Washington, D.C. Nature Guide: November 2026
Data updated: August 2026Sources & method · Corrections
November settles the District toward winter — the late oaks finish coloring, wintering waterfowl and sparrows fill the rivers and brush, Bald Eagles gather over the Potomac, and the markets turn to apples, roots, and storage squash.
Week by week in November
October 29 – November 4
- Sparrow flocks and yellow-rumped warblers fill the weedy edges as the first hard frosts arrive in the cooler parts of the city.
- The Tidal Basin cherries turn bronze and amber, and the late oaks hold their russet and red leaves.
- Frost-sweetened kale, collards, and Brussels sprouts join the apples and winter squash.
November 5–11
- Wintering canvasbacks, mergansers, and ruddy ducks build on the rivers, and Bald Eagles increase as northern birds arrive.
- Street ginkgos blaze gold and drop all at once, while the oaks hold their late russet color.
- Mulch garlic and perennials heavily and protect remaining greens under row cover as freezes deepen.
November 12–18
- The Leonid meteor shower peaks before dawn around mid-November, swift meteors from rising Leo in the east.
- Golden-crowned kinglets, brown creepers, and winter wrens work the bare Rock Creek woods, now easy to see.
- Beeches turn coppery and the last leaves fall, revealing the architecture of the winter canopy.
November 19–25
- Feeders fill with cardinals, chickadees, white-throated sparrows, and juncos as winter birdlife settles in.
- American holly, winterberry, and crabapple carry red fruit into the gray of late autumn.
- Cranberries, storage roots, and frost-sweetened greens fill the stalls for the Thanksgiving table.
November 26 – December 2
- Rafts of waterfowl ride the Potomac off Hains Point, and Bald Eagles perch in the bare riverside trees.
- Mourning cloaks, commas, and question marks settle into hibernation behind bark and in Rock Creek's rock crevices.
- Cold frames in the warm city core keep cutting kale, spinach, and mâche through much of the month.
Birds This Month
November settles the District's winter birdlife into place. Wintering waterfowl build on the Potomac and Anacostia — canvasbacks, ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, hooded and common mergansers, ruddy ducks, and tundra swans in some years — and rafts gather off Hains Point and the Tidal Basin. Bald Eagles increase as northern birds join the residents along the rivers.
Brushy edges and parks fill with white-throated sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, fox and song sparrows, and yellow-rumped warblers, while golden-crowned kinglets, brown creepers, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers work the woods. Feeders draw cardinals, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and finches. Some winters bring irruptive purple finches, pine siskins, or red-breasted nuthatches.
This month's tip: scan the river rafts for waterfowl and the bare riverside trees for Bald Eagles — both are easiest now that the leaves are down and the wintering birds have settled in.
What's Blooming
Wild bloom is nearly finished in the District by November, but a few hardy flowers persist. The native witch hazel still uncurls its spidery yellow ribbons in the Rock Creek woods on mild days — the year's last truly wild flower — and scattered late asters, goldenrod, and dandelions hold on at sunny edges until a hard freeze. White snakeroot and a few stubborn meadow plants linger in protected spots.
The color now is in structure and fruit: the red berries of American holly, winterberry, hawthorn, and crabapple; the blue fruit of red cedar; the dark clusters on viburnums and black gum; and the tan, rattling seedheads of the meadow plantings at Kenilworth and the Arboretum, which feed goldfinches and sparrows through the cold. Garden chrysanthemums, pansies, and the last American Beauty roses persist until the freezes deepen.
Garden This Month
November is the District's wind-down and protection month. Cold-hardy crops carry on — kale, collards, spinach, leeks, carrots, turnips, and Brussels sprouts sweeten under the first frosts, and a low tunnel or row cover keeps spinach and mâche cutting through the cold. Harvest the last roots before a hard freeze locks the ground, and dig and store any remaining sweet potatoes and tender bulbs.
Finish planting garlic and spring bulbs, and mulch garlic beds, asparagus crowns, and tender perennials heavily once the soil cools. Drain and store hoses, clean and oil tools, empty and store containers, and shred fallen leaves for mulch and the compost pile. This is a fine time to plant dormant trees and shrubs and to take a soil test. Leave perennial seedheads, brush piles, and leaf litter for overwintering birds, insects, and butterflies.
Zone 7a (cooler uplands and Rock Creek corridor): the first hard freezes arrive — protect remaining greens under heavy row cover, mulch garlic and perennials, and finish bulb planting before the ground chills.
Zone 7b (warmer downtown and riverside core): the heat island delays the deep freeze, so cold-hardy kale, spinach, and collards keep producing in protected beds well into the month. Finish planting garlic and bulbs.
What's at the Farmers Market
November markets in D.C. turn fully to the fall harvest and storage crops. Apples and pears from the Blue Ridge orchards remain abundant and crisp, alongside winter squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, and celeriac at Eastern Market and the FreshFarm stalls.
The frost-sweetened greens are at their best — kale, collards, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and spinach — and you'll find cranberries, fresh-pressed cider, local honey, eggs, mushrooms, and the produce for the Thanksgiving table. Choose root vegetables that are firm and heavy and keep them cold and humid in the crisper; pick winter squash that feels hard with a dry stem and store it cool and dry; choose Brussels sprouts on the stalk for the longest keeping. The market mood is harvest-and-store as winter approaches.
The Washington, D.C. native plants guide covers what grows here
Night Sky This Month
November's long, early-dark nights return the brilliant winter stars to the District's evening sky. The Pleiades and orange Aldebaran in Taurus climb the eastern sky after dusk, and by late evening Orion clears the horizon, leading the dazzling winter parade. Capella in Auriga rides high in the northeast, while the autumn square of Pegasus sinks westward.
The Leonid meteor shower peaks in the dark hours before dawn around mid-November, radiating swift, bright meteors from rising Leo in the east — usually modest, but capable of stronger showings in some years. The Andromeda Galaxy rides overhead, a fine binocular target on a moonless night beyond the city glow.
For the Leonids and the darkest skies, drive out into the rural Maryland or Virginia countryside. The printable Washington, D.C. night-sky guide gives this year's Leonid timing and planet positions for the District.
Butterflies & Pollinators
November all but ends the District's butterfly year, but the season's hardiest fliers persist on the warmest afternoons. Common buckeyes, clouded and orange sulphurs, cabbage whites, and the occasional painted lady or red admiral may still nectar at the last asters and warm sunny edges early in the month before the freezes shut them down. The overwintering adults — mourning cloak, eastern comma, and question mark — take their final meals of fallen fruit and tree sap and settle into hibernation behind loose bark, in woodpiles, and in the rock crevices of Rock Creek Park, where they'll wait out the winter as full adults. The rest of the District's butterflies are now safely tucked into their overwintering stages: monarch is far to the south, while swallowtails wait as chrysalides on spicebush and tulip-tree twigs and red-spotted purples as half-grown caterpillars in rolled leaf shelters. Leave the leaf litter, brush, and standing stems undisturbed — they are the winter dormitory the city's butterflies depend on.
What to plant for them is in the Washington, D.C. native plants guide
Trees This Month
November finishes the District's leaf fall, the late-coloring trees holding on after the early changers drop. The oaks are last and longest — the official scarlet oak, the white, red, and willow oaks hold russet, bronze, and deep-red leaves well into the month, and the beeches turn coppery before settling into the tan winter foliage they'll keep all season. Sweetgum drops its spiky seed balls, and the ginkgos planted along city streets blaze gold and drop all at once.
By month's end the canopy is largely bare, revealing the architecture of Rock Creek's tulip trees and the Mall's vase-shaped American elms. The evergreens stand out again — native American holly heavy with red berries, eastern red cedar, and the pines of the dry slopes. The smooth gray beech trunks and the mottled, peeling bark of the riverside sycamores along the Potomac take center stage as winter settles in.
The Washington, D.C. native plants guide covers what grows with them
Weather & Daylight
Across Washington, D.C., a typical November day averages a high near 56°F and a low near 36°F, with about 3.2 inches of precipitation — District-wide averages from the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals.
A firm chill sets in, gray 50s days and cold mid-30s nights, with steady rain hinting at winter ahead.
| Average high | 56°F |
|---|---|
| Average low | 36°F |
| Precipitation | 3.2 in |
| Sunrise (mid-month) | 6:51 ET |
| Sunset (mid-month) | 16:55 ET |
Figures are District-wide averages over the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals; local conditions vary with elevation and distance from the coast. Sunrise and sunset are computed for a midstate point on the 15th (ET). Temperature and precipitation use Maryland District-wide normals (the District has no separate climate series).
Next month's version of this page, by email
One short note when Washington, D.C.'s next month turns — what's arriving, blooming, and worth a night outside.
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The complete Washington, D.C. birding, native-plant, and night-sky references — or the whole year, week by week, in one book.
Same month elsewhere: November in Florida · November in Georgia · November in Idaho