WhenToBird

Melospiza melodia · Passerellidae

When Do Song Sparrows Arrive in Pennsylvania?

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

The Song Sparrow is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 58% of checklists at its peak (early April) and on 28% in its quietest week (the second week of September).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekApr 1-7early April
Quietest weekSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: early April. Here all year. Peak: on about 58% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 31% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 31% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 31% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 31% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 31% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 34% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 34% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 39% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 43% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 52% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 56% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 58% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 58% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 57% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 56% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 58% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 56% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 54% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 55% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 56% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 56% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 54% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 54% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 55% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 55% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 58% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 57% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 56% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 51% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 44% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 36% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 30% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 28% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 27% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 28% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 33% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 40% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 44% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 46% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 44% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 41% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 37% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 35% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 34% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 33% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 33% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 35% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 34% of 50651 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Delaware CountyBest the second week of June · 1349 checklists that week, 76,406 in all74%
  2. Mifflin CountyBest mid March · 108 checklists that week, 6,998 in all72%
  3. Montour CountyBest the second week of May · 276 checklists that week, 6,082 in all72%
  4. Washington CountyBest mid July · 387 checklists that week, 23,823 in all72%
  5. Blair CountyBest late March · 436 checklists that week, 13,387 in all71%
  6. Snyder CountyBest the second week of July · 72 checklists that week, 5,676 in all71%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Owls Nest ParkBucks County, best late October · 23 checklists that week, 708 in all100%
  2. State Game Land 325Northumberland County, best late March · 30 checklists that week, 249 in all100%
  3. Armstrong Open SpaceLycoming County, best late March · 21 checklists that week, 554 in all100%
  4. Melchor TractNorthampton County, best late October · 30 checklists that week, 316 in all100%
  5. Cynwyd ParkMontgomery County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 303 in all100%
  6. Flat Rock ParkMontgomery County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 702 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Song Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (55% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 59% of 92903 checklists7 am: 53% of 241233 checklists8 am: 51% of 271994 checklists9 am: 48% of 236842 checklists10 am: 45% of 199508 checklists11 am: 42% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 41% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 40% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 38% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 37% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 37% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 41% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 43% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 43% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) 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
January31%31%31%31%
February31%34%34%39%
March43%52%56%58%
April58%57%56%58%
May56%54%55%56%
June56%54%54%55%
July55%58%57%56%
August51%44%36%30%
September28%27%28%33%
October40%44%46%44%
November41%37%35%34%
December33%33%35%34%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Song Sparrows arrive in Pennsylvania?
The Song Sparrow is in Pennsylvania all year. It turns up on about 58% of checklists at its peak (early April) and on 28% in its quietest week (the second week of September).
When do Song Sparrows leave Pennsylvania?
The Song Sparrow does not leave Pennsylvania: it is reported all year, from 28% of checklists in the second week of September to 58% in early April.
When is the best time to see a Song Sparrow in Pennsylvania?
The Song Sparrow is reported most often in early April, on about 58% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Song Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Delaware County, Mifflin County, and Montour County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Song Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).