WhenToBird

Rynchops niger · Laridae

When Do Black Skimmers Arrive in California?

Adult Black Skimmer
Photo: Luciano Massa, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black Skimmers arrive in California in mid April, peak in the second week of July (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakJul 8-14the second week of July
Most gone bySep 8-14the second week of September

Best: the second week of July. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 2.4% of California checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.6% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.6% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.4% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.4% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.5% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.5% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.9% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.2% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.2% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.3% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.4% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.6% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.6% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.0% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.3% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.5% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.4% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.2% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.1% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.9% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.7% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.5% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.2% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.9% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.7% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.4% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.3% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% 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. Imperial CountyBest the second week of June · 183 checklists that week, 24,551 in all18%
  2. Orange CountyBest early July · 3614 checklists that week, 244,559 in all17%
  3. San Diego CountyBest the second week of July · 5852 checklists that week, 405,465 in all7.6%
  4. Santa Clara CountyBest the second week of July · 3106 checklists that week, 201,483 in all5.7%
  5. Santa Barbara CountyBest mid August · 1734 checklists that week, 120,616 in all3.6%
  6. Alameda CountyBest the second week of June · 2355 checklists that week, 161,052 in all2.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Shad ParkSan Mateo County, best late October · 43 checklists that week, 1,150 in all94%
  2. Queensway BayLos Angeles County, best late April · 58 checklists that week, 1,045 in all91%
  3. Chula Vista Bayfront ParkSan Diego County, best the second week of July · 71 checklists that week, 1,915 in all86%
  4. Chase Palm ParkSanta Barbara County, best late August · 44 checklists that week, 935 in all85%
  5. San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh ReserveOrange County, best mid June · 279 checklists that week, 14,224 in all84%
  6. Fletcher Retarding BasinOrange County, best the second week of August · 25 checklists that week, 1,086 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Black Skimmer is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 1.4% of 186053 checklists7 am: 0.9% of 444086 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 535846 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 486061 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 411130 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 1.2% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 1.4% 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
January0.4%0.6%0.6%0.5%
February0.4%0.4%0.4%0.5%
March0.5%0.4%0.4%0.4%
April0.5%0.7%0.7%0.9%
May1.2%1.2%1.2%1.3%
June1.4%1.6%1.6%2.0%
July2.3%2.5%2.4%2.2%
August2.1%1.9%1.7%1.5%
September1.2%0.9%0.7%0.4%
October0.3%0.3%0.2%0.2%
November0.2%0.3%0.2%0.3%
December0.3%0.2%0.3%0.3%

Neighboring states

  • Texas: arrives late October, 23 weeks earlier than California
  • Louisiana: arrives mid March, 4 weeks earlier than California
  • Mississippi: year-round, peaks early September
  • Alabama: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than California

Common questions

When do Black Skimmers arrive in California?
Black Skimmers arrive in California in mid April, peak in the second week of July (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Black Skimmers leave California?
Most Black Skimmers have left California by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black Skimmer in California?
The Black Skimmer is reported most often in the second week of July, on about 2.4% of California checklists.
Where in California are Black Skimmers seen most often?
By county, Imperial County, Orange County, and San Diego County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Skimmer (counties with at least 200 checklists).