WhenToBird

Spinus psaltria · Fringillidae

When Do Lesser Goldfinches Arrive in Oregon?

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

The Lesser Goldfinch is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 23% of checklists at its peak (mid April) and on 12% in its quietest week (mid January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekApr 15-21mid April
Quietest weekJan 15-21mid January

Best: mid April. Here all year. Peak: on about 23% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 13% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 11% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 11% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 12% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 16% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 18% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 20% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 20% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 21% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 22% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 23% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 23% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 21% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 19% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 16% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 15% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 16% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 15% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 16% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 18% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 19% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 18% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 19% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 19% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 18% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 17% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 17% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 16% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 15% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 13% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 13% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 13% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 13% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% 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 early April · 462 checklists that week, 20,837 in all47%
  2. Multnomah CountyBest early May · 5184 checklists that week, 182,088 in all46%
  3. Washington CountyBest early August · 1689 checklists that week, 110,376 in all43%
  4. Jackson CountyBest the second week of April · 1541 checklists that week, 60,428 in all43%
  5. Clackamas CountyBest early April · 998 checklists that week, 50,929 in all33%
  6. Deschutes CountyBest the second week of December · 1095 checklists that week, 86,260 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bluff above Swan IslandMultnomah County, best late April · 73 checklists that week, 899 in all97%
  2. Downing Bike PathWashington County, best mid July · 24 checklists that week, 2,451 in all94%
  3. Mount Tabor ParkMultnomah County, best late July · 132 checklists that week, 8,576 in all94%
  4. Riverview CemeteryMultnomah County, best the second week of May · 37 checklists that week, 485 in all91%
  5. Rose City Golf CourseMultnomah County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 437 in all88%
  6. Errol Heights PropertyMultnomah County, best mid September · 20 checklists that week, 1,547 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Lesser Goldfinch is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (24% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 23% of 50677 checklists7 am: 25% of 125347 checklists8 am: 23% of 163668 checklists9 am: 19% of 160351 checklists10 am: 16% of 148940 checklists11 am: 14% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 14% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 13% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 13% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 12% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 12% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 14% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 15% 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
January13%12%11%11%
February12%14%16%16%
March18%18%20%20%
April21%22%23%23%
May21%21%19%16%
June15%16%15%16%
July18%19%18%19%
August19%18%16%17%
September17%15%16%15%
October15%14%13%13%
November13%13%13%13%
December13%13%13%12%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks early September
  • Idaho: year-round, peaks early December
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks the second week of May
  • California: year-round, peaks late April

Common questions

When do Lesser Goldfinches arrive in Oregon?
The Lesser Goldfinch is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 23% of checklists at its peak (mid April) and on 12% in its quietest week (mid January).
When do Lesser Goldfinches leave Oregon?
The Lesser Goldfinch does not leave Oregon: it is reported all year, from 12% of checklists in mid January to 23% in mid April.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Goldfinch in Oregon?
The Lesser Goldfinch is reported most often in mid April, on about 23% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Lesser Goldfinches seen most often?
By county, Josephine County, Multnomah County, and Washington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Goldfinch (counties with at least 200 checklists).