WhenToBird

Gavia immer · Gaviidae

When Do Common Loons Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult Common Loon
Photo: Hungry-Sarracenia Photo, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Common Loons are winter birds in New Mexico: they arrive in late October, peak in the second week of November (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by late January.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 22-31late October
Common byOct 22-31late October
PeakNov 8-14the second week of November
Most gone byJan 22-31late January

Best: the second week of November. First arrivals late October; most are gone by late January. Peak: on about 1.1% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprrare
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Seprare
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.3% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.2% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.2% of 14523 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Quay CountyBest the second week of December · 34 checklists that week, 2,220 in all23%
  2. De Baca CountyBest early December · 28 checklists that week, 2,203 in all22%
  3. Cibola CountyBest mid November · 70 checklists that week, 3,986 in all11%
  4. Mora CountyBest mid November · 22 checklists that week, 2,730 in all6.3%
  5. Colfax CountyBest mid November · 107 checklists that week, 8,053 in all5.9%
  6. Catron CountyBest late November · 96 checklists that week, 6,114 in all5.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Isleta LakesBernalillo County, best the second week of November · 61 checklists that week, 693 in all45%
  2. Brantley LakeEddy County, best late January · 26 checklists that week, 542 in all35%
  3. Bluewater Lake State ParkCibola County, best late November · 24 checklists that week, 265 in all32%
  4. Ute Lake State ParkQuay County, best late October · 21 checklists that week, 415 in all24%
  5. Cochiti ReservoirSandoval County, best the second week of November · 22 checklists that week, 450 in all23%
  6. Bill Evans LakeGrant County, best late December · 22 checklists that week, 448 in all21%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Common Loon is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (0.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%12 am: too few checklists (186) to judge1 am: too few checklists (180) to judge2 am: too few checklists (172) to judge3 am: too few checklists (183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (527) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4013) to judge6 am: 0.1% of 29677 checklists7 am: 0.2% of 71785 checklists8 am: 0.1% of 79208 checklists9 am: 0.2% of 61605 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 49588 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 15112 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (9040) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2738) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (736) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (384) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January0.3%0.3%0.3%0.3%
February0.2%0.1%0.2%0.2%
March0.1%0.1%0.2%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0%0%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.3%
November0.8%1.2%1.1%0.6%
December0.5%0.5%0.4%0.2%

Neighboring states

  • Colorado: arrives mid October, 1 week earlier than New Mexico
  • Utah: arrives early October, 3 weeks earlier than New Mexico
  • Oklahoma: arrives late October, in the same week than New Mexico
  • Wyoming: arrives early October, 3 weeks earlier than New Mexico

Common questions

When do Common Loons arrive in New Mexico?
Common Loons are winter birds in New Mexico: they arrive in late October, peak in the second week of November (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by late January.
When do Common Loons leave New Mexico?
Most Common Loons have left New Mexico by late January, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Loon in New Mexico?
The Common Loon is reported most often in the second week of November, on about 1.1% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Common Loons seen most often?
By county, Quay County, De Baca County, and Cibola County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Loon (counties with at least 200 checklists).