WhenToBird

Piranga rubra · Cardinalidae

When Do Summer Tanagers Arrive in Florida?

Adult male Summer Tanager
Photo: tcantrell52, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Summer Tanagers reach Florida in mid March, are common by early April, peak in late September (6.9% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakSep 22-30late September
Most gone byOct 22-31late October

Best: late September. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by late October. Peak: on about 6.9% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0.6% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.7% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.6% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.7% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.7% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.6% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.6% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.9% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.4% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.9% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.8% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.6% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.7% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.0% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.7% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.5% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.0% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.2% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.0% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.1% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.8% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.4% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.0% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.9% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.6% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.4% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.6% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.8% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.8% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.4% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.2% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.8% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.9% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.2% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.4% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.7% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.1% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.9% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest late April · 44 checklists that week, 1,773 in all38%
  2. Columbia CountyBest mid July · 66 checklists that week, 5,568 in all36%
  3. Hamilton CountyBest late April · 28 checklists that week, 1,111 in all34%
  4. Alachua CountyBest early May · 2495 checklists that week, 120,363 in all32%
  5. Holmes CountyBest late June · 15 checklists that week, 726 in all31%
  6. Gilchrist CountyBest mid April · 50 checklists that week, 1,979 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park (northwest)Alachua County, best the second week of June · 37 checklists that week, 347 in all92%
  2. Turkey Creek Hammock PreserveAlachua County, best early May · 28 checklists that week, 815 in all88%
  3. San Felasco Hammock Preserve State ParkAlachua County, best early May · 53 checklists that week, 1,323 in all86%
  4. Withlacoochee State ForestHernando County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 769 in all85%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Summer Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.8% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 3.9% of 94591 checklists7 am: 3.8% of 296183 checklists8 am: 3.3% of 319987 checklists9 am: 2.5% of 254830 checklists10 am: 2.2% of 209480 checklists11 am: 2.0% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 2.0% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 1.9% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 1.8% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 2.0% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 2.0% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 2.3% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 2.8% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January0.6%0.7%0.6%0.7%
February0.7%0.7%0.7%0.6%
March0.6%0.7%0.9%1.4%
April3.9%5.8%7.6%6.7%
May6.0%4.7%4.5%4.0%
June4.2%4.0%4.1%3.8%
July3.4%3.0%2.9%2.6%
August2.4%2.6%2.8%3.8%
September5.4%6.2%6.8%6.9%
October7.2%5.4%3.7%2.1%
November0.9%0.5%0.5%0.5%
December0.5%0.5%0.6%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives late March, 1 week later than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Florida

Common questions

When do Summer Tanagers arrive in Florida?
Summer Tanagers reach Florida in mid March, are common by early April, peak in late September (6.9% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.
When do Summer Tanagers leave Florida?
Most Summer Tanagers have left Florida by late October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early November.
When is the best time to see a Summer Tanager in Florida?
The Summer Tanager is reported most often in late September, on about 6.9% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Summer Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Columbia County, and Hamilton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Summer Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).