WhenToBird

Junco hyemalis · Passerellidae

When Do Dark-eyed Juncos Arrive in Oregon?

Adult male Dark-eyed Junco
Photo: Jimmy Dee, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Dark-eyed Juncos are in Oregon all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in the second week of December (51% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of April. In the quietest week (late August) they are still on about 15% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakDec 8-14the second week of December
Fall back byApr 8-14the second week of April
FewestAug 22-31late August

Best: the second week of December. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of October and fall back by the second week of April. Peak: on about 51% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 48% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 47% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 45% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 43% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 45% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 49% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 51% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 50% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 51% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 50% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 48% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 43% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 40% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 36% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 32% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 27% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 25% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 24% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 23% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 22% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 23% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 24% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 26% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 26% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 27% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 25% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 20% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 18% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 15% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 15% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 15% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 16% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 19% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 23% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 32% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 38% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 41% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 44% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 47% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 48% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 49% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 50% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 52% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 52% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 50% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 50% 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. Josephine CountyBest late November · 404 checklists that week, 20,837 in all73%
  2. Washington CountyBest early March · 2357 checklists that week, 110,376 in all70%
  3. Jackson CountyBest early December · 884 checklists that week, 60,428 in all67%
  4. Columbia CountyBest the second week of December · 443 checklists that week, 27,750 in all67%
  5. Clackamas CountyBest mid February · 1445 checklists that week, 50,929 in all65%
  6. Deschutes CountyBest the second week of December · 1095 checklists that week, 86,260 in all61%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Jackie Husen ParkWashington County, best the second week of March · 28 checklists that week, 270 in all100%
  2. Downing Bike PathWashington County, best early February · 48 checklists that week, 2,451 in all100%
  3. Willamette Heights OverlookLane County, best late October · 24 checklists that week, 121 in all100%
  4. Hoyt ArboretumMultnomah County, best late May · 21 checklists that week, 611 in all100%
  5. Riverview CemeteryMultnomah County, best the second week of May · 37 checklists that week, 485 in all99%
  6. City of Portland Reservoir Number 3Multnomah County, best mid March · 41 checklists that week, 1,693 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Dark-eyed Junco is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (43% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%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: 31% of 50677 checklists7 am: 42% of 125347 checklists8 am: 44% of 163668 checklists9 am: 40% of 160351 checklists10 am: 36% of 148940 checklists11 am: 35% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 35% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 32% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 31% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 33% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 30% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 25% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 21% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 13% 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
January48%47%45%43%
February45%49%51%50%
March51%50%48%43%
April40%36%32%27%
May25%24%23%22%
June23%24%26%26%
July27%25%23%20%
August18%16%15%15%
September15%16%19%23%
October32%38%41%44%
November47%48%49%50%
December52%52%50%50%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks the second week of March
  • Idaho: arrives the second week of October, in the same week than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives mid October, 1 week later than Oregon
  • California: year-round, peaks the second week of March

Common questions

When do Dark-eyed Juncos arrive in Oregon?
Dark-eyed Juncos are in Oregon all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in the second week of December (51% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of April. In the quietest week (late August) they are still on about 15% of checklists.
When do Dark-eyed Juncos leave Oregon?
Dark-eyed Juncos never fully leave Oregon: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of April, but some are still reported in every week, about 15% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Dark-eyed Junco in Oregon?
The Dark-eyed Junco is reported most often in the second week of December, on about 51% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Dark-eyed Juncos seen most often?
By county, Josephine County, Washington County, and Jackson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Dark-eyed Junco (counties with at least 200 checklists).