WhenToBird

Spinus psaltria · Fringillidae

When Do Lesser Goldfinches Arrive in Utah?

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

The Lesser Goldfinch is in Utah all year. It turns up on about 22% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 13% in its quietest week (mid January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 1-7early September
Quietest weekJan 15-21mid January

Best: early September. Here all year. Peak: on about 22% of Utah checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  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%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 14% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 13% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 13% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 14% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 15% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 16% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 16% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 17% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 20% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 22% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 20% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 18% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 18% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 18% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 19% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 17% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 19% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 20% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 21% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 21% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 22% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 23% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 23% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 22% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 22% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 20% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 19% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 17% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 17% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 18% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 19% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 17% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 17% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 16% 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 May · 3012 checklists that week, 104,432 in all42%
  2. Washington CountyBest early September · 489 checklists that week, 43,893 in all35%
  3. Weber CountyBest the second week of August · 186 checklists that week, 13,172 in all34%
  4. Davis CountyBest the second week of August · 585 checklists that week, 39,952 in all32%
  5. Morgan CountyBest early March · 120 checklists that week, 3,178 in all32%
  6. Iron CountyBest the second week of May · 294 checklists that week, 8,774 in all24%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Big Cottonwood ParkSalt Lake County, best the second week of June · 47 checklists that week, 3,275 in all88%
  2. Brooks Nature ParkWashington County, best late April · 25 checklists that week, 443 in all87%
  3. James Madison ParkSalt Lake County, best mid May · 34 checklists that week, 936 in all87%
  4. Yellow Fork CanyonSalt Lake County, best late July · 26 checklists that week, 817 in all85%
  5. Miller ParkSalt Lake County, best late May · 33 checklists that week, 367 in all85%
  6. Ash CreekWashington County, best late May · 31 checklists that week, 691 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Lesser Goldfinch is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (25% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 25% of 11714 checklists7 am: 26% of 33209 checklists8 am: 25% of 46944 checklists9 am: 21% of 46290 checklists10 am: 17% of 43144 checklists11 am: 15% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 14% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 13% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 14% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 15% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 15% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 17% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 19% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 18% 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
January14%13%14%13%
February14%15%16%15%
March17%16%16%16%
April15%17%18%20%
May22%21%20%19%
June18%18%18%18%
July19%17%19%20%
August21%21%22%23%
September23%22%22%20%
October19%17%16%17%
November16%18%17%18%
December19%17%17%16%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: summer visitor, peaks late August
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks the second week of May
  • Colorado: summer visitor, peaks the second week of August
  • Idaho: year-round, peaks early December

Common questions

When do Lesser Goldfinches arrive in Utah?
The Lesser Goldfinch is in Utah all year. It turns up on about 22% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 13% in its quietest week (mid January).
When do Lesser Goldfinches leave Utah?
The Lesser Goldfinch does not leave Utah: it is reported all year, from 13% of checklists in mid January to 22% in early September.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Goldfinch in Utah?
The Lesser Goldfinch is reported most often in early September, on about 22% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Lesser Goldfinches seen most often?
By county, Salt Lake County, Washington County, and Weber County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Goldfinch (counties with at least 200 checklists).