WhenToBird

Phalaenoptilus nuttallii · Caprimulgidae

When Do Common Poorwills Arrive in Utah?

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

Common Poorwills arrive in Utah in late April, peak in the second week of June (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakJun 8-14the second week of June
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: the second week of June. First arrivals late April; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 1.4% of Utah checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  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 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.9% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.1% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.6% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.4% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.3% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.2% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.6% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.7% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.6% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Juab CountyBest the second week of August · 47 checklists that week, 2,572 in all9.6%
  2. Piute CountyBest the second week of June · 32 checklists that week, 1,035 in all9.6%
  3. Morgan CountyBest early June · 143 checklists that week, 3,178 in all8.8%
  4. Wasatch CountyBest late June · 361 checklists that week, 7,780 in all5.8%
  5. Rich CountyBest late May · 126 checklists that week, 1,563 in all4.4%
  6. Sanpete CountyBest the second week of September · 121 checklists that week, 6,190 in all3.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Big Mountain PassSalt Lake County, best late May · 22 checklists that week, 152 in all40%
  2. Wasatch National ForestSalt Lake County, best late July · 23 checklists that week, 265 in all32%
  3. Uinta National ForestUtah County, best late June · 22 checklists that week, 152 in all28%
  4. Wasatch Mountain State Park (north)Wasatch County, best the second week of July · 24 checklists that week, 116 in all22%
  5. Cottonwood Canyon (Utah Bottoms)Grand County, best mid August · 20 checklists that week, 352 in all15%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Common Poorwill is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 0.8% of 11714 checklists7 am: 0.1% of 33209 checklists8 am: 0.1% of 46944 checklists9 am: 0.1% of 46290 checklists10 am: 0.1% of 43144 checklists11 am: 0.1% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 0.1% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 0.1% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 0.1% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 0.1% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 0.1% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 1.0% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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%0.1%
March0%0%0%0.1%
April0.1%0.5%0.2%0.2%
May0.7%0.6%0.9%1.1%
June1.6%1.4%1.3%1.2%
July0.7%1.0%0.9%0.6%
August0.4%0.4%0.7%0.7%
September0.6%0.4%0.5%0.3%
October0.3%0.2%0.1%0%
November0%0%0.1%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Utah
  • New Mexico: arrives the second week of April, 2 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Arizona: arrives late March, 4 weeks earlier than Utah

Common questions

When do Common Poorwills arrive in Utah?
Common Poorwills arrive in Utah in late April, peak in the second week of June (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Common Poorwills leave Utah?
Most Common Poorwills have left Utah by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Poorwill in Utah?
The Common Poorwill is reported most often in the second week of June, on about 1.4% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Common Poorwills seen most often?
By county, Juab County, Piute County, and Morgan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Poorwill (counties with at least 200 checklists).