WhenToBird

Spizella passerina · Passerellidae

When Do Chipping Sparrows Arrive in Arizona?

Adult Chipping Sparrow
Photo: Shirley Zundell, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Chipping Sparrows are in Arizona all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late August, peak in early October (15% of checklists), and fall back by mid December. In the quietest week (mid July) they are still on about 2.8% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 22-31late August
PeakOct 1-7early October
Fall back byDec 15-21mid December
FewestJul 15-21mid July

Best: early October. Here all year; numbers build from late August and fall back by mid December. Peak: on about 15% of Arizona checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 8.1% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 8.9% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.5% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.9% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 10% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 9.2% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 8.3% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.9% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 10% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 10% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 11% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 12% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 10% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.6% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.1% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.9% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.8% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.0% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.5% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.5% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.4% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.0% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.9% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.7% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.5% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.6% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 7.3% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.2% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 14% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 15% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 16% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 15% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 12% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 9.5% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 9.2% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 9.1% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 9.2% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 10% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 8.6% of 39567 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 Arizona 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 Arizona

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Navajo CountyBest the second week of September · 473 checklists that week, 18,838 in all37%
  2. Cochise CountyBest the second week of October · 2238 checklists that week, 190,093 in all33%
  3. Apache CountyBest early September · 355 checklists that week, 12,931 in all30%
  4. Santa Cruz CountyBest early February · 3193 checklists that week, 162,726 in all29%
  5. Coconino CountyBest mid September · 2174 checklists that week, 90,870 in all29%
  6. Gila CountyBest late September · 307 checklists that week, 14,834 in all26%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Road Runner ParkMaricopa County, best mid October · 21 checklists that week, 134 in all85%
  2. Coronado National MemorialCochise County, best mid November · 21 checklists that week, 1,157 in all84%
  3. Grand Canyon National ParkCoconino County, best mid August · 64 checklists that week, 1,669 in all80%

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

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Chipping Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (12% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (488) to judge1 am: too few checklists (503) to judge2 am: too few checklists (489) to judge3 am: too few checklists (735) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4115) to judge5 am: 7.1% of 38350 checklists6 am: 11% of 118786 checklists7 am: 13% of 183415 checklists8 am: 12% of 187346 checklists9 am: 10% of 151342 checklists10 am: 8.9% of 124522 checklists11 am: 8.5% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 8.2% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 8.2% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 8.0% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 7.7% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 6.7% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 5.4% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 3.3% of 31061 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (16076) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2369) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1100) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (604) 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
January8.1%8.9%8.5%9.9%
February10%9.2%8.3%9.9%
March10%10%11%12%
April14%14%14%13%
May10%7.6%5.1%3.9%
June3.8%4.0%3.5%3.5%
July3.4%3.0%2.9%2.7%
August3.5%4.6%7.3%9.2%
September11%12%14%15%
October16%15%13%12%
November11%11%9.5%9.2%
December9.1%9.2%10%8.6%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: arrives late July, 4 weeks earlier than Arizona
  • Nevada: arrives late March, 20 weeks earlier than Arizona
  • Utah: arrives the second week of April, 18 weeks earlier than Arizona
  • California: arrives late August, in the same week than Arizona

Common questions

When do Chipping Sparrows arrive in Arizona?
Chipping Sparrows are in Arizona all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late August, peak in early October (15% of checklists), and fall back by mid December. In the quietest week (mid July) they are still on about 2.8% of checklists.
When do Chipping Sparrows leave Arizona?
Chipping Sparrows never fully leave Arizona: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid December, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.8% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Chipping Sparrow in Arizona?
The Chipping Sparrow is reported most often in early October, on about 15% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Chipping Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Navajo County, Cochise County, and Apache County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Chipping Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).