WhenToBird

Passer domesticus · Passeridae

When Do House Sparrows Arrive in California?

Adult male House Sparrow
Photo: Esteban Poveda, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The House Sparrow is in California all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (mid May) and on 10% in its quietest week (the second week of September).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMay 15-21mid May
Quietest weekSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: mid May. Here all year. Peak: on about 19% of California checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 12% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 12% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 13% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 13% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 14% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 15% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 15% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 15% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 16% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 17% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 17% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 18% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 19% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 19% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 18% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 17% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 18% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 18% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 18% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 16% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 15% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 14% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 13% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 10% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 10% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 12% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 12% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 12% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 12% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 11% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kings CountyBest the second week of June · 60 checklists that week, 3,688 in all65%
  2. Stanislaus CountyBest mid June · 453 checklists that week, 30,240 in all42%
  3. Merced CountyBest mid June · 102 checklists that week, 13,095 in all40%
  4. Colusa CountyBest early July · 111 checklists that week, 7,653 in all39%
  5. Glenn CountyBest mid May · 68 checklists that week, 5,189 in all39%
  6. Yolo CountyBest the second week of July · 732 checklists that week, 67,424 in all38%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. The Nature TrailLos Angeles County, best early August · 23 checklists that week, 2,309 in all100%
  2. Lucinda Garcia ParkLos Angeles County, best late August · 28 checklists that week, 736 in all100%
  3. East Portal ParkSacramento County, best the second week of April · 27 checklists that week, 1,614 in all99%
  4. Shadow Valley Area of Critical Environmental ConcernSan Bernardino County, best mid May · 22 checklists that week, 419 in all99%
  5. Satellite ParkLos Angeles County, best early June · 25 checklists that week, 956 in all99%

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

Best time of day

In California, the House Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (21% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 21% of 186053 checklists7 am: 20% of 444086 checklists8 am: 17% of 535846 checklists9 am: 15% of 486061 checklists10 am: 13% of 411130 checklists11 am: 12% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 12% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 11% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 11% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 11% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 11% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 13% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 14% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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
January12%12%12%13%
February13%14%14%14%
March15%15%15%16%
April17%17%18%18%
May19%19%19%19%
June18%18%17%17%
July18%18%18%16%
August15%14%13%11%
September10%10%10%11%
October12%12%12%13%
November12%12%12%11%
December12%12%12%12%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid May
  • Utah: year-round, peaks mid February
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks late June
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks mid May

Common questions

When do House Sparrows arrive in California?
The House Sparrow is in California all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (mid May) and on 10% in its quietest week (the second week of September).
When do House Sparrows leave California?
The House Sparrow does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 10% of checklists in the second week of September to 19% in mid May.
When is the best time to see a House Sparrow in California?
The House Sparrow is reported most often in mid May, on about 19% of California checklists.
Where in California are House Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Kings County, Stanislaus County, and Merced County have the highest peak reporting rates for the House Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).