WhenToBird

Melospiza georgiana · Passerellidae

When Do Swamp Sparrows Arrive in Maine?

Adult Swamp Sparrow
Photo: Sandra Keller, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Swamp Sparrows are winter birds in Maine: the first arrive in early April, they are common by mid April, peak in early October (14% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: early October. First arrivals early April; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 14% of Maine checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.8% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.9% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.0% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 11% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.4% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.8% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 8.1% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.2% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.8% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.1% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.5% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.5% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.6% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.7% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.1% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.8% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.1% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.7% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.2% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.2% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 16% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 13% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 12% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.7% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.0% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.3% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.7% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.2% 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. Penobscot CountyBest early May · 1764 checklists that week, 56,895 in all23%
  2. Waldo CountyBest early October · 608 checklists that week, 33,433 in all22%
  3. Lincoln CountyBest the second week of October · 1150 checklists that week, 59,429 in all20%
  4. Cumberland CountyBest the second week of October · 2782 checklists that week, 169,501 in all18%
  5. Franklin CountyBest late September · 279 checklists that week, 14,182 in all17%
  6. York CountyBest the second week of October · 1847 checklists that week, 101,844 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. City of Bangor (Stillwater Avenue)Penobscot County, best the second week of May · 26 checklists that week, 374 in all88%
  2. Maj. Gregory Sanborn (Brownfield Bog) Wildlife Management AreaOxford County, best early July · 21 checklists that week, 586 in all84%

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

Best time of day

In Maine, the Swamp Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%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: 15% of 19895 checklists6 am: 12% of 54578 checklists7 am: 9.2% of 92775 checklists8 am: 7.2% of 86962 checklists9 am: 5.7% of 78989 checklists10 am: 4.6% of 70954 checklists11 am: 3.3% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 3.1% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 2.7% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 2.8% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 3.0% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 3.7% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 3.8% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 4.6% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
February0.2%0.3%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
April0.8%2.9%7.0%10%
May12%11%11%8.4%
June7.8%8.1%8.2%8.8%
July8.1%8.5%7.5%6.6%
August4.7%3.1%2.8%3.1%
September3.7%5.2%7.2%13%
October16%13%12%8.7%
November3.0%1.3%0.7%0.5%
December0.3%0.5%0.4%0.2%

Neighboring states

  • New Hampshire: arrives early April, in the same week than Maine
  • Massachusetts: arrives late March, 1 week earlier than Maine
  • Vermont: arrives early April, in the same week than Maine
  • Rhode Island: arrives the second week of September, 21 weeks later than Maine

Common questions

When do Swamp Sparrows arrive in Maine?
Swamp Sparrows are winter birds in Maine: the first arrive in early April, they are common by mid April, peak in early October (14% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Swamp Sparrows leave Maine?
Most Swamp Sparrows have left Maine by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of November.
When is the best time to see a Swamp Sparrow in Maine?
The Swamp Sparrow is reported most often in early October, on about 14% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Swamp Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Penobscot County, Waldo County, and Lincoln County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Swamp Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).