WhenToBird

Spizella atrogularis · Passerellidae

When Do Black-chinned Sparrows Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult Black-chinned Sparrow
Photo: datadan, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black-chinned Sparrows arrive in New Mexico in the second week of December, peak in early June (1.0% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsDec 8-14the second week of December
Common byDec 8-14the second week of December
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: early June. First arrivals the second week of December; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 1.0% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.2% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.3% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.9% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.2% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.0% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.7% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.8% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.6% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.3% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.3% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% of 14523 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Luna CountyBest the second week of February · 58 checklists that week, 3,814 in all5.3%
  2. Lincoln CountyBest mid May · 152 checklists that week, 4,676 in all4.6%
  3. Grant CountyBest the second week of June · 349 checklists that week, 16,662 in all4.4%
  4. Otero CountyBest early July · 213 checklists that week, 8,483 in all3.8%
  5. Dona Ana CountyBest late April · 983 checklists that week, 29,776 in all3.4%
  6. Hidalgo CountyBest the second week of June · 86 checklists that week, 7,579 in all2.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cibola National Forest (southwest)Bernalillo County, best late April · 27 checklists that week, 339 in all46%
  2. Embudito TrailheadBernalillo County, best the second week of May · 66 checklists that week, 1,811 in all44%
  3. Sandia FoothillsBernalillo County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 810 in all35%
  4. Ice CanyonDona Ana County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 1,009 in all28%
  5. Gila National Forest (southwest)Grant County, best the second week of June · 22 checklists that week, 235 in all28%
  6. Bar CanyonDona Ana County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 264 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Black-chinned Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (186) to judge1 am: too few checklists (180) to judge2 am: too few checklists (172) to judge3 am: too few checklists (183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (527) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4013) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 29677 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 71785 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 79208 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 61605 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 49588 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 15112 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (9040) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2738) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (736) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (384) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%
February0.2%0.3%0.2%0.3%
March0.2%0.3%0.2%0.3%
April0.4%0.7%0.9%0.8%
May0.9%0.9%0.8%1.0%
June1.2%0.9%0.9%1.0%
July0.8%0.7%0.8%0.6%
August0.5%0.4%0.4%0.3%
September0.3%0.2%0.2%0.2%
October0.1%0.2%0.2%0.2%
November0.1%0.2%0.1%0.1%
December0.2%0.3%0.3%0.3%

Common questions

When do Black-chinned Sparrows arrive in New Mexico?
Black-chinned Sparrows arrive in New Mexico in the second week of December, peak in early June (1.0% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Black-chinned Sparrows leave New Mexico?
Most Black-chinned Sparrows have left New Mexico by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black-chinned Sparrow in New Mexico?
The Black-chinned Sparrow is reported most often in early June, on about 1.0% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Black-chinned Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Luna County, Lincoln County, and Grant County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-chinned Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).