WhenToBird

Passerella iliaca · Passerellidae

When Do Fox Sparrows Arrive in New York?

Adult Fox Sparrow
Photo: Kevin Krebs, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Fox Sparrows are winter birds in New York: the first arrive in mid October, they are common by late October, peak in late March (5.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 15-21mid October
Common byOct 22-31late October
PeakMar 22-31late March
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: late March. First arrivals mid October; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 5.1% of New York checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 2.0% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.9% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.2% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.1% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.9% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.7% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.9% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.5% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.4% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.4% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.7% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.2% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.2% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.9% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.5% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.5% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.4% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 5.3% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.6% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.9% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.2% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.2% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.4% of 62470 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 York 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 New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kings CountyBest late November · 2586 checklists that week, 134,897 in all17%
  2. New York CountyBest late March · 5275 checklists that week, 187,471 in all14%
  3. Delaware CountyBest the second week of November · 278 checklists that week, 18,557 in all13%
  4. Otsego CountyBest late March · 522 checklists that week, 15,810 in all13%
  5. Sullivan CountyBest mid March · 554 checklists that week, 28,620 in all12%
  6. Chenango CountyBest early April · 270 checklists that week, 10,785 in all12%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Baldwin ParkNassau County, best mid February · 23 checklists that week, 259 in all81%
  2. Crab Hollow State ForestAllegany County, best the second week of April · 22 checklists that week, 498 in all59%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Fox Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (1.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 1.3% of 124869 checklists7 am: 1.8% of 298506 checklists8 am: 1.9% of 337334 checklists9 am: 1.9% of 307787 checklists10 am: 1.7% of 270801 checklists11 am: 1.6% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 1.6% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 1.6% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 1.6% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 1.5% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 1.2% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January2.0%2.1%1.9%2.2%
February2.1%1.9%1.7%1.9%
March2.5%3.4%4.4%5.1%
April5.7%4.2%2.2%0.7%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0%
September0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0.1%0.3%0.9%2.5%
November3.5%4.4%5.3%4.6%
December3.9%3.2%3.2%2.4%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives early November, 2 weeks later than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives early November, 2 weeks later than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late October, 1 week later than New York
  • Vermont: arrives the second week of March, 19 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Fox Sparrows arrive in New York?
Fox Sparrows are winter birds in New York: the first arrive in mid October, they are common by late October, peak in late March (5.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Fox Sparrows leave New York?
Most Fox Sparrows have left New York by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Fox Sparrow in New York?
The Fox Sparrow is reported most often in late March, on about 5.1% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Fox Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Kings County, New York County, and Delaware County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Fox Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).