WhenToBird

Perisoreus canadensis · Corvidae

When Do Canada Jays Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Canada Jay
Photo: Teagan Weiss, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Canada Jays arrive in Oregon in late April, peak in early September (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakSep 1-7early September
Most gone byDec 1-7early December

Best: early September. First arrivals late April; most are gone by early December. Peak: on about 2.0% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.5% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.5% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.5% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.6% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.6% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.6% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.7% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.5% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.2% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.3% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.5% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.7% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.8% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.8% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.0% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.0% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.8% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.0% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.8% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.1% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.9% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.0% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.9% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.0% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.9% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.8% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.5% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.2% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.9% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.9% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.7% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.6% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.5% 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. Columbia CountyBest the second week of October · 324 checklists that week, 27,750 in all21%
  2. Hood River CountyBest the second week of September · 228 checklists that week, 9,695 in all14%
  3. Grant CountyBest late September · 96 checklists that week, 6,818 in all12%
  4. Klamath CountyBest early August · 657 checklists that week, 26,875 in all9.1%
  5. Wasco CountyBest late July · 172 checklists that week, 13,127 in all8.4%
  6. Wallowa CountyBest early October · 127 checklists that week, 9,170 in all6.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Eagle CoveKlamath County, best late May · 27 checklists that week, 643 in all64%
  2. Klamath Marsh National Wildlife RefugeKlamath County, best the second week of November · 26 checklists that week, 812 in all62%
  3. Gold LakeLane County, best early July · 22 checklists that week, 133 in all59%
  4. Sherrard PointMultnomah County, best mid September · 85 checklists that week, 1,135 in all50%
  5. Trout Creek SwampDeschutes County, best late July · 30 checklists that week, 590 in all46%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Canada Jay is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.7% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%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: 2.2% of 50677 checklists7 am: 1.5% of 125347 checklists8 am: 1.2% of 163668 checklists9 am: 1.2% of 160351 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 148940 checklists11 am: 1.2% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 1.3% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.4% 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
January0.4%0.5%0.5%0.5%
February0.5%0.5%0.5%0.6%
March0.6%0.7%0.6%0.7%
April0.6%0.5%0.5%0.5%
May0.7%0.9%1.0%1.2%
June1.3%1.3%1.5%1.7%
July1.8%1.8%2.0%2.0%
August1.8%2.0%1.8%2.1%
September1.9%2.0%1.9%2.0%
October1.9%1.8%1.5%1.2%
November0.9%0.9%0.7%0.6%
December0.6%0.5%0.4%0.5%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives early June, 5 weeks later than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives early June, 5 weeks later than Oregon
  • Montana: arrives late May, 4 weeks later than Oregon
  • Wyoming: arrives early June, 5 weeks later than Oregon

Common questions

When do Canada Jays arrive in Oregon?
Canada Jays arrive in Oregon in late April, peak in early September (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.
When do Canada Jays leave Oregon?
Most Canada Jays have left Oregon by early December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Canada Jay in Oregon?
The Canada Jay is reported most often in early September, on about 2.0% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Canada Jays seen most often?
By county, Columbia County, Hood River County, and Grant County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Canada Jay (counties with at least 200 checklists).