WhenToBird

Spinus psaltria · Fringillidae

When Do Lesser Goldfinches Arrive in California?

Adult male Lesser Goldfinch
Photo: Aitor, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Lesser Goldfinch is in California all year. It turns up on about 39% of checklists at its peak (late April) and on 22% in its quietest week (the second week of January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekApr 22-30late April
Quietest weekJan 8-14the second week of January

Best: late April. Here all year. Peak: on about 39% of California checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 22% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 22% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 23% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 25% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 27% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 29% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 31% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 31% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 32% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 33% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 35% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 36% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 37% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 38% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 39% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 39% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 39% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 38% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 39% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 37% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 36% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 35% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 35% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 35% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 36% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 35% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 34% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 32% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 32% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 30% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 30% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 31% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 32% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 32% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 33% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 34% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 33% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 30% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 30% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 28% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 27% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 26% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 25% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 24% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 25% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 24% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 25% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 23% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Contra Costa CountyBest late May · 2939 checklists that week, 115,071 in all60%
  2. Placer CountyBest late April · 1279 checklists that week, 43,945 in all57%
  3. Orange CountyBest late April · 6687 checklists that week, 244,559 in all56%
  4. Santa Clara CountyBest late May · 5380 checklists that week, 201,483 in all55%
  5. Nevada CountyBest early March · 435 checklists that week, 25,896 in all53%
  6. Los Angeles CountyBest the second week of May · 9730 checklists that week, 410,235 in all52%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Oak Glen PreserveSan Bernardino County, best the second week of September · 24 checklists that week, 893 in all100%
  2. Harry Griffen ParkSan Diego County, best early June · 22 checklists that week, 1,959 in all99%
  3. Ralph B. Clark Regional ParkOrange County, best mid April · 20 checklists that week, 842 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Lesser Goldfinch is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (44% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 44% of 186053 checklists7 am: 44% of 444086 checklists8 am: 40% of 535846 checklists9 am: 35% of 486061 checklists10 am: 29% of 411130 checklists11 am: 25% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 24% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 23% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 23% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 23% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 24% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 28% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 28% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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
January22%22%23%25%
February27%29%31%31%
March32%33%35%36%
April37%38%39%39%
May39%38%39%37%
June36%35%35%35%
July36%35%34%32%
August32%30%30%31%
September32%32%33%34%
October33%30%30%28%
November27%26%25%24%
December25%24%25%23%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: year-round, peaks the second week of May
  • Utah: year-round, peaks early September
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks late August
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks mid April

Common questions

When do Lesser Goldfinches arrive in California?
The Lesser Goldfinch is in California all year. It turns up on about 39% of checklists at its peak (late April) and on 22% in its quietest week (the second week of January).
When do Lesser Goldfinches leave California?
The Lesser Goldfinch does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 22% of checklists in the second week of January to 39% in late April.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Goldfinch in California?
The Lesser Goldfinch is reported most often in late April, on about 39% of California checklists.
Where in California are Lesser Goldfinches seen most often?
By county, Contra Costa County, Placer County, and Orange County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Goldfinch (counties with at least 200 checklists).