WhenToBird

Piranga olivacea · Cardinalidae

When Do Scarlet Tanagers Arrive in Pennsylvania?

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

Scarlet Tanagers arrive in Pennsylvania in late April, peak in mid May (20% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: mid May. First arrivals late April; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 20% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  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%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.3% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 23% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 17% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 15% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 15% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 16% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 15% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 13% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.9% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.9% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.6% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 3.7% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.7% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.6% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.2% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.2% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.3% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.2% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% 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. Forest CountyBest early June · 133 checklists that week, 5,388 in all41%
  2. Armstrong CountyBest mid May · 272 checklists that week, 11,221 in all38%
  3. Elk CountyBest the second week of July · 188 checklists that week, 6,751 in all37%
  4. Pike CountyBest late May · 841 checklists that week, 17,484 in all37%
  5. Union CountyBest late May · 247 checklists that week, 7,238 in all36%
  6. Huntingdon CountyBest late May · 1355 checklists that week, 32,852 in all36%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Woodland LakeMonroe County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 725 in all98%
  2. Tuscarora State ForestCumberland County, best mid May · 25 checklists that week, 254 in all90%
  3. Sgl 110 (south)Berks County, best mid May · 22 checklists that week, 148 in all88%
  4. Hamburg ReservoirBerks County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 434 in all85%
  5. Sgl 217 (northeast)Lehigh County, best the second week of May · 21 checklists that week, 128 in all84%
  6. Appalachian National Scenic TrailDauphin County, best late May · 26 checklists that week, 217 in all83%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Scarlet Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (9.9% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 13% of 92903 checklists7 am: 8.7% of 241233 checklists8 am: 7.0% of 271994 checklists9 am: 5.9% of 236842 checklists10 am: 4.9% of 199508 checklists11 am: 4.0% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 3.4% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 3.1% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 2.9% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 2.6% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 2.8% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 3.8% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 4.8% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 5.4% 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0.1%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0%0.1%2.3%
May13%21%23%17%
June15%15%16%15%
July15%13%10%7.9%
August4.9%3.6%3.7%4.7%
September6.6%8.2%8.2%6.3%
October3.2%0.7%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • Delaware: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey: arrives late April, in the same week than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Scarlet Tanagers arrive in Pennsylvania?
Scarlet Tanagers arrive in Pennsylvania in late April, peak in mid May (20% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Scarlet Tanagers leave Pennsylvania?
Most Scarlet Tanagers have left Pennsylvania 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 Scarlet Tanager in Pennsylvania?
The Scarlet Tanager is reported most often in mid May, on about 20% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Scarlet Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Forest County, Armstrong County, and Elk County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Scarlet Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).