WhenToBird

Anas platyrhynchos · Anatidae

When Do Mallards Arrive in Tennessee?

Adult male Mallard
Photo: euqirneto, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Mallard is in Tennessee all year. It turns up on about 24% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 10% in its quietest week (mid June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 1-7early December
Quietest weekJun 15-21mid June

Best: early December. Here all year. Peak: on about 24% of Tennessee checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 21% of 16696 checklistsJan 8-14: 23% of 13056 checklistsJan 15-21: 21% of 13646 checklistsJan 22-31: 23% of 18071 checklistsFeb 1-7: 22% of 13342 checklistsFeb 8-14: 19% of 14316 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 20395 checklistsFeb 22-28: 22% of 13129 checklistsMar 1-7: 22% of 12701 checklistsMar 8-14: 23% of 12789 checklistsMar 15-21: 23% of 13599 checklistsMar 22-31: 21% of 20293 checklistsApr 1-7: 18% of 15779 checklistsApr 8-14: 18% of 16646 checklistsApr 15-21: 17% of 18625 checklistsApr 22-30: 15% of 26689 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 21054 checklistsMay 8-14: 15% of 19954 checklistsMay 15-21: 15% of 14494 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 17790 checklistsJun 1-7: 12% of 11344 checklistsJun 8-14: 11% of 11049 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 9625 checklistsJun 22-30: 10% of 11522 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 9208 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 8814 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 8887 checklistsJul 22-31: 14% of 12739 checklistsAug 1-7: 13% of 9632 checklistsAug 8-14: 14% of 9514 checklistsAug 15-21: 14% of 9619 checklistsAug 22-31: 15% of 14227 checklistsSep 1-7: 13% of 11988 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 11660 checklistsSep 15-21: 11% of 11774 checklistsSep 22-30: 12% of 15658 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 12641 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 12389 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 10249 checklistsOct 22-31: 17% of 14085 checklistsNov 1-7: 20% of 10700 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 10709 checklistsNov 15-21: 22% of 9955 checklistsNov 22-30: 23% of 13423 checklistsDec 1-7: 24% of 10106 checklistsDec 8-14: 24% of 10478 checklistsDec 15-21: 21% of 12177 checklistsDec 22-31: 21% of 17397 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Humphreys CountyBest early November · 173 checklists that week, 5,858 in all68%
  2. Unicoi CountyBest late January · 37 checklists that week, 1,598 in all61%
  3. Lauderdale CountyBest early February · 17 checklists that week, 888 in all57%
  4. Haywood CountyBest the second week of December · 17 checklists that week, 1,498 in all56%
  5. Cocke CountyBest mid September · 125 checklists that week, 2,051 in all53%
  6. Meigs CountyBest late January · 232 checklists that week, 4,866 in all52%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hines Creek ShoalsAnderson County, best the second week of June · 23 checklists that week, 1,384 in all100%
  2. Clear Lake (historical)Humphreys County, best early January · 35 checklists that week, 849 in all99%
  3. Middlebrook LakeSullivan County, best late January · 21 checklists that week, 387 in all98%
  4. Bicentennial ParkBlount County, best mid March · 32 checklists that week, 2,637 in all98%
  5. Old Hickory Beach Access AreaDavidson County, best early August · 31 checklists that week, 2,489 in all97%
  6. CentennialDavidson County, best mid February · 25 checklists that week, 982 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In Tennessee, the Mallard is most often listed on checklists started between 3 and 5 pm (19% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (224) to judge1 am: too few checklists (253) to judge2 am: too few checklists (245) to judge3 am: too few checklists (267) to judge4 am: too few checklists (582) to judge5 am: too few checklists (5688) to judge6 am: 18% of 36828 checklists7 am: 16% of 72816 checklists8 am: 16% of 76910 checklists9 am: 17% of 69071 checklists10 am: 17% of 60943 checklists11 am: 18% of 52311 checklists12 pm: 18% of 46524 checklists1 pm: 18% of 41133 checklists2 pm: 19% of 40305 checklists3 pm: 19% of 41013 checklists4 pm: 19% of 40029 checklists5 pm: 17% of 29775 checklists6 pm: 16% of 20977 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (12529) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4456) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1056) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (445) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (252) 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
January21%23%21%23%
February22%19%16%22%
March22%23%23%21%
April18%18%17%15%
May16%15%15%14%
June12%11%10%10%
July11%12%13%14%
August13%14%14%15%
September13%12%11%12%
October11%12%15%17%
November20%23%22%23%
December24%24%21%21%

Neighboring states

  • Kentucky: year-round, peaks early March
  • Georgia: year-round, peaks late November
  • Alabama: all year, most in winter, peaks mid January
  • Indiana: year-round, peaks mid March

Common questions

When do Mallards arrive in Tennessee?
The Mallard is in Tennessee all year. It turns up on about 24% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 10% in its quietest week (mid June).
When do Mallards leave Tennessee?
The Mallard does not leave Tennessee: it is reported all year, from 10% of checklists in mid June to 24% in early December.
When is the best time to see a Mallard in Tennessee?
The Mallard is reported most often in early December, on about 24% of Tennessee checklists.
Where in Tennessee are Mallards seen most often?
By county, Humphreys County, Unicoi County, and Lauderdale County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mallard (counties with at least 200 checklists).