WhenToBird

Poecile atricapillus · Paridae

When Do Black-capped Chickadees Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Black-capped Chickadee
Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Black-capped Chickadee is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 36% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 19% in its quietest week (early June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 1-7early December
Quietest weekJun 1-7early June

Best: early December. Here all year. Peak: on about 36% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 35% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 34% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 33% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 34% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 34% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 35% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 35% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 35% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 36% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 35% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 35% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 34% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 35% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 34% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 34% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 32% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 29% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 25% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 23% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 19% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 20% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 21% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 22% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 27% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 28% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 28% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 29% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 29% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 30% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 31% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 33% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 34% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 33% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 34% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 35% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 34% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 35% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 33% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 33% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 34% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 34% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 34% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 35% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 37% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 36% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 34% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 36% of 37592 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 Oregon 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 Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest the second week of September · 1622 checklists that week, 110,376 in all61%
  2. Clackamas CountyBest early April · 998 checklists that week, 50,929 in all61%
  3. Josephine CountyBest mid September · 350 checklists that week, 20,837 in all60%
  4. Columbia CountyBest the second week of December · 443 checklists that week, 27,750 in all53%
  5. Multnomah CountyBest early September · 3008 checklists that week, 182,088 in all53%
  6. Benton CountyBest the second week of September · 2379 checklists that week, 144,626 in all51%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Teloh Calapooia ParkLinn County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 395 in all100%
  2. Willamette Park and Natural AreaBenton County, best the second week of September · 37 checklists that week, 1,816 in all99%
  3. West D Street GreenwayLane County, best the second week of March · 32 checklists that week, 1,059 in all97%
  4. Molalla WetlandsClackamas County, best the second week of April · 21 checklists that week, 563 in all97%
  5. West Linn High SchoolClackamas County, best late March · 24 checklists that week, 596 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Black-capped Chickadee is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (39% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 36% of 50677 checklists7 am: 40% of 125347 checklists8 am: 39% of 163668 checklists9 am: 36% of 160351 checklists10 am: 32% of 148940 checklists11 am: 30% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 29% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 27% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 27% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 28% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 26% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 25% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 26% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 18% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) 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
January35%34%33%34%
February34%35%35%35%
March36%35%35%34%
April35%34%34%32%
May29%25%23%19%
June19%20%21%22%
July27%28%28%29%
August29%30%31%33%
September34%33%34%35%
October34%35%33%33%
November34%34%34%35%
December37%36%34%36%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks early December
  • Idaho: year-round, peaks early December
  • California: summer visitor, peaks the second week of September
  • Montana: year-round, peaks mid December

Common questions

When do Black-capped Chickadees arrive in Oregon?
The Black-capped Chickadee is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 36% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 19% in its quietest week (early June).
When do Black-capped Chickadees leave Oregon?
The Black-capped Chickadee does not leave Oregon: it is reported all year, from 19% of checklists in early June to 36% in early December.
When is the best time to see a Black-capped Chickadee in Oregon?
The Black-capped Chickadee is reported most often in early December, on about 36% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Black-capped Chickadees seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Clackamas County, and Josephine County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-capped Chickadee (counties with at least 200 checklists).