WhenToBird

Melospiza melodia · Passerellidae

When Do Song Sparrows Arrive in Georgia?

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

Song Sparrows are in Georgia all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from late October, peak in the second week of November (29% of checklists), and fall back by mid May. In the quietest week (early September) they are still on about 9.0% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 22-31late October
PeakNov 8-14the second week of November
Fall back byMay 15-21mid May
FewestSep 1-7early September

Best: the second week of November. Here all year; numbers build from late October and fall back by mid May. Peak: on about 29% of Georgia checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 28% of 22238 checklistsJan 8-14: 27% of 16390 checklistsJan 15-21: 27% of 16779 checklistsJan 22-31: 27% of 22964 checklistsFeb 1-7: 28% of 16870 checklistsFeb 8-14: 26% of 19486 checklistsFeb 15-21: 24% of 28540 checklistsFeb 22-28: 28% of 17005 checklistsMar 1-7: 29% of 15920 checklistsMar 8-14: 27% of 16274 checklistsMar 15-21: 25% of 16432 checklistsMar 22-31: 23% of 25318 checklistsApr 1-7: 20% of 19292 checklistsApr 8-14: 20% of 19742 checklistsApr 15-21: 20% of 21498 checklistsApr 22-30: 19% of 29736 checklistsMay 1-7: 20% of 20858 checklistsMay 8-14: 20% of 20346 checklistsMay 15-21: 19% of 15859 checklistsMay 22-31: 18% of 19867 checklistsJun 1-7: 17% of 13467 checklistsJun 8-14: 17% of 12812 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 11379 checklistsJun 22-30: 18% of 14121 checklistsJul 1-7: 17% of 11176 checklistsJul 8-14: 18% of 10695 checklistsJul 15-21: 17% of 10655 checklistsJul 22-31: 16% of 15106 checklistsAug 1-7: 14% of 10650 checklistsAug 8-14: 12% of 10247 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 10371 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.0% of 15203 checklistsSep 1-7: 8.8% of 13007 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.1% of 12541 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.4% of 12943 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 17655 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 14646 checklistsOct 8-14: 13% of 15836 checklistsOct 15-21: 17% of 13124 checklistsOct 22-31: 24% of 15859 checklistsNov 1-7: 30% of 11711 checklistsNov 8-14: 28% of 11587 checklistsNov 15-21: 29% of 12025 checklistsNov 22-30: 28% of 16431 checklistsDec 1-7: 28% of 11256 checklistsDec 8-14: 28% of 11967 checklistsDec 15-21: 29% of 15618 checklistsDec 22-31: 27% 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. Crawford CountyBest mid January · 11 checklists that week, 573 in all64%
  2. Madison CountyBest the second week of November · 11 checklists that week, 2,139 in all60%
  3. Whitfield CountyBest the second week of November · 56 checklists that week, 4,272 in all59%
  4. Greene CountyBest the second week of November · 19 checklists that week, 2,748 in all57%
  5. Richmond CountyBest mid December · 306 checklists that week, 9,352 in all57%
  6. DeKalb CountyBest the second week of March · 1835 checklists that week, 89,340 in all56%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rockdale ParkFulton County, best late November · 20 checklists that week, 518 in all100%
  2. Pine Lake Park and BeachDeKalb County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 601 in all100%
  3. Cauley CreekFulton County, best the second week of November · 26 checklists that week, 1,380 in all98%
  4. Lake ErinDeKalb County, best mid April · 108 checklists that week, 4,249 in all96%
  5. Allatoona Recreation AreaCherokee County, best late November · 20 checklists that week, 1,192 in all95%

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

Best time of day

In Georgia, the Song Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (25% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 22% of 16790 checklists7 am: 23% of 73569 checklists8 am: 26% of 104956 checklists9 am: 25% of 96241 checklists10 am: 22% of 81903 checklists11 am: 20% of 66236 checklists12 pm: 19% of 56159 checklists1 pm: 19% of 48260 checklists2 pm: 19% of 46435 checklists3 pm: 19% of 46015 checklists4 pm: 18% of 47438 checklists5 pm: 16% of 38866 checklists6 pm: 15% of 26032 checklists7 pm: 13% 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
January28%27%27%27%
February28%26%24%28%
March29%27%25%23%
April20%20%20%19%
May20%20%19%18%
June17%17%17%18%
July17%18%17%16%
August14%12%10%9.0%
September8.8%9.1%9.4%11%
October11%13%17%24%
November30%28%29%28%
December28%28%29%27%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives the second week of October, 2 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • Alabama: arrives early October, 3 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • Tennessee: arrives mid October, 1 week earlier than Georgia
  • North Carolina: arrives mid October, 1 week earlier than Georgia

Common questions

When do Song Sparrows arrive in Georgia?
Song Sparrows are in Georgia all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from late October, peak in the second week of November (29% of checklists), and fall back by mid May. In the quietest week (early September) they are still on about 9.0% of checklists.
When do Song Sparrows leave Georgia?
Song Sparrows never fully leave Georgia: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid May, but some are still reported in every week, about 9.0% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Song Sparrow in Georgia?
The Song Sparrow is reported most often in the second week of November, on about 29% of Georgia checklists.
Where in Georgia are Song Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Crawford County, Madison County, and Whitfield County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Song Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).