WhenToBird

Hesperiphona vespertina · Fringillidae

When Do Evening Grosbeaks Arrive in Wisconsin?

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

Evening Grosbeaks are winter birds in Wisconsin: they arrive in early November, peak in early December (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 1-7early November
Common byNov 1-7early November
PeakDec 1-7early December
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: early December. First arrivals early November; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 1.2% of Wisconsin checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julrare
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 27925 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.0% of 18337 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.9% of 17370 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 23777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.7% of 16656 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 18286 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.8% of 24739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.5% of 20113 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.4% of 24024 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 26722 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 27238 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.5% of 40171 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 34961 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 39128 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 38887 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 57231 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 55115 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 63098 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 49821 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 56796 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 33621 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 31282 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 30186 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 35128 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 27088 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 23293 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 20933 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 27595 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 19147 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 18286 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 19195 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 28229 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 22408 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 20857 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 20707 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 26469 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 21069 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 21011 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 20006 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 26362 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 18928 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.9% of 17052 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.0% of 16291 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.1% of 20564 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.3% of 15354 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.2% of 16294 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 21430 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.0% of 26314 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Florence CountyBest mid January · 128 checklists that week, 10,179 in all32%
  2. Price CountyBest early January · 72 checklists that week, 5,795 in all27%
  3. Iron CountyBest late November · 57 checklists that week, 5,981 in all17%
  4. Bayfield CountyBest the second week of November · 280 checklists that week, 21,381 in all14%
  5. Forest CountyBest late February · 65 checklists that week, 7,461 in all14%
  6. Ashland CountyBest early February · 140 checklists that week, 16,576 in all13%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Fischer LakeFlorence County, best early January · 62 checklists that week, 2,931 in all54%
  2. Grant ParkMilwaukee County, best early December · 69 checklists that week, 1,876 in all49%
  3. Statenaker LakeVilas County, best the second week of February · 21 checklists that week, 2,030 in all27%
  4. Big Donahue LakeVilas County, best mid April · 22 checklists that week, 214 in all12%

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

Best time of day

In Wisconsin, the Evening Grosbeak is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (993) to judge1 am: too few checklists (844) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1488) to judge4 am: too few checklists (5344) to judge5 am: 0.2% of 27016 checklists6 am: 0.4% of 83973 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 160717 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 160531 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 136968 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 119110 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 99116 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 85078 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 80688 checklists2 pm: 0.1% of 79140 checklists3 pm: 0.1% of 78599 checklists4 pm: 0.1% of 69767 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 53229 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 38769 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24396) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (10155) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4990) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2463) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1281) 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
January0.8%1.0%0.9%0.9%
February0.7%0.7%0.8%0.5%
March0.4%0.4%0.4%0.5%
April0.4%0.5%0.4%0.4%
May0.3%0.2%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.3%
November0.7%0.9%1.0%1.1%
December1.3%1.2%0.7%1.0%

Neighboring states

  • Michigan: arrives mid October, 2 weeks earlier than Wisconsin
  • Minnesota: arrives early December, 4 weeks later than Wisconsin
  • New York: arrives mid October, 2 weeks earlier than Wisconsin
  • Vermont: arrives mid October, 2 weeks earlier than Wisconsin

Common questions

When do Evening Grosbeaks arrive in Wisconsin?
Evening Grosbeaks are winter birds in Wisconsin: they arrive in early November, peak in early December (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Evening Grosbeaks leave Wisconsin?
Most Evening Grosbeaks have left Wisconsin by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Evening Grosbeak in Wisconsin?
The Evening Grosbeak is reported most often in early December, on about 1.2% of Wisconsin checklists.
Where in Wisconsin are Evening Grosbeaks seen most often?
By county, Florence County, Price County, and Iron County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Evening Grosbeak (counties with at least 200 checklists).