WhenToBird

Passer domesticus · Passeridae

When Do House Sparrows Arrive in Pennsylvania?

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

The House Sparrow is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 28% of checklists at its peak (mid July) and on 17% in its quietest week (the second week of September).

When to look

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

Best: mid July. Here all year. Peak: on about 28% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 23% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 23% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 24% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 24% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 24% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 26% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 28% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 24% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 23% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 23% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 22% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 22% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 23% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 24% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 24% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 24% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 24% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 24% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 24% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 25% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 26% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 25% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 26% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 27% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 27% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 29% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 29% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 27% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 26% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 24% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 22% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 19% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 17% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 16% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 17% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 17% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 20% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 21% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 22% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 23% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 23% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 23% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 23% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 24% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 23% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 23% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 23% of 50651 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Juniata CountyBest the second week of November · 94 checklists that week, 9,807 in all67%
  2. Lawrence CountyBest early August · 242 checklists that week, 15,430 in all54%
  3. Franklin CountyBest early July · 494 checklists that week, 36,756 in all53%
  4. Philadelphia CountyBest late June · 1620 checklists that week, 96,503 in all51%
  5. Mifflin CountyBest late February · 166 checklists that week, 6,998 in all50%
  6. Lehigh CountyBest mid July · 570 checklists that week, 41,072 in all50%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ritten House SquarePhiladelphia County, best late June · 29 checklists that week, 1,716 in all100%
  2. Temple UniversityPhiladelphia County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 1,147 in all100%
  3. Independance MallPhiladelphia County, best late September · 21 checklists that week, 644 in all98%
  4. SpringfieldDelaware County, best late July · 21 checklists that week, 813 in all98%
  5. Greencastle ReservoirFranklin County, best late June · 44 checklists that week, 2,061 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the House Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (29% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 28% of 92903 checklists7 am: 30% of 241233 checklists8 am: 27% of 271994 checklists9 am: 25% of 236842 checklists10 am: 22% of 199508 checklists11 am: 21% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 22% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 21% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 20% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 21% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 20% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 22% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 21% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 19% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) 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
January23%23%24%24%
February24%26%28%24%
March23%23%22%22%
April23%24%24%24%
May24%24%24%25%
June26%25%26%27%
July27%29%29%27%
August26%24%22%19%
September17%16%17%17%
October20%21%22%23%
November23%23%23%23%
December24%23%23%23%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do House Sparrows arrive in Pennsylvania?
The House Sparrow is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 28% of checklists at its peak (mid July) and on 17% in its quietest week (the second week of September).
When do House Sparrows leave Pennsylvania?
The House Sparrow does not leave Pennsylvania: it is reported all year, from 17% of checklists in the second week of September to 28% in mid July.
When is the best time to see a House Sparrow in Pennsylvania?
The House Sparrow is reported most often in mid July, on about 28% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are House Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Juniata County, Lawrence County, and Franklin County have the highest peak reporting rates for the House Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).