WhenToBird

Amphispiza bilineata · Passerellidae

When Do Black-throated Sparrows Arrive in Utah?

Adult Black-throated Sparrow
Photo: jubileej, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Black-throated Sparrows arrive in Utah in late March, peak in early June (3.5% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone byAug 1-7early August

Best: early June. First arrivals late March; most are gone by early August. Peak: on about 3.5% of Utah checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febrare
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.6% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.5% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.2% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.8% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.4% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.5% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.7% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.4% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.9% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.8% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.6% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.0% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.2% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.7% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.8% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.2% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.5% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.5% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.7% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.4% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.9% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.7% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Grand CountyBest the second week of July · 259 checklists that week, 18,662 in all22%
  2. San Juan CountyBest the second week of May · 315 checklists that week, 6,877 in all18%
  3. Washington CountyBest early May · 1685 checklists that week, 43,893 in all14%
  4. Kane CountyBest late May · 336 checklists that week, 6,105 in all13%
  5. Emery CountyBest early June · 52 checklists that week, 2,339 in all12%
  6. Juab CountyBest the second week of June · 52 checklists that week, 2,572 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Snow Canyon State ParkWashington County, best early May · 26 checklists that week, 699 in all69%
  2. Moquitch HillWashington County, best mid July · 23 checklists that week, 994 in all62%
  3. Soldiers PassUtah County, best late May · 31 checklists that week, 281 in all52%
  4. The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration 706Washington County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 515 in all52%
  5. Indian CanyonWashington County, best early June · 27 checklists that week, 1,539 in all37%
  6. Coalpits WashWashington County, best mid May · 20 checklists that week, 423 in all33%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Black-throated Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.1% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 4.5% of 11714 checklists7 am: 2.7% of 33209 checklists8 am: 1.9% of 46944 checklists9 am: 1.6% of 46290 checklists10 am: 1.5% of 43144 checklists11 am: 1.1% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 1.1% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 1.4% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 1.4% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
March0.2%0.3%0.6%1.5%
April2.2%2.8%2.4%3.5%
May3.7%3.4%2.9%3.8%
June3.6%3.0%3.2%2.7%
July2.8%2.2%2.5%2.5%
August1.7%1.4%0.9%0.7%
September0.4%0.3%0.3%0.3%
October0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives mid February, 5 weeks earlier than Utah
  • New Mexico: arrives early March, 3 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks the second week of August
  • California: arrives late January, 8 weeks earlier than Utah

Common questions

When do Black-throated Sparrows arrive in Utah?
Black-throated Sparrows arrive in Utah in late March, peak in early June (3.5% of checklists), and most are gone by early August.
When do Black-throated Sparrows leave Utah?
Most Black-throated Sparrows have left Utah by early August, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of August.
When is the best time to see a Black-throated Sparrow in Utah?
The Black-throated Sparrow is reported most often in early June, on about 3.5% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Black-throated Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Grand County, San Juan County, and Washington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-throated Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).