WhenToBird

Poecile atricapillus · Paridae

When Do Black-capped Chickadees Arrive in Indiana?

Adult Black-capped Chickadee
Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Black-capped Chickadee is in Indiana all year. It turns up on about 12% of checklists at its peak (early November) and on 6.0% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekNov 1-7early November
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: early November. Here all year. Peak: on about 12% of Indiana checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 10% of 18123 checklistsJan 8-14: 10% of 12006 checklistsJan 15-21: 10% of 12403 checklistsJan 22-31: 11% of 16181 checklistsFeb 1-7: 11% of 12546 checklistsFeb 8-14: 11% of 14250 checklistsFeb 15-21: 11% of 18077 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.8% of 13590 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.4% of 14545 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.6% of 14594 checklistsMar 15-21: 10% of 13894 checklistsMar 22-31: 9.1% of 22400 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.6% of 18069 checklistsApr 8-14: 9.9% of 19579 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.9% of 19518 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.5% of 30544 checklistsMay 1-7: 10% of 28430 checklistsMay 8-14: 11% of 30624 checklistsMay 15-21: 12% of 22920 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.4% of 21234 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.5% of 12279 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.1% of 10904 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.5% of 9488 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.2% of 11362 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.0% of 9947 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.9% of 9585 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.9% of 8929 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.2% of 12639 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.2% of 9528 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.5% of 9451 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.3% of 9442 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.4% of 14969 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.9% of 12628 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 11793 checklistsSep 15-21: 11% of 11396 checklistsSep 22-30: 12% of 14203 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 11365 checklistsOct 8-14: 10% of 12092 checklistsOct 15-21: 12% of 10440 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 13883 checklistsNov 1-7: 12% of 10476 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 9776 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 9035 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 12547 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 9078 checklistsDec 8-14: 11% of 8732 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 11024 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% of 15432 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 Indiana 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 Indiana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Noble CountyBest the second week of February · 137 checklists that week, 9,080 in all71%
  2. DeKalb CountyBest late October · 36 checklists that week, 2,466 in all70%
  3. Starke CountyBest mid December · 30 checklists that week, 2,111 in all66%
  4. St. Joseph CountyBest mid September · 401 checklists that week, 29,447 in all65%
  5. Kosciusko CountyBest early February · 113 checklists that week, 8,359 in all64%
  6. Steuben CountyBest mid September · 86 checklists that week, 4,396 in all52%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Indiana Dunes State Park (Mount Jackson)Porter County, best early January · 20 checklists that week, 917 in all100%
  2. Elkart County (Oxbow) ParkElkhart County, best early February · 32 checklists that week, 892 in all99%
  3. Lakefront ParkLake County, best late March · 24 checklists that week, 1,190 in all96%
  4. Millrace ParkElkhart County, best the second week of April · 54 checklists that week, 1,136 in all92%
  5. Meno - Aki Nature PreserveAllen County, best the second week of April · 22 checklists that week, 451 in all89%
  6. Metea ParkAllen County, best the second week of April · 23 checklists that week, 380 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In Indiana, the Black-capped Chickadee 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 (240) to judge1 am: too few checklists (231) to judge2 am: too few checklists (222) to judge3 am: too few checklists (202) to judge4 am: too few checklists (674) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4329) to judge6 am: 14% of 20589 checklists7 am: 13% of 58470 checklists8 am: 12% of 86931 checklists9 am: 11% of 78239 checklists10 am: 9.7% of 66080 checklists11 am: 9.4% of 54904 checklists12 pm: 9.0% of 47610 checklists1 pm: 9.3% of 44814 checklists2 pm: 9.4% of 43790 checklists3 pm: 9.6% of 42983 checklists4 pm: 9.2% of 45349 checklists5 pm: 7.7% of 35993 checklists6 pm: 6.5% of 26447 checklists7 pm: 4.7% of 17740 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (7603) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1721) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (272) 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
January10%10%10%11%
February11%11%11%9.8%
March9.4%9.6%10%9.1%
April9.6%9.9%9.9%9.5%
May10%11%12%7.4%
June5.5%6.1%6.5%7.2%
July8.0%7.9%7.9%7.2%
August8.2%7.5%8.3%9.4%
September9.9%12%11%12%
October11%10%12%13%
November12%12%11%12%
December11%11%11%13%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Ohio: year-round, peaks the second week of April
  • Michigan: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Wisconsin: year-round, peaks the second week of September

Common questions

When do Black-capped Chickadees arrive in Indiana?
The Black-capped Chickadee is in Indiana all year. It turns up on about 12% of checklists at its peak (early November) and on 6.0% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Black-capped Chickadees leave Indiana?
The Black-capped Chickadee does not leave Indiana: it is reported all year, from 6.0% of checklists in the second week of June to 12% in early November.
When is the best time to see a Black-capped Chickadee in Indiana?
The Black-capped Chickadee is reported most often in early November, on about 12% of Indiana checklists.
Where in Indiana are Black-capped Chickadees seen most often?
By county, Noble County, DeKalb County, and Starke County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-capped Chickadee (counties with at least 200 checklists).