WhenToBird

Selasphorus sasin · Trochilidae

When Do Allen's Hummingbirds Arrive in California?

Adult male Allen's Hummingbird
Photo: Andy Kleinhesselink, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

The Allen's Hummingbird is in California all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (mid May) and on 10% in its quietest week (mid November).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMay 15-21mid May
Quietest weekNov 15-21mid November

Best: mid May. Here all year. Peak: on about 17% of California checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 11% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 11% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 11% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 11% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 13% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 14% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 14% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 15% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 17% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 16% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 17% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 16% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 17% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 17% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 16% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 16% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 15% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 15% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 14% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 14% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 12% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 12% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 12% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 12% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 11% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 9.9% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 10% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 11% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Orange CountyBest late April · 6687 checklists that week, 244,559 in all53%
  2. Los Angeles CountyBest early September · 6732 checklists that week, 410,235 in all44%
  3. San Diego CountyBest early August · 5621 checklists that week, 405,465 in all34%
  4. San Francisco CountyBest late May · 3391 checklists that week, 130,018 in all34%
  5. Ventura CountyBest late March · 2725 checklists that week, 94,391 in all33%
  6. Del Norte CountyBest late May · 386 checklists that week, 16,363 in all19%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Satellite ParkLos Angeles County, best late January · 24 checklists that week, 956 in all100%
  2. Carpinteria CreekSanta Barbara County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 900 in all100%
  3. Rancho Los Cerritos Historic SiteLos Angeles County, best the second week of June · 31 checklists that week, 1,133 in all100%
  4. South Coast Botanic GardenLos Angeles County, best mid November · 23 checklists that week, 1,337 in all99%
  5. Creekside ParkOrange County, best late September · 20 checklists that week, 879 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Allen's Hummingbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (20% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 20% of 186053 checklists7 am: 21% of 444086 checklists8 am: 18% of 535846 checklists9 am: 15% of 486061 checklists10 am: 12% of 411130 checklists11 am: 10% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 9.0% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 8.5% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 8.6% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 9.5% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 10% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 12% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 11% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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
January11%11%11%11%
February13%13%14%14%
March14%15%16%15%
April17%16%17%16%
May16%17%17%16%
June16%15%15%14%
July14%14%13%12%
August12%12%12%12%
September11%12%12%12%
October12%12%11%11%
November11%9.9%10%11%
December12%12%12%12%

Common questions

When do Allen's Hummingbirds arrive in California?
The Allen's Hummingbird is in California all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (mid May) and on 10% in its quietest week (mid November).
When do Allen's Hummingbirds leave California?
The Allen's Hummingbird does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 10% of checklists in mid November to 17% in mid May.
When is the best time to see a Allen's Hummingbird in California?
The Allen's Hummingbird is reported most often in mid May, on about 17% of California checklists.
Where in California are Allen's Hummingbirds seen most often?
By county, Orange County, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Allen's Hummingbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).