WhenToBird

Poecile carolinensis · Paridae

When Do Carolina Chickadees Arrive in Indiana?

Adult Carolina Chickadee
Photo: Matthew Lumsden, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Carolina Chickadee is in Indiana all year. It turns up on about 43% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 24% in its quietest week (mid July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 22-30late September
Quietest weekJul 15-21mid July

Best: late September. Here all year. Peak: on about 43% of Indiana checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 34% of 18123 checklistsJan 8-14: 35% of 12006 checklistsJan 15-21: 33% of 12403 checklistsJan 22-31: 34% of 16181 checklistsFeb 1-7: 32% of 12546 checklistsFeb 8-14: 34% of 14250 checklistsFeb 15-21: 36% of 18077 checklistsFeb 22-28: 32% of 13590 checklistsMar 1-7: 31% of 14545 checklistsMar 8-14: 31% of 14594 checklistsMar 15-21: 32% of 13894 checklistsMar 22-31: 33% of 22400 checklistsApr 1-7: 34% of 18069 checklistsApr 8-14: 36% of 19579 checklistsApr 15-21: 38% of 19518 checklistsApr 22-30: 38% of 30544 checklistsMay 1-7: 35% of 28430 checklistsMay 8-14: 30% of 30624 checklistsMay 15-21: 25% of 22920 checklistsMay 22-31: 26% of 21234 checklistsJun 1-7: 23% of 12279 checklistsJun 8-14: 25% of 10904 checklistsJun 15-21: 27% of 9488 checklistsJun 22-30: 27% of 11362 checklistsJul 1-7: 27% of 9947 checklistsJul 8-14: 24% of 9585 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 8929 checklistsJul 22-31: 24% of 12639 checklistsAug 1-7: 24% of 9528 checklistsAug 8-14: 23% of 9451 checklistsAug 15-21: 27% of 9442 checklistsAug 22-31: 31% of 14969 checklistsSep 1-7: 39% of 12628 checklistsSep 8-14: 42% of 11793 checklistsSep 15-21: 43% of 11396 checklistsSep 22-30: 43% of 14203 checklistsOct 1-7: 43% of 11365 checklistsOct 8-14: 42% of 12092 checklistsOct 15-21: 39% of 10440 checklistsOct 22-31: 39% of 13883 checklistsNov 1-7: 37% of 10476 checklistsNov 8-14: 38% of 9776 checklistsNov 15-21: 38% of 9035 checklistsNov 22-30: 36% of 12547 checklistsDec 1-7: 35% of 9078 checklistsDec 8-14: 36% of 8732 checklistsDec 15-21: 36% of 11024 checklistsDec 22-31: 34% of 15432 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 Indiana 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 Indiana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Brown CountyBest mid January · 63 checklists that week, 5,917 in all87%
  2. Blackford CountyBest mid September · 15 checklists that week, 962 in all86%
  3. Fayette CountyBest the second week of February · 39 checklists that week, 1,864 in all85%
  4. Morgan CountyBest mid November · 49 checklists that week, 6,146 in all80%
  5. Scott CountyBest early December · 15 checklists that week, 798 in all79%
  6. Carroll CountyBest mid October · 14 checklists that week, 930 in all78%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Vaughn HollowBrown County, best late February · 24 checklists that week, 919 in all100%
  2. Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (northeast)Jackson County, best late January · 21 checklists that week, 348 in all100%
  3. Cool Creek ParkHamilton County, best late November · 30 checklists that week, 2,075 in all99%
  4. Holliday ParkMarion County, best mid December · 23 checklists that week, 896 in all98%
  5. Imperial HillsJohnson County, best the second week of September · 27 checklists that week, 543 in all97%
  6. Starkey Nature ParkBoone County, best early September · 35 checklists that week, 1,386 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In Indiana, the Carolina Chickadee is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (41% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (240) to judge1 am: too few checklists (231) to judge2 am: too few checklists (222) to judge3 am: too few checklists (202) to judge4 am: too few checklists (674) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4329) to judge6 am: 36% of 20589 checklists7 am: 39% of 58470 checklists8 am: 42% of 86931 checklists9 am: 39% of 78239 checklists10 am: 34% of 66080 checklists11 am: 32% of 54904 checklists12 pm: 30% of 47610 checklists1 pm: 30% of 44814 checklists2 pm: 29% of 43790 checklists3 pm: 30% of 42983 checklists4 pm: 30% of 45349 checklists5 pm: 28% of 35993 checklists6 pm: 27% of 26447 checklists7 pm: 21% of 17740 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (7603) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1721) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (272) 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
January34%35%33%34%
February32%34%36%32%
March31%31%32%33%
April34%36%38%38%
May35%30%25%26%
June23%25%27%27%
July27%24%23%24%
August24%23%27%31%
September39%42%43%43%
October43%42%39%39%
November37%38%38%36%
December35%36%36%34%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: year-round, peaks mid December
  • Kentucky: year-round, peaks early October
  • Ohio: year-round, peaks late September
  • Tennessee: year-round, peaks late September

Common questions

When do Carolina Chickadees arrive in Indiana?
The Carolina Chickadee is in Indiana all year. It turns up on about 43% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 24% in its quietest week (mid July).
When do Carolina Chickadees leave Indiana?
The Carolina Chickadee does not leave Indiana: it is reported all year, from 24% of checklists in mid July to 43% in late September.
When is the best time to see a Carolina Chickadee in Indiana?
The Carolina Chickadee is reported most often in late September, on about 43% of Indiana checklists.
Where in Indiana are Carolina Chickadees seen most often?
By county, Brown County, Blackford County, and Fayette County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Carolina Chickadee (counties with at least 200 checklists).