WhenToBird

Melanerpes lewis · Picidae

When Do Lewis's Woodpeckers Arrive in Colorado?

Adult Lewis's Woodpecker
Photo: tlaloc27, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Lewis's Woodpeckers arrive in Colorado in early December, peak in mid August (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.

When to look

First arrivalsDec 1-7early December
Common byDec 1-7early December
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byNov 15-21mid November

Best: mid August. First arrivals early December; most are gone by mid November. Peak: on about 1.5% of Colorado checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.5% of 32254 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.4% of 23278 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 22933 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 30856 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 21464 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 22910 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 28739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.4% of 21833 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.4% of 23066 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 23783 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 24797 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 38439 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 31676 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 35092 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 36778 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.6% of 50885 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 44186 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.4% of 49011 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.3% of 40784 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.5% of 53073 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 32432 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.3% of 29978 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.3% of 29457 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.6% of 36072 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.4% of 28857 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.4% of 27224 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.5% of 27629 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.4% of 37318 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.5% of 25893 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.3% of 24870 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.7% of 24035 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.5% of 35691 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.3% of 27068 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 26709 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 26098 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.6% of 31550 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.5% of 24110 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.6% of 23352 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 21895 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.4% of 28319 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 21698 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 21061 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 19855 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 25798 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 18626 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 19004 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 23103 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.5% of 30802 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 Colorado 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 Colorado

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Archuleta CountyBest late July · 382 checklists that week, 10,365 in all38%
  2. Huerfano CountyBest late May · 315 checklists that week, 3,008 in all33%
  3. La Plata CountyBest late August · 749 checklists that week, 21,744 in all23%
  4. Custer CountyBest late January · 18 checklists that week, 3,017 in all13%
  5. Dolores CountyBest early March · 26 checklists that week, 2,000 in all13%
  6. Las Animas CountyBest early August · 52 checklists that week, 3,491 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cedar Brook LakeEagle County, best late July · 21 checklists that week, 305 in all83%
  2. Heil Valley Ranch (Geer Canyon)Boulder County, best late May · 36 checklists that week, 227 in all74%
  3. Centennial ParkArchuleta County, best late July · 94 checklists that week, 2,016 in all66%
  4. Vallecito ReservoirLa Plata County, best the second week of July · 20 checklists that week, 186 in all60%

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

Best time of day

In Colorado, the Lewis's Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (512) to judge1 am: too few checklists (468) to judge2 am: too few checklists (513) to judge3 am: too few checklists (656) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1918) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16045) to judge6 am: 1.0% of 71991 checklists7 am: 1.2% of 159189 checklists8 am: 1.0% of 177206 checklists9 am: 1.0% of 165269 checklists10 am: 0.8% of 141029 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 115283 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 96068 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 89512 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 86319 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 82496 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 71648 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 52445 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 40199 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24246) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7986) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2004) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (888) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (450) 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
January0.5%0.4%0.4%0.5%
February0.4%0.3%0.5%0.4%
March0.4%0.3%0.4%0.4%
April0.5%0.5%0.5%0.6%
May0.8%1.4%1.3%1.5%
June1.3%1.3%1.3%1.6%
July1.4%1.4%1.5%1.4%
August1.5%1.3%1.7%1.5%
September1.3%1.0%0.8%0.6%
October0.5%0.6%0.5%0.4%
November0.4%0.5%0.3%0.3%
December0.2%0.4%0.4%0.5%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: arrives mid November, 2 weeks earlier than Colorado
  • South Dakota: arrives late May, 23 weeks later than Colorado
  • Montana: arrives late April, 19 weeks later than Colorado
  • Idaho: arrives early May, 20 weeks later than Colorado

Common questions

When do Lewis's Woodpeckers arrive in Colorado?
Lewis's Woodpeckers arrive in Colorado in early December, peak in mid August (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.
When do Lewis's Woodpeckers leave Colorado?
Most Lewis's Woodpeckers have left Colorado by mid November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Lewis's Woodpecker in Colorado?
The Lewis's Woodpecker is reported most often in mid August, on about 1.5% of Colorado checklists.
Where in Colorado are Lewis's Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Archuleta County, Huerfano County, and La Plata County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lewis's Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).