WhenToBird

Melospiza melodia · Passerellidae

When Do Song Sparrows Arrive in Maine?

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

Song Sparrows are in Maine all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late March, peak in the second week of April (58% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 6.4% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 22-31late March
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Fall back byOct 22-31late October
FewestFeb 15-21mid February

Best: the second week of April. Here all year; numbers build from late March and fall back by late October. Peak: on about 58% of Maine checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%20%40%60%80%Jan 1-7: 7.9% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.2% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.3% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.9% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.3% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 6.7% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.9% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.7% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.6% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 15% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 29% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 43% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 53% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 61% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 58% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 53% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 54% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 54% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 55% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 51% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 49% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 48% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 48% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 47% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 50% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 52% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 53% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 50% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 45% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 39% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 34% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 33% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 32% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 34% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 37% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 44% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 47% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 42% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 41% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 35% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 23% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 17% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 15% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 13% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 9.0% of 14285 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 Maine 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 Maine

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Knox CountyBest the second week of April · 579 checklists that week, 34,453 in all68%
  2. Lincoln CountyBest the second week of April · 1034 checklists that week, 59,429 in all68%
  3. Penobscot CountyBest mid April · 1617 checklists that week, 56,895 in all65%
  4. Waldo CountyBest the second week of July · 651 checklists that week, 33,433 in all64%
  5. Cumberland CountyBest the second week of June · 3669 checklists that week, 169,501 in all63%
  6. Kennebec CountyBest the second week of May · 1947 checklists that week, 48,185 in all61%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Monhegan IslandLincoln County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 4,434 in all100%
  2. Hogdon CoveLincoln County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 300 in all100%
  3. Comstock PointWashington County, best mid April · 21 checklists that week, 1,031 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In Maine, the Song Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (57% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (510) to judge1 am: too few checklists (517) to judge2 am: too few checklists (581) to judge3 am: too few checklists (3242) to judge4 am: too few checklists (7221) to judge5 am: 58% of 19895 checklists6 am: 57% of 54578 checklists7 am: 48% of 92775 checklists8 am: 43% of 86962 checklists9 am: 39% of 78989 checklists10 am: 35% of 70954 checklists11 am: 31% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 29% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 29% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 28% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 29% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 34% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 38% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 39% of 18309 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14287) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5336) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2253) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1518) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (720) 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
January7.9%7.2%7.3%6.9%
February7.3%6.7%5.9%6.7%
March8.6%15%29%43%
April53%61%58%53%
May54%54%55%51%
June49%48%48%47%
July50%52%53%50%
August45%39%34%33%
September32%34%37%44%
October47%42%41%35%
November23%17%15%14%
December13%12%11%9.0%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Song Sparrows arrive in Maine?
Song Sparrows are in Maine all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late March, peak in the second week of April (58% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 6.4% of checklists.
When do Song Sparrows leave Maine?
Song Sparrows never fully leave Maine: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late October, but some are still reported in every week, about 6.4% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Song Sparrow in Maine?
The Song Sparrow is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 58% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Song Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Knox County, Lincoln County, and Penobscot County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Song Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).