WhenToBird

Peucaea aestivalis · Passerellidae

When Do Bachman's Sparrows Arrive in Florida?

Adult Bachman's Sparrow
Photo: Brandon Johnson, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Bachman's Sparrows arrive in Florida in mid February, peak in the second week of June (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 15-21mid February
Common byFeb 15-21mid February
PeakJun 8-14the second week of June
Most gone byAug 15-21mid August

Best: the second week of June. First arrivals mid February; most are gone by mid August. Peak: on about 1.6% of Florida checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.3% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.4% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.7% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.0% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.1% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.0% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.3% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.4% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.5% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.7% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.4% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.8% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.4% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.4% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.3% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.3% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.9% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.5% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.2% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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.

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Where in Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Baker CountyBest the second week of April · 24 checklists that week, 1,308 in all27%
  2. Liberty CountyBest the second week of April · 25 checklists that week, 1,141 in all27%
  3. Okeechobee CountyBest the second week of April · 167 checklists that week, 5,380 in all19%
  4. Washington CountyBest late July · 10 checklists that week, 1,773 in all19%
  5. Gilchrist CountyBest late April · 70 checklists that week, 1,979 in all18%
  6. Lafayette CountyBest mid May · 33 checklists that week, 1,203 in all16%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Withlacoochee State ForestHernando County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 769 in all88%
  2. Pole Cypress PondsOsceola County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 1,019 in all85%
  3. Hal Scott Regional Preserve and ParkOrange County, best early June · 22 checklists that week, 812 in all84%
  4. Longleaf Flatwoods ReserveAlachua County, best late May · 30 checklists that week, 676 in all82%
  5. Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area (south 2)Osceola County, best the second week of April · 20 checklists that week, 263 in all81%
  6. Wekiwa SpringsOrange County, best mid July · 37 checklists that week, 1,093 in all80%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Bachman's Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.3% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%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: 2.3% of 94591 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 0.5% 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
January0.1%0.2%0.2%0.3%
February0.3%0.4%0.5%0.7%
March0.7%1.0%1.1%1.0%
April1.1%0.9%1.0%1.0%
May1.2%1.3%1.4%1.5%
June1.7%1.4%1.8%1.4%
July1.4%1.3%1.3%0.9%
August0.9%0.9%0.7%0.5%
September0.4%0.2%0.3%0.3%
October0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
November0.2%0.2%0.1%0.2%
December0.2%0.2%0.2%0.1%

Common questions

When do Bachman's Sparrows arrive in Florida?
Bachman's Sparrows arrive in Florida in mid February, peak in the second week of June (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.
When do Bachman's Sparrows leave Florida?
Most Bachman's Sparrows have left Florida by mid August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Bachman's Sparrow in Florida?
The Bachman's Sparrow is reported most often in the second week of June, on about 1.6% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Bachman's Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Baker County, Liberty County, and Okeechobee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Bachman's Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).