WhenToBird

Certhia americana · Certhiidae

When Do Brown Creepers Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Brown Creeper
Photo: Melanie Gaddy, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

The Brown Creeper is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (late August) and on 7.4% in its quietest week (mid January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekAug 22-31late August
Quietest weekJan 15-21mid January

Best: late August. Here all year. Peak: on about 11% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 7.7% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.4% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.0% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 7.6% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.8% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.8% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.1% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.5% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.2% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.6% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 9.7% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 9.5% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.3% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 9.4% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.9% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.7% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.1% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.2% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 7.9% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.4% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.5% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 8.1% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.6% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.7% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.8% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 9.9% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 10% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 10% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 10% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 10% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.8% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.5% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.3% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 8.0% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.5% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.5% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 8.1% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 8.2% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 8.5% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.4% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 8.4% 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. Multnomah CountyBest early September · 3008 checklists that week, 182,088 in all23%
  2. Columbia CountyBest late August · 623 checklists that week, 27,750 in all20%
  3. Linn CountyBest the second week of August · 376 checklists that week, 27,533 in all19%
  4. Yamhill CountyBest the second week of July · 208 checklists that week, 11,537 in all18%
  5. Polk CountyBest late July · 539 checklists that week, 29,096 in all18%
  6. Clackamas CountyBest mid August · 780 checklists that week, 50,929 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Willamette Park and Natural Area (Crystal Lake)Benton County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 306 in all86%
  2. West D Street GreenwayLane County, best early December · 22 checklists that week, 1,059 in all85%
  3. Willamette Park and Natural AreaBenton County, best the second week of September · 37 checklists that week, 1,816 in all83%
  4. Kelley Point ParkMultnomah County, best mid September · 24 checklists that week, 992 in all83%
  5. Bybee LakeMultnomah County, best early March · 33 checklists that week, 1,688 in all80%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Brown Creeper is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 13% of 50677 checklists7 am: 13% of 125347 checklists8 am: 12% of 163668 checklists9 am: 11% of 160351 checklists10 am: 9.4% of 148940 checklists11 am: 8.6% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 7.7% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 7.7% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 7.2% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 6.8% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 5.9% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 5.7% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 5.4% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 3.5% 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
January7.7%7.4%7.0%7.6%
February7.8%7.8%7.1%8.5%
March9.2%8.6%9.7%9.5%
April9.3%9.4%9.9%9.7%
May9.1%8.2%7.9%7.4%
June7.5%8.1%8.6%9.7%
July9.8%9.9%10%10%
August10%11%11%11%
September12%10%10%10%
October10%9.8%9.5%8.3%
November8.0%8.5%7.5%8.1%
December8.2%8.5%8.4%8.4%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks late July
  • Idaho: winter visitor, peaks early December
  • Nevada: summer visitor, peaks the second week of July
  • California: all year, most in summer, peaks late June

Common questions

When do Brown Creepers arrive in Oregon?
The Brown Creeper is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (late August) and on 7.4% in its quietest week (mid January).
When do Brown Creepers leave Oregon?
The Brown Creeper does not leave Oregon: it is reported all year, from 7.4% of checklists in mid January to 11% in late August.
When is the best time to see a Brown Creeper in Oregon?
The Brown Creeper is reported most often in late August, on about 11% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Brown Creepers seen most often?
By county, Multnomah County, Columbia County, and Linn County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Brown Creeper (counties with at least 200 checklists).