WhenToBird

Anas platyrhynchos · Anatidae

When Do Mallards Arrive in Texas?

Adult male Mallard
Photo: euqirneto, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Mallard is in Texas all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 5.8% in its quietest week (mid April).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 1-7early December
Quietest weekApr 15-21mid April

Best: early December. Here all year. Peak: on about 11% of Texas checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 10% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.7% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 10% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.7% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.5% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 8.6% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 8.2% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.2% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.4% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.1% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.4% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.1% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.8% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.5% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.5% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.6% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.7% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.5% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.3% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.6% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.6% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.8% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.4% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.1% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.5% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.2% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.9% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.0% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.3% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.3% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.0% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.3% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.5% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.5% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.1% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.5% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.0% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.8% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.1% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.7% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 8.7% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.7% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 9.9% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 11% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 11% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 11% of 73015 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 Texas 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 Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hartley CountyBest early January · 14 checklists that week, 460 in all75%
  2. Hockley CountyBest early April · 19 checklists that week, 616 in all65%
  3. Parmer CountyBest early January · 11 checklists that week, 650 in all63%
  4. Childress CountyBest the second week of November · 10 checklists that week, 329 in all61%
  5. Hale CountyBest late November · 65 checklists that week, 1,624 in all61%
  6. Castro CountyBest the second week of September · 19 checklists that week, 371 in all59%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Colleyville Nature CenterTarrant County, best mid July · 47 checklists that week, 3,241 in all98%
  2. Jennings ParkLubbock County, best late December · 20 checklists that week, 362 in all98%
  3. South Lakes ParkDenton County, best late December · 34 checklists that week, 654 in all97%
  4. Chisholm Trail GreenbeltCollin County, best late November · 25 checklists that week, 852 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Mallard is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (9.2% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 9.8% of 74687 checklists7 am: 9.1% of 285131 checklists8 am: 8.4% of 329960 checklists9 am: 8.1% of 267889 checklists10 am: 7.6% of 218205 checklists11 am: 7.4% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 7.5% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 7.6% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 7.9% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 8.3% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 8.2% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 7.8% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 7.3% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 7.0% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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
January10%9.7%10%9.7%
February9.5%8.6%8.2%9.2%
March9.4%9.1%8.4%8.1%
April7.8%6.5%5.5%5.6%
May6.7%7.5%8.3%7.6%
June7.6%6.8%6.4%6.1%
July6.5%6.2%5.9%6.0%
August6.3%6.3%6.0%6.3%
September6.5%6.5%6.1%6.5%
October7.0%7.8%8.1%8.7%
November8.7%8.7%9.9%11%
December11%11%11%11%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: year-round, peaks late January
  • Oklahoma: year-round, peaks early December
  • Arkansas: all year, most in winter, peaks the second week of January
  • Mississippi: all year, most in winter, peaks late November

Common questions

When do Mallards arrive in Texas?
The Mallard is in Texas all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 5.8% in its quietest week (mid April).
When do Mallards leave Texas?
The Mallard does not leave Texas: it is reported all year, from 5.8% of checklists in mid April to 11% in early December.
When is the best time to see a Mallard in Texas?
The Mallard is reported most often in early December, on about 11% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Mallards seen most often?
By county, Hartley County, Hockley County, and Parmer County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mallard (counties with at least 200 checklists).