WhenToBird

Spizella passerina · Passerellidae

When Do Chipping Sparrows Arrive in Utah?

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

Chipping Sparrows reach Utah in the second week of April, are common by late April, peak in late June (16% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 8-14the second week of April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakJun 22-30late June
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: late June. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 16% of Utah checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.5% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.3% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.4% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 14% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 17% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 15% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 17% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 16% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 10% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 10% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.2% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.7% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.0% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.5% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.4% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Beaver CountyBest late June · 187 checklists that week, 6,956 in all41%
  2. Sanpete CountyBest mid May · 124 checklists that week, 6,190 in all37%
  3. Daggett CountyBest late May · 138 checklists that week, 1,885 in all35%
  4. Duchesne CountyBest early July · 136 checklists that week, 2,692 in all35%
  5. Morgan CountyBest the second week of September · 50 checklists that week, 3,178 in all33%
  6. Piute CountyBest early July · 32 checklists that week, 1,035 in all32%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. King Nature ParkCache County, best mid May · 27 checklists that week, 152 in all89%
  2. Mount Nebo WildernessUtah County, best late June · 20 checklists that week, 125 in all85%
  3. Yellow Fork CanyonSalt Lake County, best late June · 35 checklists that week, 817 in all83%
  4. Vickory CanyonTooele County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 155 in all82%
  5. Settlement Canyon ReservoirTooele County, best late May · 22 checklists that week, 216 in all78%
  6. Bryce Canyon National Park (Yovimpa Point)Kane County, best late June · 23 checklists that week, 416 in all73%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Chipping Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (12% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 16% of 11714 checklists7 am: 11% of 33209 checklists8 am: 8.2% of 46944 checklists9 am: 7.0% of 46290 checklists10 am: 6.2% of 43144 checklists11 am: 5.7% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 4.7% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 4.7% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 4.3% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 4.1% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 4.0% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 5.8% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 6.7% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 6.6% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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
January0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
March0%0.1%0.1%0.2%
April0.4%1.5%3.3%7.4%
May14%17%16%14%
June14%14%15%17%
July16%15%13%11%
August10%10%11%11%
September11%12%10%8.2%
October4.7%3.0%1.5%0.4%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives mid April, 1 week later than Utah
  • Nevada: arrives late March, 2 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Colorado: arrives the second week of April, in the same week than Utah
  • Idaho: arrives mid April, 1 week later than Utah

Common questions

When do Chipping Sparrows arrive in Utah?
Chipping Sparrows reach Utah in the second week of April, are common by late April, peak in late June (16% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Chipping Sparrows leave Utah?
Most Chipping Sparrows have left Utah by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid October.
When is the best time to see a Chipping Sparrow in Utah?
The Chipping Sparrow is reported most often in late June, on about 16% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Chipping Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Beaver County, Sanpete County, and Daggett County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Chipping Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).