WhenToBird

Patagioenas fasciata · Columbidae

When Do Band-tailed Pigeons Arrive in California?

Adult Band-tailed Pigeon
Photo: Irene, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Band-tailed Pigeons are in California all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from the second week of March, peak in mid April (10% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of August. In the quietest week (early December) they are still on about 3.8% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 8-14the second week of March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Fall back byAug 8-14the second week of August
FewestDec 1-7early December

Best: mid April. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of March and fall back by the second week of August. Peak: on about 10% of California checklists.

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

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 4.1% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.2% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 4.3% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.7% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 5.0% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 5.5% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.5% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 5.9% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.4% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 6.8% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 7.8% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.7% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.4% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 10% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 10% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.9% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.6% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.9% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 9.8% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.7% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.5% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.4% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.5% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.4% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.7% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.4% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.1% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.6% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.5% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.9% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.6% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.5% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.6% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.4% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.5% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.1% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.5% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.4% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.2% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.5% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.4% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.1% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.7% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.8% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.9% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 4.7% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.3% 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. Humboldt CountyBest the second week of June · 1714 checklists that week, 95,963 in all31%
  2. Nevada CountyBest mid March · 465 checklists that week, 25,896 in all26%
  3. Santa Cruz CountyBest mid June · 2083 checklists that week, 140,819 in all26%
  4. Del Norte CountyBest early June · 330 checklists that week, 16,363 in all24%
  5. Mendocino CountyBest early August · 916 checklists that week, 47,934 in all23%
  6. Contra Costa CountyBest mid April · 2471 checklists that week, 115,071 in all22%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Burleigh H. Murray RanchSan Mateo County, best late May · 101 checklists that week, 1,656 in all96%
  2. Palmer CreekHumboldt County, best early July · 40 checklists that week, 796 in all95%
  3. Lacy ParkLos Angeles County, best early March · 22 checklists that week, 683 in all93%
  4. Steckel ParkVentura County, best mid January · 26 checklists that week, 297 in all92%
  5. San Gabriel Mountains National MonumentLos Angeles County, best early June · 36 checklists that week, 1,491 in all92%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Band-tailed Pigeon is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (10% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 10% of 186053 checklists7 am: 11% of 444086 checklists8 am: 9.6% of 535846 checklists9 am: 8.0% of 486061 checklists10 am: 5.6% of 411130 checklists11 am: 4.5% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 4.0% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 4.3% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 4.9% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 5.2% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 5.4% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 6.3% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 5.5% 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
January4.1%4.2%4.3%4.7%
February5.0%5.5%5.5%5.9%
March6.4%6.8%7.8%8.7%
April9.4%10%10%10%
May9.9%9.6%9.9%9.8%
June9.7%9.5%9.4%9.5%
July9.4%8.7%8.4%8.1%
August7.6%7.5%6.9%6.6%
September6.5%6.6%6.4%6.5%
October6.1%5.5%5.4%5.2%
November4.5%4.4%4.1%3.7%
December3.8%3.9%4.7%4.3%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives mid March, 1 week later than California
  • Arizona: arrives early May, 7 weeks later than California
  • Oregon: arrives the second week of March, in the same week than California
  • New Mexico: arrives the second week of May, 8 weeks later than California

Common questions

When do Band-tailed Pigeons arrive in California?
Band-tailed Pigeons are in California all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from the second week of March, peak in mid April (10% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of August. In the quietest week (early December) they are still on about 3.8% of checklists.
When do Band-tailed Pigeons leave California?
Band-tailed Pigeons never fully leave California: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of August, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.8% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Band-tailed Pigeon in California?
The Band-tailed Pigeon is reported most often in mid April, on about 10% of California checklists.
Where in California are Band-tailed Pigeons seen most often?
By county, Humboldt County, Nevada County, and Santa Cruz County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Band-tailed Pigeon (counties with at least 200 checklists).