WhenToBird

Phalaenoptilus nuttallii · Caprimulgidae

When Do Common Poorwills Arrive in Nevada?

Adult Common Poorwill
Photo: Mike Mulqueen, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Common Poorwills arrive in Nevada in mid April, peak in early June (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: early June. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 1.7% of Nevada checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0% of 5121 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 3908 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 4000 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 4991 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 3377 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 3747 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 4852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 3712 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 3745 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 3763 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 4188 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 6027 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 4679 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 4609 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 4709 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.5% of 6984 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.9% of 5702 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.4% of 5928 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 5353 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.6% of 7352 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.8% of 4360 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.7% of 4183 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.4% of 3751 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.2% of 4126 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.9% of 3231 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 3024 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.8% of 2967 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 4212 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 2828 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.6% of 3036 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.0% of 3076 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.9% of 4345 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.2% of 3369 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 3728 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 3535 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.4% of 5028 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 3976 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 3781 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 3577 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 4986 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 3592 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 3685 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 3399 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 4544 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 3162 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 3191 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 3615 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 5101 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 Nevada 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Nevada

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Humboldt CountyBest mid August · 45 checklists that week, 2,523 in all8.6%
  2. Lander CountyBest early June · 116 checklists that week, 1,413 in all6.3%
  3. Mineral CountyBest late June · 23 checklists that week, 1,635 in all6.0%
  4. Carson CityBest early June · 142 checklists that week, 6,992 in all5.6%
  5. White Pine CountyBest the second week of September · 157 checklists that week, 5,465 in all4.8%
  6. Eureka CountyBest mid June · 30 checklists that week, 530 in all4.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mount PisgahElko County, best the second week of August · 31 checklists that week, 309 in all10%
  2. Toiyabe National ForestWashoe County, best early June · 29 checklists that week, 877 in all6.1%
  3. Davis Creek Regional ParkWashoe County, best late May · 53 checklists that week, 992 in all5.3%
  4. Great Basin National Park (South Fork Baker Creek)White Pine County, best early June · 21 checklists that week, 174 in all4.5%
  5. Island LakeElko County, best late August · 37 checklists that week, 340 in all4.5%
  6. University of Nevada - Las VegasClark County, best mid October · 28 checklists that week, 1,154 in all4.4%

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

Best time of day

In Nevada, the Common Poorwill is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.1% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (114) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (71) to judge3 am: too few checklists (108) to judge4 am: too few checklists (459) to judge5 am: 2.8% of 4313 checklists6 am: 0.3% of 17070 checklists7 am: 0.1% of 27389 checklists8 am: 0.1% of 24858 checklists9 am: 0.1% of 22012 checklists10 am: 0.1% of 19284 checklists11 am: 0.1% of 15592 checklists12 pm: 0.1% of 12432 checklists1 pm: 0.1% of 11386 checklists2 pm: 0.1% of 11262 checklists3 pm: 0.1% of 10721 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 9090 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 6397 checklists6 pm: 1.7% of 5012 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3026) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (905) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (271) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (164) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (120) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0.1%0%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
April0.4%0.3%0.5%0.5%
May0.9%1.4%1.0%1.6%
June1.8%1.7%1.4%1.2%
July0.9%0.6%0.8%0.5%
August0.5%0.6%1.0%0.9%
September1.2%0.5%0.5%0.4%
October0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Utah: arrives late April, 1 week later than Nevada
  • Arizona: arrives late March, 3 weeks earlier than Nevada
  • New Mexico: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than Nevada

Common questions

When do Common Poorwills arrive in Nevada?
Common Poorwills arrive in Nevada in mid April, peak in early June (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Common Poorwills leave Nevada?
Most Common Poorwills have left Nevada by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Poorwill in Nevada?
The Common Poorwill is reported most often in early June, on about 1.7% of Nevada checklists.
Where in Nevada are Common Poorwills seen most often?
By county, Humboldt County, Lander County, and Mineral County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Poorwill (counties with at least 200 checklists).