WhenToBird

Toxostoma rufum · Mimidae

When Do Brown Thrashers Arrive in Tennessee?

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

Brown Thrashers are in Tennessee all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in early May (26% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (early February) they are still on about 6.6% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 15-21mid March
PeakMay 1-7early May
Fall back byJul 15-21mid July
FewestFeb 1-7early February

Best: early May. Here all year; numbers build from mid March and fall back by mid July. Peak: on about 26% of Tennessee checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 6.9% of 16696 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.2% of 13056 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.5% of 13646 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.9% of 18071 checklistsFeb 1-7: 6.5% of 13342 checklistsFeb 8-14: 6.1% of 14316 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.5% of 20395 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.2% of 13129 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 12701 checklistsMar 8-14: 15% of 12789 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 13599 checklistsMar 22-31: 24% of 20293 checklistsApr 1-7: 24% of 15779 checklistsApr 8-14: 24% of 16646 checklistsApr 15-21: 25% of 18625 checklistsApr 22-30: 26% of 26689 checklistsMay 1-7: 27% of 21054 checklistsMay 8-14: 26% of 19954 checklistsMay 15-21: 25% of 14494 checklistsMay 22-31: 25% of 17790 checklistsJun 1-7: 24% of 11344 checklistsJun 8-14: 24% of 11049 checklistsJun 15-21: 25% of 9625 checklistsJun 22-30: 23% of 11522 checklistsJul 1-7: 21% of 9208 checklistsJul 8-14: 18% of 8814 checklistsJul 15-21: 17% of 8887 checklistsJul 22-31: 15% of 12739 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 9632 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 9514 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 9619 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 14227 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 11988 checklistsSep 8-14: 17% of 11660 checklistsSep 15-21: 22% of 11774 checklistsSep 22-30: 23% of 15658 checklistsOct 1-7: 24% of 12641 checklistsOct 8-14: 21% of 12389 checklistsOct 15-21: 17% of 10249 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 14085 checklistsNov 1-7: 10% of 10700 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.8% of 10709 checklistsNov 15-21: 6.9% of 9955 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.1% of 13423 checklistsDec 1-7: 7.2% of 10106 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.7% of 10478 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.7% of 12177 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.3% of 17397 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Grainger CountyBest late May · 36 checklists that week, 3,030 in all63%
  2. Lincoln CountyBest late May · 66 checklists that week, 4,596 in all61%
  3. Gibson CountyBest the second week of May · 175 checklists that week, 5,705 in all57%
  4. Hawkins CountyBest mid June · 187 checklists that week, 11,261 in all55%
  5. Giles CountyBest mid April · 26 checklists that week, 803 in all51%
  6. Weakley CountyBest the second week of October · 35 checklists that week, 2,092 in all50%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)Roane County, best the second week of June · 25 checklists that week, 1,062 in all96%
  2. Greenway FarmsHamilton County, best the second week of October · 24 checklists that week, 451 in all93%
  3. Kyker Bottoms Wildlife Management AreaBlount County, best late June · 26 checklists that week, 1,772 in all87%
  4. Baylor LakeHamilton County, best the second week of January · 20 checklists that week, 423 in all85%
  5. River Bluff Small Wild AreaAnderson County, best early May · 29 checklists that week, 1,201 in all83%

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

Best time of day

In Tennessee, the Brown Thrasher is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (23% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (224) to judge1 am: too few checklists (253) to judge2 am: too few checklists (245) to judge3 am: too few checklists (267) to judge4 am: too few checklists (582) to judge5 am: too few checklists (5688) to judge6 am: 24% of 36828 checklists7 am: 23% of 72816 checklists8 am: 21% of 76910 checklists9 am: 18% of 69071 checklists10 am: 15% of 60943 checklists11 am: 14% of 52311 checklists12 pm: 13% of 46524 checklists1 pm: 11% of 41133 checklists2 pm: 11% of 40305 checklists3 pm: 12% of 41013 checklists4 pm: 12% of 40029 checklists5 pm: 14% of 29775 checklists6 pm: 16% of 20977 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (12529) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4456) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1056) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (445) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (252) 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
January6.9%7.2%8.5%6.9%
February6.5%6.1%7.5%8.2%
March11%15%18%24%
April24%24%25%26%
May27%26%25%25%
June24%24%25%23%
July21%18%17%15%
August12%11%11%11%
September14%17%22%23%
October24%21%17%13%
November10%7.8%6.9%7.1%
December7.2%7.7%8.7%7.3%

Neighboring states

  • Kentucky: arrives early March, 2 weeks earlier than Tennessee
  • Georgia: arrives mid September, 24 weeks earlier than Tennessee
  • Alabama: arrives mid September, 24 weeks earlier than Tennessee
  • Indiana: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than Tennessee

Common questions

When do Brown Thrashers arrive in Tennessee?
Brown Thrashers are in Tennessee all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in early May (26% of checklists), and fall back by mid July. In the quietest week (early February) they are still on about 6.6% of checklists.
When do Brown Thrashers leave Tennessee?
Brown Thrashers never fully leave Tennessee: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid July, but some are still reported in every week, about 6.6% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Brown Thrasher in Tennessee?
The Brown Thrasher is reported most often in early May, on about 26% of Tennessee checklists.
Where in Tennessee are Brown Thrashers seen most often?
By county, Grainger County, Lincoln County, and Gibson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Brown Thrasher (counties with at least 200 checklists).