WhenToBird

Sayornis nigricans · Tyrannidae

When Do Black Phoebes Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Black Phoebe
Photo: Esteban Poveda, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black Phoebes are winter birds in Oregon: the first arrive in early July, they are common by early August, peak in mid October (9.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 1-7early July
Common byAug 1-7early August
PeakOct 15-21mid October
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: mid October. First arrivals early July; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 9.2% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 7.8% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.7% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 6.8% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.7% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.0% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 6.2% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 6.0% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.4% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.1% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.5% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.0% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.2% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.6% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.4% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.0% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.9% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.7% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.4% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.4% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.8% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.7% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.8% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.0% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.1% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.7% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.0% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.4% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.8% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.8% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.2% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.0% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.4% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.9% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.1% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.5% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.2% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 8.1% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.3% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.3% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 9.0% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 8.8% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 9.6% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 8.7% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 9.0% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 9.1% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 8.8% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.8% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 8.0% 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. Curry CountyBest the second week of December · 180 checklists that week, 12,513 in all39%
  2. Coos CountyBest the second week of November · 347 checklists that week, 24,368 in all32%
  3. Douglas CountyBest late October · 342 checklists that week, 17,976 in all26%
  4. Josephine CountyBest mid October · 358 checklists that week, 20,837 in all22%
  5. Tillamook CountyBest late October · 1022 checklists that week, 45,809 in all21%
  6. Jackson CountyBest mid September · 982 checklists that week, 60,428 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Wapato Lake National Wildlife RefugeWashington County, best late October · 28 checklists that week, 605 in all91%
  2. Trask RiverTillamook County, best early October · 28 checklists that week, 140 in all91%
  3. Wetland ParkLane County, best late September · 34 checklists that week, 897 in all83%
  4. Local Government 9Benton County, best late August · 273 checklists that week, 6,965 in all81%
  5. Ashland PondsJackson County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 1,344 in all81%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Black Phoebe is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (6.5% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 4.3% of 50677 checklists7 am: 5.9% of 125347 checklists8 am: 6.2% of 163668 checklists9 am: 6.5% of 160351 checklists10 am: 6.4% of 148940 checklists11 am: 6.0% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 5.4% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 5.6% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 5.9% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 5.8% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 4.4% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 3.4% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 2.7% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 1.6% 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
January7.8%7.7%6.8%6.7%
February7.0%6.2%6.0%6.4%
March6.1%5.5%5.0%4.2%
April3.6%3.4%3.0%2.9%
May2.7%2.4%2.4%1.8%
June1.7%1.8%2.0%2.1%
July2.7%3.0%3.4%3.8%
August4.8%5.2%6.0%6.4%
September6.9%7.1%7.5%8.2%
October8.1%9.3%9.3%9.0%
November8.8%9.6%8.7%9.0%
December9.1%8.8%8.8%8.0%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid September
  • California: year-round, peaks late September
  • Utah: arrives mid January, 22 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Colorado: arrives mid March, 14 weeks earlier than Oregon

Common questions

When do Black Phoebes arrive in Oregon?
Black Phoebes are winter birds in Oregon: the first arrive in early July, they are common by early August, peak in mid October (9.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Black Phoebes leave Oregon?
Most Black Phoebes have left Oregon by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a Black Phoebe in Oregon?
The Black Phoebe is reported most often in mid October, on about 9.2% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Black Phoebes seen most often?
By county, Curry County, Coos County, and Douglas County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Phoebe (counties with at least 200 checklists).