WhenToBird

Catharus ustulatus · Turdidae

When Do Swainson's Thrushes Arrive in New York?

Adult Swainson's Thrush
Photo: Dani Alba, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Swainson's Thrushes arrive in New York in early September, peak in mid September (9.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 1-7early September
Common bySep 1-7early September
PeakSep 15-21mid September
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: mid September. First arrivals early September; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 9.1% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  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 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.0% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.6% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.6% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.1% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.1% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.2% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.7% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.6% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.2% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.8% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 11% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.8% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.6% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.6% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.9% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% 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% 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. New York CountyBest late September · 6085 checklists that week, 187,471 in all26%
  2. Kings CountyBest mid September · 3187 checklists that week, 134,897 in all24%
  3. Orleans CountyBest mid September · 217 checklists that week, 16,706 in all19%
  4. Essex CountyBest early July · 1149 checklists that week, 36,374 in all18%
  5. Richmond CountyBest the second week of May · 1710 checklists that week, 55,926 in all14%
  6. Hamilton CountyBest late June · 633 checklists that week, 13,964 in all13%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Whiteface Mountain Ski CenterEssex County, best early July · 47 checklists that week, 273 in all79%
  2. Slide MountainUlster County, best mid June · 36 checklists that week, 162 in all73%
  3. Lakeside Beach State ParkOrleans County, best late September · 21 checklists that week, 1,060 in all65%
  4. Whiting Rd Nature PreserveMonroe County, best mid September · 39 checklists that week, 1,267 in all60%
  5. Braddock PointMonroe County, best mid September · 71 checklists that week, 3,345 in all59%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Swainson's Thrush is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.9% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%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: 3.4% of 124869 checklists7 am: 2.7% of 298506 checklists8 am: 2.1% of 337334 checklists9 am: 1.8% of 307787 checklists10 am: 1.5% of 270801 checklists11 am: 1.2% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 1.1% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 1.1% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 1.1% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 1.2% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 1.5% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 1.0% 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%0.1%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0.1%0.1%0%
April0%0%0.1%0.1%
May2.1%5.0%9.6%4.6%
June1.1%0.9%1.1%0.9%
July1.2%1.0%0.7%0.4%
August0.2%0.2%0.2%0.6%
September2.2%6.8%11%9.8%
October6.6%3.6%1.9%0.3%
November0.1%0%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives early May, 16 weeks earlier than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives late April, 17 weeks earlier than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early September, in the same week than New York
  • Vermont: arrives mid May, 14 weeks earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Swainson's Thrushes arrive in New York?
Swainson's Thrushes arrive in New York in early September, peak in mid September (9.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Swainson's Thrushes leave New York?
Most Swainson's Thrushes have left New York by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Swainson's Thrush in New York?
The Swainson's Thrush is reported most often in mid September, on about 9.1% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Swainson's Thrushes seen most often?
By county, New York County, Kings County, and Orleans County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Swainson's Thrush (counties with at least 200 checklists).