WhenToBird

Charadrius semipalmatus · Charadriidae

When Do Semipalmated Plovers Arrive in Georgia?

Adult Semipalmated Plover
Photo: Hungry-Sarracenia Photo, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Semipalmated Plovers arrive in Georgia in mid July, peak in the second week of May (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Most gone byJun 1-7early June

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by early June. Peak: on about 2.3% of Georgia checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 1.0% of 22238 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.9% of 16390 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.0% of 16779 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 22964 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.8% of 16870 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 19486 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.4% of 28540 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.6% of 17005 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 15920 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.8% of 16274 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 16432 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.7% of 25318 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 19292 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.6% of 19742 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 21498 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.6% of 29736 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.0% of 20858 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.6% of 20346 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.4% of 15859 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.2% of 19867 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 13467 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 12812 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 11379 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.3% of 14121 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 11176 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 10695 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 10655 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 15106 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.9% of 10650 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.0% of 10247 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.7% of 10371 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.8% of 15203 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.8% of 13007 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.5% of 12541 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.4% of 12943 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.2% of 17655 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.0% of 14646 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.7% of 15836 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.3% of 13124 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.0% of 15859 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 11711 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 11587 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.3% of 12025 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.1% of 16431 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.9% of 11256 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.9% of 11967 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.0% of 15618 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 22453 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 Georgia 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 Georgia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Glynn CountyBest the second week of August · 450 checklists that week, 48,828 in all19%
  2. Liberty CountyBest early February · 39 checklists that week, 2,209 in all14%
  3. Jeff Davis CountyBest early September · 15 checklists that week, 627 in all13%
  4. Macon CountyBest the second week of September · 22 checklists that week, 1,883 in all11%
  5. Bartow CountyBest the second week of September · 340 checklists that week, 11,762 in all10%
  6. Camden CountyBest late July · 177 checklists that week, 10,650 in all9.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Massengale ParkGlynn County, best mid November · 26 checklists that week, 753 in all85%
  2. Bloody MarshGlynn County, best late April · 93 checklists that week, 1,916 in all80%
  3. Andrews IslandGlynn County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 264 in all74%
  4. Overlook ParkGlynn County, best late April · 26 checklists that week, 656 in all66%

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

Best time of day

In Georgia, the Semipalmated Plover is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (1.4% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (334) to judge1 am: too few checklists (277) to judge2 am: too few checklists (264) to judge3 am: too few checklists (282) to judge4 am: too few checklists (463) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1513) to judge6 am: 1.6% of 16790 checklists7 am: 1.1% of 73569 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 104956 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 96241 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 81903 checklists11 am: 1.0% of 66236 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 56159 checklists1 pm: 1.2% of 48260 checklists2 pm: 1.4% of 46435 checklists3 pm: 1.3% of 46015 checklists4 pm: 1.2% of 47438 checklists5 pm: 1.2% of 38866 checklists6 pm: 1.3% of 26032 checklists7 pm: 1.0% of 16610 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5490) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (995) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (310) 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
January1.0%0.9%1.0%0.9%
February0.8%0.7%0.4%0.6%
March0.7%0.8%0.7%0.7%
April0.6%0.6%0.9%1.6%
May2.0%2.6%2.4%1.2%
June0.8%0.4%0.4%0.3%
July0.3%0.4%0.5%0.9%
August1.9%2.0%1.7%1.8%
September1.8%1.5%1.4%1.2%
October1.0%1.7%1.3%1.0%
November1.1%1.2%1.3%1.1%
December0.9%0.9%1.0%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives mid July, in the same week than Georgia
  • Alabama: arrives mid July, in the same week than Georgia
  • Tennessee: arrives late July, 1 week later than Georgia
  • North Carolina: arrives mid July, in the same week than Georgia

Common questions

When do Semipalmated Plovers arrive in Georgia?
Semipalmated Plovers arrive in Georgia in mid July, peak in the second week of May (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.
When do Semipalmated Plovers leave Georgia?
Most Semipalmated Plovers have left Georgia by early June, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Semipalmated Plover in Georgia?
The Semipalmated Plover is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 2.3% of Georgia checklists.
Where in Georgia are Semipalmated Plovers seen most often?
By county, Glynn County, Liberty County, and Jeff Davis County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Semipalmated Plover (counties with at least 200 checklists).