WhenToBird

Spizella passerina · Passerellidae

When Do Chipping Sparrows Arrive in New Mexico?

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

Chipping Sparrows are in New Mexico all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late July, peak in late August (31% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildJul 22-31late July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Fall back byOct 8-14the second week of October
FewestFeb 15-21mid February

Best: late August. Here all year; numbers build from late July and fall back by the second week of October. Peak: on about 31% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 2.9% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.0% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.1% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.9% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.3% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.8% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.8% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.0% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.1% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.5% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.0% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.4% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 11% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 17% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 23% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 27% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 29% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 25% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 20% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 16% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 16% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 15% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 16% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 15% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 18% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 22% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 24% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 30% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 31% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 32% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 30% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 28% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 29% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 26% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 22% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 11% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.5% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.0% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.6% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.3% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.4% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.5% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.8% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.1% of 14523 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 New Mexico 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in New Mexico

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cibola CountyBest late August · 111 checklists that week, 3,986 in all56%
  2. Lea CountyBest late April · 137 checklists that week, 2,698 in all47%
  3. Harding CountyBest late September · 28 checklists that week, 932 in all46%
  4. San Miguel CountyBest the second week of September · 226 checklists that week, 8,857 in all46%
  5. Mora CountyBest late September · 77 checklists that week, 2,730 in all44%
  6. Los Alamos CountyBest late September · 1153 checklists that week, 50,554 in all43%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. WildflowerBernalillo County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 344 in all95%
  2. Water Canyon Loop TrailLos Alamos County, best late May · 28 checklists that week, 323 in all86%
  3. Ojito de San AntonioBernalillo County, best late April · 36 checklists that week, 508 in all84%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Chipping Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (20% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (186) to judge1 am: too few checklists (180) to judge2 am: too few checklists (172) to judge3 am: too few checklists (183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (527) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4013) to judge6 am: 22% of 29677 checklists7 am: 20% of 71785 checklists8 am: 18% of 79208 checklists9 am: 15% of 61605 checklists10 am: 13% of 49588 checklists11 am: 11% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 11% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 9.6% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 9.5% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 9.3% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 10% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 13% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 12% of 15112 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (9040) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2738) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (736) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (384) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January2.9%3.0%3.1%2.9%
February3.3%2.8%2.8%3.0%
March3.1%3.5%4.0%6.4%
April11%17%23%27%
May29%25%20%16%
June14%14%16%15%
July16%15%15%18%
August22%24%30%31%
September32%30%28%29%
October26%22%16%11%
November6.5%5.0%3.6%3.3%
December3.4%3.5%3.8%4.1%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: arrives late August, 4 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Colorado: arrives the second week of April, 14 weeks earlier than New Mexico
  • Utah: arrives the second week of April, 14 weeks earlier than New Mexico
  • Oklahoma: arrives late August, 4 weeks later than New Mexico

Common questions

When do Chipping Sparrows arrive in New Mexico?
Chipping Sparrows are in New Mexico all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from late July, peak in late August (31% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.
When do Chipping Sparrows leave New Mexico?
Chipping Sparrows never fully leave New Mexico: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of October, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Chipping Sparrow in New Mexico?
The Chipping Sparrow is reported most often in late August, on about 31% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Chipping Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Cibola County, Lea County, and Harding County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Chipping Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).