WhenToBird

Sphyrapicus varius · Picidae

When Do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers Arrive in North Carolina?

Adult male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Photo: Barry Cottam, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are winter birds in North Carolina: the first arrive in late September, they are common by the second week of October, peak in the second week of December (20% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 22-30late September
Common byOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakDec 8-14the second week of December
Most gone byMar 15-21mid March

Best: the second week of December. First arrivals late September; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 20% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Seprare
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 17% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 15% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 14% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 12% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 10% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 9.6% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 11% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.9% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.7% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 10% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.6% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.9% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.3% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.6% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.4% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.5% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.3% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.0% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.7% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 16% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 15% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 18% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 18% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 20% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 20% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 21% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 19% of 34796 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Granville CountyBest the second week of December · 91 checklists that week, 4,892 in all42%
  2. Cleveland CountyBest the second week of December · 123 checklists that week, 6,121 in all39%
  3. Anson CountyBest mid December · 14 checklists that week, 2,224 in all38%
  4. Bladen CountyBest late January · 122 checklists that week, 3,758 in all36%
  5. Chowan CountyBest mid January · 36 checklists that week, 2,544 in all33%
  6. Gates CountyBest the second week of January · 91 checklists that week, 4,066 in all33%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Trout Lake (northeast)Watauga County, best mid June · 22 checklists that week, 322 in all75%
  2. Duke ForestOrange County, best late December · 27 checklists that week, 202 in all71%
  3. Forsyth County Open Space - TanglewoodForsyth County, best mid November · 20 checklists that week, 1,366 in all70%
  4. Henderson County - Jackson ParkHenderson County, best the second week of December · 40 checklists that week, 4,678 in all67%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (8.6% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (520) to judge1 am: too few checklists (489) to judge2 am: too few checklists (442) to judge3 am: too few checklists (544) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1621) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9671) to judge6 am: 4.6% of 50335 checklists7 am: 8.5% of 150152 checklists8 am: 8.6% of 182902 checklists9 am: 8.3% of 158933 checklists10 am: 7.5% of 128398 checklists11 am: 7.1% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 7.1% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 7.6% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 7.9% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 7.9% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 5.8% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 2.5% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 33196 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19700) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6160) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1943) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1119) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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
January17%17%15%14%
February12%10%9.6%11%
March9.9%9.7%10%8.6%
April3.9%1.3%0.5%0.6%
May0.4%0.4%0.5%0.4%
June0.5%0.5%0.6%0.5%
July0.4%0.4%0.4%0.3%
August0.2%0.1%0.3%0.3%
September0.2%0.3%0.5%1.0%
October5.7%12%16%16%
November16%15%18%18%
December20%20%21%19%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives early October, 1 week later than North Carolina
  • Virginia: arrives late September, in the same week than North Carolina
  • West Virginia: arrives mid September, 1 week earlier than North Carolina
  • District of Columbia: arrives mid September, 1 week earlier than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers arrive in North Carolina?
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are winter birds in North Carolina: the first arrive in late September, they are common by the second week of October, peak in the second week of December (20% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers leave North Carolina?
Most Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have left North Carolina by mid March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of April.
When is the best time to see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in North Carolina?
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is reported most often in the second week of December, on about 20% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers seen most often?
By county, Granville County, Cleveland County, and Anson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (counties with at least 200 checklists).