WhenToBird

Tringa flavipes · Scolopacidae

When Do Lesser Yellowlegses Arrive in Oregon?

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

Lesser Yellowlegses mostly pass through Oregon: the first show up in mid July, they are common by late July, peak in mid August (4.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: mid August. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 4.5% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junrare
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.6% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.8% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.9% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.1% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.9% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.7% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.8% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.9% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.5% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.1% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.7% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.7% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Crook CountyBest the second week of August · 171 checklists that week, 9,466 in all16%
  2. Marion CountyBest late August · 1226 checklists that week, 52,870 in all14%
  3. Columbia CountyBest mid August · 453 checklists that week, 27,750 in all13%
  4. Washington CountyBest mid August · 1548 checklists that week, 110,376 in all10%
  5. Morrow CountyBest late August · 107 checklists that week, 3,484 in all9.9%
  6. Union CountyBest mid August · 475 checklists that week, 33,301 in all7.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Wapato Lake National Wildlife RefugeWashington County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 605 in all83%
  2. Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (Job Swale Creek)Lane County, best mid August · 22 checklists that week, 253 in all73%
  3. Racetrack LakeColumbia County, best the second week of August · 42 checklists that week, 235 in all68%
  4. Fern Ridge Wildlife AreaLane County, best the second week of August · 154 checklists that week, 4,157 in all64%
  5. Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (Coyote Creek)Lane County, best late August · 66 checklists that week, 981 in all64%
  6. Ankeny National Wildlife RefugeMarion County, best mid August · 146 checklists that week, 3,182 in all62%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Lesser Yellowlegs is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.2% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 1.5% of 50677 checklists7 am: 1.1% of 125347 checklists8 am: 1.0% of 163668 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 160351 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 148940 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 0.9% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.5% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.3%0.5%1.0%1.1%
May0.5%0.2%0.2%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
July0.6%0.8%1.0%1.9%
August3.1%3.9%4.7%4.8%
September3.9%2.5%2.1%1.7%
October0.7%0.8%0.4%0.2%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives mid July, in the same week than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives early July, 2 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives early July, 2 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • California: arrives late July, 1 week later than Oregon

Common questions

When do Lesser Yellowlegses arrive in Oregon?
Lesser Yellowlegses mostly pass through Oregon: the first show up in mid July, they are common by late July, peak in mid August (4.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Lesser Yellowlegses leave Oregon?
Most Lesser Yellowlegses have left Oregon by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early October.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Yellowlegs in Oregon?
The Lesser Yellowlegs is reported most often in mid August, on about 4.5% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Lesser Yellowlegses seen most often?
By county, Crook County, Marion County, and Columbia County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Yellowlegs (counties with at least 200 checklists).