WhenToBird

Sayornis phoebe · Tyrannidae

When Do Eastern Phoebes Arrive in Indiana?

Adult Eastern Phoebe
Photo: Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Eastern Phoebes reach Indiana in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in the second week of April (19% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 8-14the second week of March
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: the second week of April. First arrivals early March; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 19% of Indiana checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febrare
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 18123 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 12006 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 12403 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 16181 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 12546 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.2% of 14250 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 18077 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.5% of 13590 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.2% of 14545 checklistsMar 8-14: 6.0% of 14594 checklistsMar 15-21: 12% of 13894 checklistsMar 22-31: 18% of 22400 checklistsApr 1-7: 20% of 18069 checklistsApr 8-14: 19% of 19579 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 19518 checklistsApr 22-30: 18% of 30544 checklistsMay 1-7: 17% of 28430 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 30624 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 22920 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 21234 checklistsJun 1-7: 12% of 12279 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 10904 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 9488 checklistsJun 22-30: 13% of 11362 checklistsJul 1-7: 13% of 9947 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 9585 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.5% of 8929 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.6% of 12639 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.7% of 9528 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.3% of 9451 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.7% of 9442 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.2% of 14969 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 12628 checklistsSep 8-14: 13% of 11793 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 11396 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 14203 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 11365 checklistsOct 8-14: 13% of 12092 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.3% of 10440 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.5% of 13883 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.2% of 10476 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.8% of 9776 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.6% of 9035 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 12547 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 9078 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 8732 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.2% of 11024 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% 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. Martin CountyBest the second week of April · 28 checklists that week, 934 in all58%
  2. Crawford CountyBest mid March · 10 checklists that week, 891 in all55%
  3. Clinton CountyBest late May · 21 checklists that week, 900 in all55%
  4. Scott CountyBest mid September · 16 checklists that week, 798 in all54%
  5. Washington CountyBest late September · 23 checklists that week, 1,463 in all54%
  6. Kosciusko CountyBest late June · 153 checklists that week, 8,359 in all51%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cool Creek ParkHamilton County, best late March · 46 checklists that week, 2,075 in all74%
  2. Franke ParkAllen County, best early April · 29 checklists that week, 820 in all71%
  3. Pisgah Marsh Nongame Area and BoardwalkKosciusko County, best early May · 21 checklists that week, 423 in all69%
  4. Shoup-parsons Swamp WoodsElkhart County, best the second week of May · 65 checklists that week, 426 in all67%
  5. Foster ParkAllen County, best the second week of April · 20 checklists that week, 262 in all66%

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

Best time of day

In Indiana, the Eastern Phoebe is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (16% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 21% of 20589 checklists7 am: 14% of 58470 checklists8 am: 13% of 86931 checklists9 am: 11% of 78239 checklists10 am: 8.9% of 66080 checklists11 am: 7.8% of 54904 checklists12 pm: 7.0% of 47610 checklists1 pm: 6.8% of 44814 checklists2 pm: 6.7% of 43790 checklists3 pm: 6.8% of 42983 checklists4 pm: 6.9% of 45349 checklists5 pm: 7.9% of 35993 checklists6 pm: 9.0% of 26447 checklists7 pm: 7.4% 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
January0.2%0.2%0.1%0.2%
February0.1%0.2%0.2%0.5%
March2.2%6.0%12%18%
April20%19%18%18%
May17%16%16%14%
June12%12%14%13%
July13%11%9.5%8.6%
August8.7%8.3%8.7%9.2%
September11%13%15%16%
October17%13%9.3%5.5%
November2.2%0.8%0.6%0.5%
December0.3%0.2%0.2%0.3%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: arrives early March, in the same week than Indiana
  • Kentucky: arrives mid February, 2 weeks earlier than Indiana
  • Ohio: arrives early March, in the same week than Indiana
  • Michigan: arrives mid March, 2 weeks later than Indiana

Common questions

When do Eastern Phoebes arrive in Indiana?
Eastern Phoebes reach Indiana in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in the second week of April (19% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Eastern Phoebes leave Indiana?
Most Eastern Phoebes have left Indiana by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early November.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Phoebe in Indiana?
The Eastern Phoebe is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 19% of Indiana checklists.
Where in Indiana are Eastern Phoebes seen most often?
By county, Martin County, Crawford County, and Clinton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Phoebe (counties with at least 200 checklists).