WhenToBird

Hesperiphona vespertina · Fringillidae

When Do Evening Grosbeaks Arrive in Michigan?

Adult female evening grosbeak
Photo: Some Donkus, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Evening Grosbeaks are winter birds in Michigan: they arrive in mid October, peak in early November (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 15-21mid October
Common byOct 15-21mid October
PeakNov 1-7early November
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: early November. First arrivals mid October; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 1.5% of Michigan checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.6% of 38160 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.6% of 24696 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.8% of 23771 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.6% of 31347 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.6% of 23225 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 27398 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 36606 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.5% of 27127 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.4% of 29700 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 31587 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 32118 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 47777 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 38557 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 42207 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 42759 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 64458 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 60998 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 72091 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 59058 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 64724 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 35990 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 32595 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 30017 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 33988 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 28708 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 25175 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 24084 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 33522 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 25098 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 24353 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 25059 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 37489 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 28410 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 27887 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 26614 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 32557 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 25844 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 27741 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.3% of 24693 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.4% of 32460 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.7% of 23660 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.6% of 21542 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.3% of 19922 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 25069 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.9% of 18272 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.9% of 18961 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 24171 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 30908 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 Michigan 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 Michigan

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Dickinson CountyBest early April · 49 checklists that week, 2,302 in all24%
  2. Mackinac CountyBest mid February · 112 checklists that week, 7,988 in all24%
  3. Cheboygan CountyBest the second week of December · 70 checklists that week, 7,071 in all22%
  4. Crawford CountyBest late July · 528 checklists that week, 16,949 in all21%
  5. Oscoda CountyBest late January · 25 checklists that week, 4,044 in all20%
  6. Iron CountyBest late December · 71 checklists that week, 2,651 in all18%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hartwick LakeCrawford County, best early August · 54 checklists that week, 2,113 in all62%
  2. Cornwall LakeCheboygan County, best early December · 25 checklists that week, 173 in all46%
  3. Trowbridge ParkMarquette County, best mid May · 20 checklists that week, 322 in all40%
  4. Pickford Township ParkChippewa County, best mid January · 21 checklists that week, 157 in all39%
  5. Copper HarborKeweenaw County, best late November · 60 checklists that week, 503 in all36%
  6. Hartwick Lake (east)Crawford County, best the second week of June · 23 checklists that week, 264 in all29%

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

Best time of day

In Michigan, the Evening Grosbeak is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (712) to judge1 am: too few checklists (592) to judge2 am: too few checklists (532) to judge3 am: too few checklists (516) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1592) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6849) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 39298 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 120344 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 180109 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 171966 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 156332 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 134964 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 120967 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 113852 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 110773 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 105530 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 100958 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 80085 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 62883 checklists7 pm: 0.1% of 44912 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (21062) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5920) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1629) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (775) 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
January0.6%0.6%0.8%0.6%
February0.6%0.8%0.6%0.5%
March0.4%0.4%0.4%0.4%
April0.4%0.5%0.5%0.4%
May0.5%0.5%0.5%0.6%
June0.6%0.6%0.5%0.5%
July0.4%0.4%0.4%0.5%
August0.5%0.3%0.2%0.2%
September0.1%0.2%0.1%0.2%
October0.2%0.2%0.3%1.4%
November1.7%1.6%1.3%1.2%
December0.9%0.9%0.7%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • Wisconsin: arrives early November, 2 weeks later than Michigan
  • Minnesota: arrives early December, 6 weeks later than Michigan
  • New York: arrives mid October, in the same week than Michigan
  • Vermont: arrives mid October, in the same week than Michigan

Common questions

When do Evening Grosbeaks arrive in Michigan?
Evening Grosbeaks are winter birds in Michigan: they arrive in mid October, peak in early November (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Evening Grosbeaks leave Michigan?
Most Evening Grosbeaks have left Michigan by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Evening Grosbeak in Michigan?
The Evening Grosbeak is reported most often in early November, on about 1.5% of Michigan checklists.
Where in Michigan are Evening Grosbeaks seen most often?
By county, Dickinson County, Mackinac County, and Cheboygan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Evening Grosbeak (counties with at least 200 checklists).