WhenToBird

Patagioenas leucocephala · Columbidae

When Do White-crowned Pigeons Arrive in Florida?

Adult White-crowned Pigeon
Photo: Laura Gaudette, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

White-crowned Pigeons arrive in Florida in late March, peak in early May (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakMay 1-7early May
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: early May. First arrivals late March; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 1.6% of Florida checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.3% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.4% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.4% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.5% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.6% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.8% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.8% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.9% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.6% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.3% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.1% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.5% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.2% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.1% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.3% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.4% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.3% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.8% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.6% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.2% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.3% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.3% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.1% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.1% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.0% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.0% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.9% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Monroe CountyBest late July · 869 checklists that week, 62,908 in all49%
  2. Miami-Dade CountyBest mid October · 2263 checklists that week, 118,849 in all8.4%
  3. Collier CountyBest mid September · 819 checklists that week, 84,200 in all0.7%
  4. St. Lucie CountyBest mid April · 656 checklists that week, 21,132 in all0.6%
  5. Palm Beach CountyBest late September · 2367 checklists that week, 118,595 in all0.4%
  6. Sarasota CountyBest the second week of July · 1085 checklists that week, 120,976 in all0.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. National Key Deer RefugeMonroe County, best late July · 59 checklists that week, 2,145 in all99%
  2. Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State ParkMonroe County, best early August · 29 checklists that week, 3,699 in all89%
  3. Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area (Big Torch Key)Monroe County, best early July · 21 checklists that week, 130 in all88%
  4. Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical GardenMonroe County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 2,133 in all86%
  5. Key West Bight (Fleming Key Cut)Monroe County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 274 in all76%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the White-crowned Pigeon is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 1.0% of 94591 checklists7 am: 1.1% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 1.2% 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
January0.4%0.3%0.4%0.3%
February0.4%0.3%0.3%0.4%
March0.4%0.4%0.5%0.6%
April0.8%0.8%1.2%1.9%
May1.6%1.3%1.1%1.5%
June1.2%1.2%1.1%1.3%
July1.4%1.3%1.8%1.6%
August1.4%1.2%1.3%1.2%
September1.3%1.1%1.1%1.0%
October0.8%1.0%1.0%0.9%
November0.5%0.5%0.4%0.4%
December0.5%0.5%0.4%0.4%

Common questions

When do White-crowned Pigeons arrive in Florida?
White-crowned Pigeons arrive in Florida in late March, peak in early May (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do White-crowned Pigeons leave Florida?
Most White-crowned Pigeons have left Florida by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a White-crowned Pigeon in Florida?
The White-crowned Pigeon is reported most often in early May, on about 1.6% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are White-crowned Pigeons seen most often?
By county, Monroe County, Miami-Dade County, and Collier County have the highest peak reporting rates for the White-crowned Pigeon (counties with at least 200 checklists).