WhenToBird

Setophaga coronata · Parulidae

When Do Yellow-rumped Warblers Arrive in Maryland?

Adult Yellow-rumped Warbler
Photo: Jonathan Eisen, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Yellow-rumped Warblers are winter birds in Maryland: the first arrive in mid September, they are common by late September, peak in mid October (31% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 22-30late September
PeakOct 15-21mid October
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: mid October. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 31% of Maryland checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 7.8% of 28716 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.5% of 21449 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.5% of 21267 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.0% of 29144 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.6% of 21347 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.5% of 22166 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.2% of 29986 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.2% of 22427 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.9% of 21389 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.9% of 22192 checklistsMar 15-21: 10% of 22823 checklistsMar 22-31: 11% of 33720 checklistsApr 1-7: 12% of 25513 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 27718 checklistsApr 15-21: 20% of 29328 checklistsApr 22-30: 30% of 42595 checklistsMay 1-7: 30% of 38532 checklistsMay 8-14: 18% of 42722 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.0% of 31936 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 36903 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 23191 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 21853 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 21000 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 25133 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 18715 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 16376 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 15793 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 21969 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 16013 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 15249 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 15674 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 24925 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 19808 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 18513 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.6% of 21901 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.6% of 22901 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 19111 checklistsOct 8-14: 28% of 18482 checklistsOct 15-21: 35% of 17380 checklistsOct 22-31: 32% of 23992 checklistsNov 1-7: 24% of 17915 checklistsNov 8-14: 21% of 18905 checklistsNov 15-21: 14% of 16259 checklistsNov 22-30: 13% of 22852 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 16108 checklistsDec 8-14: 10% of 16512 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 18952 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% of 29728 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 Maryland 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 Maryland

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Queen Anne's CountyBest late October · 531 checklists that week, 26,875 in all62%
  2. Worcester CountyBest late October · 1201 checklists that week, 44,596 in all59%
  3. Somerset CountyBest late October · 169 checklists that week, 9,451 in all54%
  4. Talbot CountyBest late October · 627 checklists that week, 31,140 in all51%
  5. Dorchester CountyBest late October · 384 checklists that week, 26,161 in all49%
  6. Caroline CountyBest mid October · 143 checklists that week, 11,067 in all42%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Assateague Island National Seashore (Goose Point)Worcester County, best late October · 20 checklists that week, 439 in all100%
  2. Devils Island AreaWorcester County, best the second week of November · 27 checklists that week, 220 in all98%
  3. Assateague Island National Seashore (Great Egging Island)Worcester County, best late October · 39 checklists that week, 874 in all97%
  4. Assateague Island National Seashore (Little Egging Beach)Worcester County, best late October · 33 checklists that week, 512 in all96%
  5. Sedgewick CoveQueen Anne's County, best mid October · 47 checklists that week, 3,164 in all95%
  6. Assateague Island National SeashoreWorcester County, best the second week of November · 60 checklists that week, 1,717 in all94%

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

Best time of day

In Maryland, the Yellow-rumped Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (14% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (486) to judge1 am: too few checklists (451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (447) to judge3 am: too few checklists (766) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2076) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11098) to judge6 am: 14% of 56604 checklists7 am: 14% of 139255 checklists8 am: 13% of 148626 checklists9 am: 12% of 126820 checklists10 am: 10% of 106973 checklists11 am: 10% of 87483 checklists12 pm: 9.6% of 74808 checklists1 pm: 9.5% of 69428 checklists2 pm: 9.3% of 67800 checklists3 pm: 9.1% of 67688 checklists4 pm: 8.2% of 60927 checklists5 pm: 7.7% of 43876 checklists6 pm: 4.9% of 32930 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19051) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5708) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1977) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1170) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (635) 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
January7.8%7.5%8.5%9.0%
February8.6%7.5%7.2%9.2%
March8.9%8.9%10%11%
April12%14%20%30%
May30%18%5.0%0.3%
June0.2%0.2%0.2%0.1%
July0.1%0.2%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
September0.3%0.5%1.6%4.6%
October15%28%35%32%
November24%21%14%13%
December11%10%11%13%

Neighboring states

  • District of Columbia: arrives mid September, in the same week than Maryland
  • Delaware: arrives mid September, in the same week than Maryland
  • Virginia: arrives late September, 1 week later than Maryland
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early September, 2 weeks earlier than Maryland

Common questions

When do Yellow-rumped Warblers arrive in Maryland?
Yellow-rumped Warblers are winter birds in Maryland: the first arrive in mid September, they are common by late September, peak in mid October (31% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Yellow-rumped Warblers leave Maryland?
Most Yellow-rumped Warblers have left Maryland by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late May.
When is the best time to see a Yellow-rumped Warbler in Maryland?
The Yellow-rumped Warbler is reported most often in mid October, on about 31% of Maryland checklists.
Where in Maryland are Yellow-rumped Warblers seen most often?
By county, Queen Anne's County, Worcester County, and Somerset County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Yellow-rumped Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).