WhenToBird

Melospiza melodia · Passerellidae

When Do Song Sparrows Arrive in Alaska?

Adult Song Sparrow
Photo: Bill Keim, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Song Sparrow is in Alaska all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 7.4% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 22-30late September
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: late September. Here all year. Peak: on about 17% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 12% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.4% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.9% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.4% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.9% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 9.6% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 6.6% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 7.7% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.0% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.0% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 10% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 11% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 15% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 14% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 12% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 9.6% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.5% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.4% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.2% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.1% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.8% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 9.4% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.7% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.0% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.4% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.4% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 13% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 16% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 19% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 16% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 17% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 16% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 18% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 15% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 15% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 14% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ketchikan Gateway BoroughBest the second week of October · 65 checklists that week, 4,641 in all65%
  2. Wrangell City and BoroughBest late September · 24 checklists that week, 2,509 in all62%
  3. Aleutians West Census AreaBest the second week of November · 16 checklists that week, 6,087 in all50%
  4. Prince of Wales-Hyder Census AreaBest early October · 35 checklists that week, 2,822 in all47%
  5. Sitka City and BoroughBest the second week of October · 255 checklists that week, 13,693 in all45%
  6. Juneau City and BoroughBest the second week of June · 988 checklists that week, 30,475 in all40%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Swan Lake ParkSitka City and Borough, best late May · 29 checklists that week, 503 in all90%
  2. Spruce CapeKodiak Island Borough, best late August · 20 checklists that week, 421 in all89%
  3. Radenbough CoveKetchikan Gateway Borough, best late October · 21 checklists that week, 790 in all87%
  4. Ward LakeKetchikan Gateway Borough, best the second week of April · 21 checklists that week, 619 in all86%
  5. Jim LakeMatanuska-Susitna Borough, best early June · 24 checklists that week, 438 in all85%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Song Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (16% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 15% of 9751 checklists7 am: 16% of 17236 checklists8 am: 16% of 24936 checklists9 am: 16% of 30139 checklists10 am: 13% of 30866 checklists11 am: 12% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 11% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 9.7% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 8.4% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 8.2% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 7.9% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 7.0% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 6.3% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 5.6% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 3.7% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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%9.4%8.9%9.4%
February9.9%9.6%6.6%7.7%
March9.0%9.0%10%11%
April15%14%15%13%
May14%12%11%9.6%
June7.5%7.4%7.2%8.1%
July9.8%9.4%10%8.7%
August9.0%8.4%9.4%11%
September13%15%16%19%
October16%14%15%17%
November16%16%18%15%
December15%14%14%14%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks late March
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks the second week of April
  • Idaho: year-round, peaks mid March
  • Montana: all year, most in spring, peaks early May

Common questions

When do Song Sparrows arrive in Alaska?
The Song Sparrow is in Alaska all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 7.4% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Song Sparrows leave Alaska?
The Song Sparrow does not leave Alaska: it is reported all year, from 7.4% of checklists in the second week of June to 17% in late September.
When is the best time to see a Song Sparrow in Alaska?
The Song Sparrow is reported most often in late September, on about 17% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Song Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Wrangell City and Borough, and Aleutians West Census Area have the highest peak reporting rates for the Song Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).