 22781 checklists12 pm: 2.7% of 19848 checklists1 pm: 2.3% of 19369 checklists2 pm: 2.2% of 19367 checklists3 pm: 1.7% of 19618 checklists4 pm: 1.7% of 19464 checklists5 pm: 2.0% of 16639 checklists6 pm: 2.0% of 12714 checklists7 pm: 2.1% of 8457 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (3447) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (684) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (267) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (158) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0.2%2.8%10%
May14%12%9.2%6.5%
June6.4%5.8%5.4%5.1%
July5.3%4.1%2.8%2.9%
August1.9%1.2%0.9%1.6%
September2.4%3.7%4.9%5.1%
October3.6%1.4%0.5%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Tennessee: arrives the second week of April, in the same week than Kentucky
  • Indiana: arrives mid April, 1 week later than Kentucky
  • Ohio: arrives mid April, 1 week later than Kentucky
  • Illinois: arrives late April, 2 weeks later than Kentucky

Common questions

When do Scarlet Tanagers arrive in Kentucky?
Scarlet Tanagers reach Kentucky in the second week of April, are common by mid April, peak in the second week of May (12% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Scarlet Tanagers leave Kentucky?
Most Scarlet Tanagers have left Kentucky by early October, 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 Scarlet Tanager in Kentucky?
The Scarlet Tanager is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 12% of Kentucky checklists.
Where in Kentucky are Scarlet Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Edmonson County, Johnson County, and Wolfe County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Scarlet Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).