WhenToBird

Tringa flavipes · Scolopacidae

When Do Lesser Yellowlegses Arrive in California?

Adult Lesser Yellowlegs
Photo: John Rosford, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Lesser Yellowlegses arrive in California in late July, peak in late August (2.8% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: late August. First arrivals late July; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 2.8% of California checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.3% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.2% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.3% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.3% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.3% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.6% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.8% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.2% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.8% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.5% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.7% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.8% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.7% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.7% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.0% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.7% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% 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. Imperial CountyBest early September · 387 checklists that week, 24,551 in all15%
  2. Colusa CountyBest mid September · 108 checklists that week, 7,653 in all12%
  3. Napa CountyBest mid August · 265 checklists that week, 18,976 in all11%
  4. Kings CountyBest early August · 70 checklists that week, 3,688 in all10%
  5. Sutter CountyBest early September · 78 checklists that week, 4,996 in all9.8%
  6. Yuba CountyBest late August · 117 checklists that week, 6,013 in all7.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. City of San Diego Open SpaceSan Diego County, best early September · 60 checklists that week, 579 in all80%
  2. RamalSonoma County, best early September · 22 checklists that week, 701 in all70%
  3. AlvisoSanta Clara County, best the second week of August · 22 checklists that week, 312 in all68%
  4. Goleta Slough Ecological ReserveSanta Barbara County, best late August · 34 checklists that week, 655 in all68%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Lesser Yellowlegs is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.6% of 186053 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 444086 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 535846 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 486061 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 411130 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 0.8% 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
January0.4%0.3%0.3%0.3%
February0.3%0.2%0.3%0.3%
March0.3%0.3%0.3%0.3%
April0.4%0.4%0.6%0.4%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.2%0.4%0.8%1.2%
August1.8%2.5%2.7%2.8%
September2.7%1.7%1.2%1.0%
October0.7%0.7%0.7%0.5%
November0.4%0.4%0.3%0.3%
December0.3%0.2%0.3%0.3%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives early July, 3 weeks earlier than California
  • Utah: arrives early July, 3 weeks earlier than California
  • Arizona: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than California
  • Oregon: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than California

Common questions

When do Lesser Yellowlegses arrive in California?
Lesser Yellowlegses arrive in California in late July, peak in late August (2.8% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Lesser Yellowlegses leave California?
Most Lesser Yellowlegses have left California by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Yellowlegs in California?
The Lesser Yellowlegs is reported most often in late August, on about 2.8% of California checklists.
Where in California are Lesser Yellowlegses seen most often?
By county, Imperial County, Colusa County, and Napa County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Yellowlegs (counties with at least 200 checklists).