WhenToBird

Catharus minimus · Turdidae

When Do Gray-cheeked Thrushes Arrive in Florida?

Adult Gray-cheeked Thrush
Photo: Jonathan Layman, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Gray-cheeked Thrushes mostly pass through Florida: they arrive in mid April, peak in early May (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakMay 1-7early May
Most gone byMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: early May. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by the second week of May. Peak: on about 1.5% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.6% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.7% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.1% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.3% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.5% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.2% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hardee CountyBest the second week of October · 35 checklists that week, 1,078 in all5.6%
  2. Marion CountyBest the second week of October · 1326 checklists that week, 53,380 in all4.9%
  3. Manatee CountyBest early May · 1333 checklists that week, 63,443 in all4.7%
  4. Monroe CountyBest early May · 2370 checklists that week, 62,908 in all4.5%
  5. Pinellas CountyBest early May · 3145 checklists that week, 148,901 in all4.3%
  6. Franklin CountyBest early May · 471 checklists that week, 20,336 in all4.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Garden KeyMonroe County, best early May · 144 checklists that week, 1,439 in all30%
  2. Rotary Park Environmental CenterLee County, best the second week of May · 69 checklists that week, 3,026 in all29%
  3. Quick Point Nature PreserveSarasota County, best late April · 64 checklists that week, 511 in all24%
  4. Bexley Trail Community ParkPalm Beach County, best mid October · 36 checklists that week, 341 in all21%
  5. Fred C. Babcock-Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management AreaCharlotte County, best mid October · 29 checklists that week, 1,601 in all20%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Gray-cheeked Thrush is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 0.4% of 94591 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.2% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.6%1.7%
May2.1%0.5%0.1%0.1%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.4%0.8%
October1.3%1.5%1.2%0.5%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives mid September, 20 weeks later than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives mid September, 20 weeks later than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives the second week of September, 19 weeks later than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives mid April, in the same week than Florida

Common questions

When do Gray-cheeked Thrushes arrive in Florida?
Gray-cheeked Thrushes mostly pass through Florida: they arrive in mid April, peak in early May (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.
When do Gray-cheeked Thrushes leave Florida?
Most Gray-cheeked Thrushes have left Florida by the second week of May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Gray-cheeked Thrush in Florida?
The Gray-cheeked Thrush is reported most often in early May, on about 1.5% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Gray-cheeked Thrushes seen most often?
By county, Hardee County, Marion County, and Manatee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Gray-cheeked Thrush (counties with at least 200 checklists).