Arrival and Departure Dates of Atlanta Area Birds

The arrival and departure dates of Atlanta area birds was gathered from reports from birders around the Atlanta metropolitan area. The dates shown are the earliest arrivals and latest departures for summer and winter residents along with transient migrants. Permanent residents are listed, but without appropriate dates.

The “status” for any particular species indicates its residence as SR (Summer), M (Migrant), WR (Winter), or PR (Permanent). The abundance of each species is denoted by A (Abundant), C (Common), U (Uncommon), and R (Rare). For example, an American Bittern is an uncommon migrant in the Atlanta area with its earliest spring arrival of 3/13 and latest departure of 5/15. In the fall, this species arrives as early as 8/22 and departs as late as 11/7. 

It is important to note that these dates are early and late records, not average arrival and departure dates. While most have been published in the literature, a few are not documented.  Click on the links below for a listing of birds arriving and departing. 

Spring Arrivals Spring Departures Fall Arrivals Fall Departures