WhenToBird

Toxostoma rufum · Mimidae

When Do Brown Thrashers Arrive in Florida?

Adult Brown Thrasher
Photo: northerly, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Brown Thrashers are in Florida all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early September, peak in early October (16% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (early January) they are still on about 2.6% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildSep 1-7early September
PeakOct 1-7early October
Fall back byOct 22-31late October
FewestJan 1-7early January

Best: early October. Here all year; numbers build from early September and fall back by late October. Peak: on about 16% of Florida checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 2.6% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.6% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.8% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.0% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.9% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.8% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.9% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 7.5% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.1% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.3% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.8% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 10% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 11% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 11% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 12% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 13% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 13% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 12% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 10% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.9% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.3% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.1% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.2% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.8% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.8% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.2% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 13% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 15% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 9.8% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.3% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.7% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.7% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.2% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.7% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.6% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.6% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.6% 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. Santa Rosa CountyBest late April · 523 checklists that week, 15,001 in all54%
  2. Escambia CountyBest late April · 845 checklists that week, 25,457 in all47%
  3. Columbia CountyBest the second week of October · 112 checklists that week, 5,568 in all42%
  4. Washington CountyBest the second week of October · 22 checklists that week, 1,773 in all41%
  5. Leon CountyBest early October · 1321 checklists that week, 68,576 in all38%
  6. Okaloosa CountyBest the second week of October · 315 checklists that week, 16,003 in all34%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake JacksonLeon County, best the second week of May · 32 checklists that week, 2,387 in all91%
  2. Weekiwachee Preserve (south)Pasco County, best early October · 21 checklists that week, 511 in all87%
  3. Plantation Preserve Linear ParkBroward County, best late April · 207 checklists that week, 3,665 in all86%
  4. Glebe ParkSarasota County, best late September · 31 checklists that week, 1,049 in all85%
  5. Bowline ParkCollier County, best the second week of April · 22 checklists that week, 439 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Brown Thrasher is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 14% of 94591 checklists7 am: 13% of 296183 checklists8 am: 11% of 319987 checklists9 am: 8.1% of 254830 checklists10 am: 6.1% of 209480 checklists11 am: 5.4% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 5.2% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 4.9% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 5.0% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 5.5% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 5.9% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 6.9% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 7.7% 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
January2.6%2.6%2.8%3.0%
February3.9%4.8%5.9%7.5%
March8.1%8.3%8.8%10%
April11%11%12%12%
May13%13%13%13%
June13%12%12%12%
July12%10%9.9%8.3%
August7.1%7.2%6.8%7.8%
September9.2%12%13%16%
October17%15%13%9.8%
November6.3%4.7%3.7%3.2%
December2.7%2.6%2.6%2.6%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives mid September, 2 weeks later than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives mid September, 2 weeks later than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives mid September, 2 weeks later than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives mid September, 2 weeks later than Florida

Common questions

When do Brown Thrashers arrive in Florida?
Brown Thrashers are in Florida all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early September, peak in early October (16% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (early January) they are still on about 2.6% of checklists.
When do Brown Thrashers leave Florida?
Brown Thrashers never fully leave Florida: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late October, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.6% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Brown Thrasher in Florida?
The Brown Thrasher is reported most often in early October, on about 16% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Brown Thrashers seen most often?
By county, Santa Rosa County, Escambia County, and Columbia County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Brown Thrasher (counties with at least 200 checklists).