WhenToBird

Pooecetes gramineus · Passerellidae

When Do Vesper Sparrows Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult Vesper Sparrow
Photo: Dani Alba, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Vesper Sparrows are winter birds in Nebraska: they arrive in the second week of July, peak in early October (6.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 8-14the second week of July
Common byJul 8-14the second week of July
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byOct 22-31late October

Best: early October. First arrivals the second week of July; most are gone by late October. Peak: on about 6.5% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.3% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.8% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.3% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.8% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.2% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.3% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.7% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.7% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.1% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.9% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.3% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.1% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.5% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.4% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.6% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.6% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 6.4% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.6% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.0% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Banner CountyBest mid September · 11 checklists that week, 689 in all60%
  2. Sioux CountyBest mid September · 42 checklists that week, 2,408 in all39%
  3. Kimball CountyBest late April · 67 checklists that week, 2,067 in all36%
  4. Hamilton CountyBest early October · 18 checklists that week, 630 in all29%
  5. Sheridan CountyBest early October · 26 checklists that week, 1,695 in all26%
  6. Dundy CountyBest late September · 28 checklists that week, 623 in all24%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Marsh WrenLancaster County, best mid April · 64 checklists that week, 1,817 in all35%
  2. Prairie Dog Federal Waterfowl Production AreaKearney County, best late September · 29 checklists that week, 172 in all27%
  3. Wood Duck Wildlife Management AreaStanton County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 189 in all19%
  4. Oliver Reservoir State Recreation AreaKimball County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 597 in all18%
  5. Glacier Creek PreserveDouglas County, best the second week of October · 24 checklists that week, 291 in all17%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Vesper Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.0% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 2.3% of 6945 checklists7 am: 1.9% of 19066 checklists8 am: 1.8% of 24661 checklists9 am: 1.8% of 23438 checklists10 am: 1.6% of 20424 checklists11 am: 1.3% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 1.4% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 1.1% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 1.2% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 1.5% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 1.2% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 1.4% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 0.7% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0.1%0.3%
April1.1%3.8%5.3%4.8%
May2.2%1.3%0.8%0.5%
June0.7%0.6%0.9%0.7%
July0.5%1.0%1.1%0.9%
August0.9%0.9%0.8%1.3%
September2.1%2.5%4.4%6.6%
October6.6%6.4%3.6%1.0%
November0.1%0%0%0.1%
December0%0%0.1%0%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives early September, 7 weeks later than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives the second week of April, 12 weeks earlier than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives late March, 14 weeks earlier than Nebraska
  • Missouri: arrives the second week of March, 16 weeks earlier than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Vesper Sparrows arrive in Nebraska?
Vesper Sparrows are winter birds in Nebraska: they arrive in the second week of July, peak in early October (6.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.
When do Vesper Sparrows leave Nebraska?
Most Vesper Sparrows have left Nebraska by late October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Vesper Sparrow in Nebraska?
The Vesper Sparrow is reported most often in early October, on about 6.5% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Vesper Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Banner County, Sioux County, and Kimball County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Vesper Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).