WhenToBird

Fulica americana · Rallidae

When Do American Coots Arrive in California?

Adult American Coot
Photo: Daughter Dad, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

American Coots are in California all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in the second week of January (29% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of April. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 7.8% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 15-21mid October
PeakJan 8-14the second week of January
Fall back byApr 8-14the second week of April
FewestJun 15-21mid June

Best: the second week of January. Here all year; numbers build from mid October and fall back by the second week of April. Peak: on about 29% of California checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 29% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 29% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 29% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 28% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 27% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 25% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 23% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 26% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 25% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 24% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 23% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 22% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 21% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 19% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 17% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 14% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 10% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.1% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.8% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.1% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.8% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.7% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.9% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.2% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.0% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.3% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.6% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.0% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.0% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.3% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.8% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 14% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 16% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 18% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 20% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 22% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 24% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 25% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 26% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 28% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 28% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 27% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 24% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 26% 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. Glenn CountyBest the second week of March · 51 checklists that week, 5,189 in all51%
  2. Imperial CountyBest early December · 322 checklists that week, 24,551 in all51%
  3. Colusa CountyBest late February · 218 checklists that week, 7,653 in all51%
  4. Merced CountyBest early March · 366 checklists that week, 13,095 in all49%
  5. Lake CountyBest the second week of December · 217 checklists that week, 12,989 in all47%
  6. Kings CountyBest mid March · 81 checklists that week, 3,688 in all45%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Salt Pond (historical)Los Angeles County, best late March · 22 checklists that week, 776 in all100%
  2. Pinto Lake Park (south)Santa Cruz County, best late February · 24 checklists that week, 543 in all100%
  3. Anthony C. Beilenson ParkLos Angeles County, best the second week of December · 29 checklists that week, 1,119 in all100%
  4. Arroyo ParkVentura County, best early January · 30 checklists that week, 461 in all100%
  5. Reflection LakeSan Mateo County, best late November · 20 checklists that week, 418 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In California, the American Coot is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (21% 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: 14% of 186053 checklists7 am: 18% of 444086 checklists8 am: 19% of 535846 checklists9 am: 19% of 486061 checklists10 am: 20% of 411130 checklists11 am: 20% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 20% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 21% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 22% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 21% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 18% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 14% 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
January29%29%29%28%
February27%25%23%26%
March25%24%23%22%
April21%19%17%14%
May12%10%9.1%8.8%
June8.1%7.8%7.7%7.9%
July8.2%8.0%8.3%8.6%
August9.0%9.0%9.3%9.8%
September11%12%12%14%
October16%18%20%22%
November24%25%26%28%
December28%27%24%26%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives early October, 2 weeks earlier than California
  • Utah: arrives mid October, in the same week than California
  • Arizona: arrives early October, 2 weeks earlier than California
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks early April

Common questions

When do American Coots arrive in California?
American Coots are in California all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in the second week of January (29% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of April. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 7.8% of checklists.
When do American Coots leave California?
American Coots never fully leave California: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of April, but some are still reported in every week, about 7.8% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a American Coot in California?
The American Coot is reported most often in the second week of January, on about 29% of California checklists.
Where in California are American Coots seen most often?
By county, Glenn County, Imperial County, and Colusa County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Coot (counties with at least 200 checklists).