WhenToBird

Progne subis · Hirundinidae

When Do Purple Martins Arrive in Tennessee?

Adult female Purple Martin
Photo: Ron Bondy, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Purple Martins reach Tennessee in early March, are common by mid March, peak in the second week of July (13% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakJul 8-14the second week of July
Most gone byAug 15-21mid August

Best: the second week of July. First arrivals early March; most are gone by mid August. Peak: on about 13% of Tennessee checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 16696 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 13056 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 13646 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 18071 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 13342 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 14316 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 20395 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 13129 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.3% of 12701 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.8% of 12789 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.1% of 13599 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.9% of 20293 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.9% of 15779 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.7% of 16646 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.4% of 18625 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.9% of 26689 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.5% of 21054 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.0% of 19954 checklistsMay 15-21: 7.7% of 14494 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.6% of 17790 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.1% of 11344 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.6% of 11049 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.9% of 9625 checklistsJun 22-30: 11% of 11522 checklistsJul 1-7: 14% of 9208 checklistsJul 8-14: 14% of 8814 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 8887 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 12739 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.3% of 9632 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.0% of 9514 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.2% of 9619 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.3% of 14227 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.1% of 11988 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 11660 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 11774 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 15658 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 12641 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 12389 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 10249 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 14085 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 10700 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 10709 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 9955 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 13423 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 10106 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 10478 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 12177 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% 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. Perry CountyBest late June · 71 checklists that week, 3,047 in all85%
  2. Haywood CountyBest mid July · 40 checklists that week, 1,498 in all66%
  3. Humphreys CountyBest the second week of July · 90 checklists that week, 5,858 in all45%
  4. Henry CountyBest mid June · 72 checklists that week, 5,668 in all43%
  5. Lake CountyBest late July · 31 checklists that week, 5,235 in all40%
  6. Trousdale CountyBest early July · 12 checklists that week, 224 in all40%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. LichtermanShelby County, best the second week of May · 23 checklists that week, 932 in all99%
  2. Hines Creek ShoalsAnderson County, best the second week of June · 23 checklists that week, 1,384 in all92%
  3. Hatchie National Wildlife RefugeHaywood County, best mid July · 34 checklists that week, 771 in all86%
  4. Bells BendDavidson County, best mid June · 22 checklists that week, 2,014 in all81%
  5. Edwin WarnerDavidson County, best the second week of May · 29 checklists that week, 836 in all80%

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

Best time of day

In Tennessee, the Purple Martin is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (4.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 6.0% of 36828 checklists7 am: 3.8% of 72816 checklists8 am: 3.7% of 76910 checklists9 am: 3.3% of 69071 checklists10 am: 3.0% of 60943 checklists11 am: 2.9% of 52311 checklists12 pm: 2.6% of 46524 checklists1 pm: 2.7% of 41133 checklists2 pm: 2.6% of 40305 checklists3 pm: 2.7% of 41013 checklists4 pm: 2.9% of 40029 checklists5 pm: 4.1% of 29775 checklists6 pm: 6.1% 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0.1%0.1%0.3%
March1.3%2.8%4.1%4.9%
April5.9%5.7%5.4%5.9%
May6.5%7.0%7.7%7.6%
June7.1%7.6%8.9%11%
July14%14%12%10%
August8.3%7.0%5.2%3.3%
September2.1%0.5%0.2%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0.1%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Kentucky: arrives the second week of March, 1 week later than Tennessee
  • Georgia: arrives mid February, 2 weeks earlier than Tennessee
  • Alabama: arrives the second week of February, 3 weeks earlier than Tennessee
  • Indiana: arrives late March, 3 weeks later than Tennessee

Common questions

When do Purple Martins arrive in Tennessee?
Purple Martins reach Tennessee in early March, are common by mid March, peak in the second week of July (13% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.
When do Purple Martins leave Tennessee?
Most Purple Martins have left Tennessee by mid August, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early September.
When is the best time to see a Purple Martin in Tennessee?
The Purple Martin is reported most often in the second week of July, on about 13% of Tennessee checklists.
Where in Tennessee are Purple Martins seen most often?
By county, Perry County, Haywood County, and Humphreys County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Purple Martin (counties with at least 200 checklists).