WhenToBird

Quiscalus major · Icteridae

When Do Boat-tailed Grackles Arrive in Alabama?

Adult female Boat-tailed Grackle
Photo: Josiah Londerée, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Boat-tailed Grackle is in Alabama all year. It turns up on about 3.6% of checklists at its peak (mid March) and on 1.4% in its quietest week (early September).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 15-21mid March
Quietest weekSep 1-7early September

Best: mid March. Here all year. Peak: on about 3.6% of Alabama checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.3% of 8642 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.5% of 6607 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.0% of 6680 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.0% of 9008 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.1% of 6642 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.6% of 7568 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.9% of 9929 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.4% of 6490 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.2% of 6458 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.1% of 6570 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.8% of 6773 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.7% of 10830 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.2% of 8995 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.1% of 10390 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.6% of 12700 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.7% of 14225 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.4% of 9140 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.4% of 8111 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.8% of 6353 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.9% of 8318 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.7% of 5231 checklistsJun 8-14: 2.5% of 4757 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.4% of 4646 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.9% of 5740 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.4% of 4694 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.1% of 4178 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.9% of 4109 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.4% of 6000 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.8% of 4666 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.5% of 4468 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.6% of 4474 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.4% of 6494 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.5% of 5434 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.4% of 5216 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.5% of 5162 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.6% of 7474 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.0% of 6916 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.3% of 7332 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.0% of 6038 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.6% of 7071 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.9% of 5207 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.9% of 4883 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.7% of 5122 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.1% of 7130 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.5% of 4897 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.2% of 4738 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.1% of 5321 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.3% of 9158 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 Alabama 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Alabama

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Baldwin CountyBest mid March · 1276 checklists that week, 54,971 in all15%
  2. Mobile CountyBest mid June · 359 checklists that week, 34,270 in all11%
  3. Barbour CountyBest late March · 118 checklists that week, 2,947 in all8.1%
  4. Geneva CountyBest the second week of May · 80 checklists that week, 3,203 in all5.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Meaher State ParkBaldwin County, best mid March · 29 checklists that week, 1,299 in all86%
  2. Shelby LakesBaldwin County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 1,533 in all82%
  3. Battleship Memorial ParkMobile County, best mid April · 30 checklists that week, 425 in all80%
  4. Village PointBaldwin County, best early June · 43 checklists that week, 3,600 in all70%
  5. Florida PointBaldwin County, best mid March · 44 checklists that week, 316 in all59%

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

Best time of day

In Alabama, the Boat-tailed Grackle is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.8% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (109) to judge1 am: too few checklists (111) to judge2 am: too few checklists (112) to judge3 am: too few checklists (143) to judge4 am: too few checklists (303) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4125) to judge6 am: 4.7% of 26677 checklists7 am: 3.2% of 42599 checklists8 am: 2.6% of 39919 checklists9 am: 2.5% of 34699 checklists10 am: 2.2% of 28551 checklists11 am: 2.1% of 23505 checklists12 pm: 1.9% of 20345 checklists1 pm: 2.1% of 18964 checklists2 pm: 2.2% of 20110 checklists3 pm: 2.2% of 20685 checklists4 pm: 1.8% of 19041 checklists5 pm: 1.4% of 13807 checklists6 pm: 1.5% of 8507 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3367) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (637) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (295) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (233) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (141) 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
January2.3%2.5%2.0%2.0%
February2.1%2.6%1.9%2.4%
March3.2%3.1%3.8%3.7%
April3.2%3.1%3.6%2.7%
May2.4%2.4%2.8%2.9%
June2.7%2.5%2.4%2.9%
July2.4%2.1%1.9%1.4%
August1.8%1.5%1.6%1.4%
September1.5%1.4%1.5%1.6%
October4.0%2.3%2.0%2.6%
November2.9%2.9%2.7%2.1%
December2.5%2.2%2.1%2.3%

Neighboring states

  • Mississippi: summer visitor, peaks mid April
  • Georgia: winter visitor, peaks the second week of October
  • Louisiana: all year, most in spring, peaks mid April
  • South Carolina: all year, most in spring, peaks early June

Common questions

When do Boat-tailed Grackles arrive in Alabama?
The Boat-tailed Grackle is in Alabama all year. It turns up on about 3.6% of checklists at its peak (mid March) and on 1.4% in its quietest week (early September).
When do Boat-tailed Grackles leave Alabama?
The Boat-tailed Grackle does not leave Alabama: it is reported all year, from 1.4% of checklists in early September to 3.6% in mid March.
When is the best time to see a Boat-tailed Grackle in Alabama?
The Boat-tailed Grackle is reported most often in mid March, on about 3.6% of Alabama checklists.
Where in Alabama are Boat-tailed Grackles seen most often?
By county, Baldwin County, Mobile County, and Barbour County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Boat-tailed Grackle (counties with at least 200 checklists).