WhenToBird

Melospiza melodia · Passerellidae

When Do Song Sparrows Arrive in Arizona?

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

The Song Sparrow is in Arizona all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (the second week of March) and on 8.7% in its quietest week (mid August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 8-14the second week of March
Quietest weekAug 15-21mid August

Best: the second week of March. Here all year. Peak: on about 18% of Arizona checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  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: 14% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 15% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 15% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 15% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 17% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 16% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 14% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 12% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 12% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 10% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 11% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 11% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.8% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.5% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.9% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.9% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.6% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.7% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 10% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 11% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 14% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 14% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 14% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 14% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 15% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 14% of 39567 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 Arizona 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 Arizona

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Santa Cruz CountyBest early March · 4008 checklists that week, 162,726 in all31%
  2. Greenlee CountyBest early December · 21 checklists that week, 2,745 in all31%
  3. Graham CountyBest early March · 197 checklists that week, 9,876 in all28%
  4. La Paz CountyBest the second week of July · 58 checklists that week, 7,279 in all26%
  5. Yavapai CountyBest early November · 1334 checklists that week, 83,606 in all23%
  6. Yuma CountyBest late May · 281 checklists that week, 14,687 in all19%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Flap (Jaynes)Pima County, best mid March · 21 checklists that week, 172 in all93%
  2. Tonto National Forest (north 2)Maricopa County, best mid April · 21 checklists that week, 671 in all92%
  3. South Area Water Recharge SiteMaricopa County, best late July · 32 checklists that week, 1,913 in all92%
  4. San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (Spring Creek)Cochise County, best early June · 30 checklists that week, 2,218 in all92%

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

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Song Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (18% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (488) to judge1 am: too few checklists (503) to judge2 am: too few checklists (489) to judge3 am: too few checklists (735) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4115) to judge5 am: 18% of 38350 checklists6 am: 18% of 118786 checklists7 am: 17% of 183415 checklists8 am: 16% of 187346 checklists9 am: 15% of 151342 checklists10 am: 13% of 124522 checklists11 am: 12% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 11% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 11% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 11% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 10% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 8.8% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 7.1% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 5.2% of 31061 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (16076) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2369) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1100) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (604) 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
January14%15%14%15%
February15%15%15%17%
March17%18%18%16%
April15%14%14%14%
May12%12%12%11%
June10%11%11%12%
July11%11%9.8%9.5%
August8.9%8.9%8.6%8.7%
September10%11%12%13%
October14%14%14%14%
November14%14%14%14%
December15%14%14%14%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: winter visitor, peaks the second week of December
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks the second week of November
  • Utah: year-round, peaks late May
  • California: year-round, peaks late May

Common questions

When do Song Sparrows arrive in Arizona?
The Song Sparrow is in Arizona all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (the second week of March) and on 8.7% in its quietest week (mid August).
When do Song Sparrows leave Arizona?
The Song Sparrow does not leave Arizona: it is reported all year, from 8.7% of checklists in mid August to 18% in the second week of March.
When is the best time to see a Song Sparrow in Arizona?
The Song Sparrow is reported most often in the second week of March, on about 18% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Song Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Santa Cruz County, Greenlee County, and Graham County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Song Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).