WhenToBird

Dryobates pubescens · Picidae

When Do Downy Woodpeckers Arrive in Utah?

Adult female Downy Woodpecker
Photo: joy4birds, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Downy Woodpeckers are in Utah all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid August, peak in the second week of December (15% of checklists), and fall back by late February. In the quietest week (late May) they are still on about 5.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 15-21mid August
PeakDec 8-14the second week of December
Fall back byFeb 22-28late February
FewestMay 22-31late May

Best: the second week of December. Here all year; numbers build from mid August and fall back by late February. Peak: on about 15% of Utah checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 12% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 12% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 12% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 11% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 11% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 11% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 11% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 10% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.3% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 9.3% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 9.2% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.8% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 8.5% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.6% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.6% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 8.4% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.0% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.1% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.5% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.6% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.4% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.5% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.6% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 7.0% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.8% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.0% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.1% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.0% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.8% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 13% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 13% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 12% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 10% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 10% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 11% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 10% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 13% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 15% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 16% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% 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. Salt Lake CountyBest the second week of December · 1723 checklists that week, 104,432 in all27%
  2. Morgan CountyBest late August · 69 checklists that week, 3,178 in all26%
  3. Weber CountyBest mid February · 300 checklists that week, 13,172 in all22%
  4. Davis CountyBest the second week of December · 531 checklists that week, 39,952 in all18%
  5. Utah CountyBest early September · 1073 checklists that week, 70,971 in all17%
  6. Box Elder CountyBest mid September · 151 checklists that week, 9,867 in all15%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hidden LakeWeber County, best mid March · 20 checklists that week, 466 in all76%
  2. Westminster ParkSalt Lake County, best late October · 49 checklists that week, 140 in all69%
  3. Liberty ParkSalt Lake County, best the second week of December · 36 checklists that week, 1,708 in all69%
  4. Utah Lake WetlandsUtah County, best the second week of September · 54 checklists that week, 1,189 in all60%
  5. Hollow ParkUtah County, best the second week of February · 27 checklists that week, 261 in all60%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Downy Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 11% of 11714 checklists7 am: 13% of 33209 checklists8 am: 14% of 46944 checklists9 am: 12% of 46290 checklists10 am: 10% of 43144 checklists11 am: 9.0% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 8.2% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 8.3% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 8.1% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 8.8% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 8.5% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 7.6% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 8.0% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 6.0% 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
January12%12%12%12%
February11%11%11%11%
March10%9.3%9.3%9.2%
April8.8%8.5%8.6%8.6%
May8.4%7.0%6.1%5.5%
June5.6%6.4%6.5%6.6%
July7.0%6.8%7.0%8.1%
August9.0%8.8%10%13%
September13%12%12%12%
October11%10%10%11%
November10%12%11%13%
December14%15%16%13%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives the second week of July, 5 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks late April
  • Colorado: year-round, peaks early May
  • Idaho: arrives early November, 10 weeks later than Utah

Common questions

When do Downy Woodpeckers arrive in Utah?
Downy Woodpeckers are in Utah all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid August, peak in the second week of December (15% of checklists), and fall back by late February. In the quietest week (late May) they are still on about 5.7% of checklists.
When do Downy Woodpeckers leave Utah?
Downy Woodpeckers never fully leave Utah: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late February, but some are still reported in every week, about 5.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Downy Woodpecker in Utah?
The Downy Woodpecker is reported most often in the second week of December, on about 15% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Downy Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Salt Lake County, Morgan County, and Weber County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Downy Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).