WhenToBird

Toxostoma rufum · Mimidae

When Do Brown Thrashers Arrive in Georgia?

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

Brown Thrashers are in Georgia all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid September, peak in early October (36% of checklists), and fall back by mid October. In the quietest week (mid November) they are still on about 14% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildSep 15-21mid September
PeakOct 1-7early October
Fall back byOct 15-21mid October
FewestNov 15-21mid November

Best: early October. Here all year; numbers build from mid September and fall back by mid October. Peak: on about 36% of Georgia checklists.

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

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 15% of 22238 checklistsJan 8-14: 15% of 16390 checklistsJan 15-21: 15% of 16779 checklistsJan 22-31: 14% of 22964 checklistsFeb 1-7: 14% of 16870 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 19486 checklistsFeb 15-21: 17% of 28540 checklistsFeb 22-28: 20% of 17005 checklistsMar 1-7: 24% of 15920 checklistsMar 8-14: 26% of 16274 checklistsMar 15-21: 26% of 16432 checklistsMar 22-31: 28% of 25318 checklistsApr 1-7: 29% of 19292 checklistsApr 8-14: 30% of 19742 checklistsApr 15-21: 33% of 21498 checklistsApr 22-30: 34% of 29736 checklistsMay 1-7: 34% of 20858 checklistsMay 8-14: 34% of 20346 checklistsMay 15-21: 32% of 15859 checklistsMay 22-31: 31% of 19867 checklistsJun 1-7: 30% of 13467 checklistsJun 8-14: 28% of 12812 checklistsJun 15-21: 28% of 11379 checklistsJun 22-30: 27% of 14121 checklistsJul 1-7: 26% of 11176 checklistsJul 8-14: 23% of 10695 checklistsJul 15-21: 21% of 10655 checklistsJul 22-31: 19% of 15106 checklistsAug 1-7: 16% of 10650 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 10247 checklistsAug 15-21: 15% of 10371 checklistsAug 22-31: 16% of 15203 checklistsSep 1-7: 19% of 13007 checklistsSep 8-14: 23% of 12541 checklistsSep 15-21: 28% of 12943 checklistsSep 22-30: 35% of 17655 checklistsOct 1-7: 38% of 14646 checklistsOct 8-14: 35% of 15836 checklistsOct 15-21: 29% of 13124 checklistsOct 22-31: 23% of 15859 checklistsNov 1-7: 18% of 11711 checklistsNov 8-14: 14% of 11587 checklistsNov 15-21: 14% of 12025 checklistsNov 22-30: 13% of 16431 checklistsDec 1-7: 15% of 11256 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 11967 checklistsDec 15-21: 15% of 15618 checklistsDec 22-31: 14% of 22453 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 Georgia 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 Georgia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Jeff Davis CountyBest mid April · 35 checklists that week, 627 in all71%
  2. Banks CountyBest late September · 16 checklists that week, 837 in all66%
  3. Tattnall CountyBest early October · 19 checklists that week, 650 in all65%
  4. Spalding CountyBest the second week of May · 46 checklists that week, 1,712 in all63%
  5. Clarke CountyBest early October · 739 checklists that week, 35,133 in all59%
  6. Washington CountyBest mid October · 13 checklists that week, 523 in all59%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cranford ParkLowndes County, best late April · 25 checklists that week, 265 in all98%
  2. Cauley CreekFulton County, best late June · 24 checklists that week, 1,380 in all97%
  3. Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (Chattahoochee Plantation)Cobb County, best early October · 30 checklists that week, 571 in all94%
  4. Price ParkCobb County, best early October · 22 checklists that week, 655 in all92%
  5. Big Creek GreenwayFulton County, best early October · 21 checklists that week, 822 in all89%

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

Best time of day

In Georgia, the Brown Thrasher is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (32% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%12 am: too few checklists (334) to judge1 am: too few checklists (277) to judge2 am: too few checklists (264) to judge3 am: too few checklists (282) to judge4 am: too few checklists (463) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1513) to judge6 am: 31% of 16790 checklists7 am: 33% of 73569 checklists8 am: 31% of 104956 checklists9 am: 28% of 96241 checklists10 am: 23% of 81903 checklists11 am: 20% of 66236 checklists12 pm: 18% of 56159 checklists1 pm: 17% of 48260 checklists2 pm: 17% of 46435 checklists3 pm: 17% of 46015 checklists4 pm: 18% of 47438 checklists5 pm: 19% of 38866 checklists6 pm: 21% of 26032 checklists7 pm: 20% of 16610 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5490) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (995) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (310) 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
January15%15%15%14%
February14%15%17%20%
March24%26%26%28%
April29%30%33%34%
May34%34%32%31%
June30%28%28%27%
July26%23%21%19%
August16%16%15%16%
September19%23%28%35%
October38%35%29%23%
November18%14%14%13%
December15%14%15%14%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives mid September, in the same week than Georgia
  • Alabama: arrives mid September, in the same week than Georgia
  • Tennessee: arrives mid March, 24 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • North Carolina: arrives the second week of September, 1 week earlier than Georgia

Common questions

When do Brown Thrashers arrive in Georgia?
Brown Thrashers are in Georgia all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid September, peak in early October (36% of checklists), and fall back by mid October. In the quietest week (mid November) they are still on about 14% of checklists.
When do Brown Thrashers leave Georgia?
Brown Thrashers never fully leave Georgia: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid October, but some are still reported in every week, about 14% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Brown Thrasher in Georgia?
The Brown Thrasher is reported most often in early October, on about 36% of Georgia checklists.
Where in Georgia are Brown Thrashers seen most often?
By county, Jeff Davis County, Banks County, and Tattnall County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Brown Thrasher (counties with at least 200 checklists).