WhenToBird

Tringa flavipes · Scolopacidae

When Do Lesser Yellowlegses Arrive in Washington?

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

Lesser Yellowlegses arrive in Washington in mid July, peak in mid August (3.9% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byJul 15-21mid 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 3.9% of Washington checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  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 41928 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 31152 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 31753 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 42530 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 29739 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 32746 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 40328 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 28432 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 30758 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 29368 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 32580 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 45614 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 33997 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 34729 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 38474 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.0% of 52185 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 44236 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 48708 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 41742 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 57082 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 39193 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 36042 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 34003 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 39711 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 31949 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 29086 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 28045 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.9% of 38275 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.2% of 28846 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.6% of 28036 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.0% of 27614 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.9% of 40356 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.1% of 31214 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.2% of 27795 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.6% of 29677 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.3% of 35241 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.9% of 28605 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 28655 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 24643 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 34874 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 25658 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 25700 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 24331 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 32784 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 24099 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 23339 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 27666 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 42130 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 Washington 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 Washington

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Grant CountyBest the second week of August · 345 checklists that week, 19,963 in all23%
  2. Skagit CountyBest late August · 2128 checklists that week, 78,154 in all22%
  3. Adams CountyBest the second week of August · 98 checklists that week, 4,574 in all15%
  4. Walla Walla CountyBest mid August · 501 checklists that week, 35,829 in all15%
  5. Franklin CountyBest the second week of August · 123 checklists that week, 7,970 in all12%
  6. Asotin CountyBest the second week of August · 60 checklists that week, 4,316 in all9.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Old ChannelSkagit County, best late August · 233 checklists that week, 1,445 in all76%
  2. DesertGrant County, best mid August · 36 checklists that week, 562 in all75%
  3. Duck PondFranklin County, best mid September · 32 checklists that week, 149 in all74%
  4. Skagit-Snoqualmie Wildlife Area ComplexSkagit County, best late August · 270 checklists that week, 7,176 in all70%

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

Best time of day

In Washington, the Lesser Yellowlegs is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.0% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (796) to judge1 am: too few checklists (776) to judge2 am: too few checklists (709) to judge3 am: too few checklists (901) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3221) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16576) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 56744 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 133294 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 184196 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 186303 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 177063 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 154936 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 138061 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 127449 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 121511 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 107793 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 82862 checklists5 pm: 1.0% of 57183 checklists6 pm: 1.1% of 39886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (26969) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (12427) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3658) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1500) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (834) 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%
April0.1%0.3%0.9%1.0%
May0.7%0.4%0.2%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
July0.4%0.6%1.0%1.9%
August3.2%3.6%4.0%3.9%
September3.1%2.2%1.6%1.3%
October0.9%0.8%0.4%0.3%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: arrives mid July, in the same week than Washington
  • Idaho: arrives early July, 2 weeks earlier than Washington
  • Montana: arrives the second week of July, 1 week earlier than Washington
  • Nevada: arrives early July, 2 weeks earlier than Washington

Common questions

When do Lesser Yellowlegses arrive in Washington?
Lesser Yellowlegses arrive in Washington in mid July, peak in mid August (3.9% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Lesser Yellowlegses leave Washington?
Most Lesser Yellowlegses have left Washington 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 Washington?
The Lesser Yellowlegs is reported most often in mid August, on about 3.9% of Washington checklists.
Where in Washington are Lesser Yellowlegses seen most often?
By county, Grant County, Skagit County, and Adams County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Yellowlegs (counties with at least 200 checklists).