WhenToBird

Sialia currucoides · Turdidae

When Do Mountain Bluebirds Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult male Mountain Bluebird
Photo: Josiah Londerée, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Mountain Bluebirds are in New Mexico all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in early November (6.0% of checklists), and fall back by early February. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 2.3% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakNov 1-7early November
Fall back byFeb 1-7early February
FewestSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: early November. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of October and fall back by early February. Peak: on about 6.0% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  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%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 4.1% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.8% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 4.3% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.6% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.1% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.7% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.5% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.9% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 4.9% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.8% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.2% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.5% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.3% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.6% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.2% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.7% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.5% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.7% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.8% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.0% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.2% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.2% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.7% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.3% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.2% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.1% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.8% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.8% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.3% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.4% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.6% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.6% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.7% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.3% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.1% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.7% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.4% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.3% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.6% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 6.1% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 5.8% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 6.0% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 5.7% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 5.8% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.3% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 5.0% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.8% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 5.4% of 14523 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cibola CountyBest late February · 56 checklists that week, 3,986 in all50%
  2. Harding CountyBest mid February · 18 checklists that week, 932 in all43%
  3. Guadalupe CountyBest early January · 33 checklists that week, 2,614 in all38%
  4. San Miguel CountyBest early March · 111 checklists that week, 8,857 in all30%
  5. Torrance CountyBest early March · 39 checklists that week, 4,945 in all29%
  6. Mora CountyBest early March · 22 checklists that week, 2,730 in all25%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Santa Rosa Lake State ParkGuadalupe County, best mid December · 27 checklists that week, 356 in all79%
  2. Manzano Four HillsBernalillo County, best early December · 21 checklists that week, 998 in all70%
  3. StablesLos Alamos County, best mid March · 26 checklists that week, 883 in all65%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Mountain Bluebird is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (4.3% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (186) to judge1 am: too few checklists (180) to judge2 am: too few checklists (172) to judge3 am: too few checklists (183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (527) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4013) to judge6 am: 3.0% of 29677 checklists7 am: 4.0% of 71785 checklists8 am: 4.3% of 79208 checklists9 am: 4.4% of 61605 checklists10 am: 4.0% of 49588 checklists11 am: 3.9% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 3.7% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 3.6% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 3.9% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 3.7% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 3.3% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 2.7% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 2.1% of 15112 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (9040) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2738) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (736) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (384) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January4.1%4.8%4.3%4.6%
February4.1%3.7%3.5%4.9%
March4.9%4.8%4.2%3.5%
April3.3%3.6%3.2%2.7%
May2.5%2.7%2.8%3.0%
June3.2%3.2%3.7%3.3%
July3.2%3.1%2.8%2.8%
August2.3%2.4%2.6%2.6%
September2.7%2.3%2.1%2.7%
October3.4%4.3%5.6%6.1%
November5.8%6.0%5.7%5.8%
December4.3%5.0%5.8%5.4%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: arrives mid August, 7 weeks earlier than New Mexico
  • Colorado: arrives late February, 18 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Utah: arrives late February, 18 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of October, in the same week than New Mexico

Common questions

When do Mountain Bluebirds arrive in New Mexico?
Mountain Bluebirds are in New Mexico all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of October, peak in early November (6.0% of checklists), and fall back by early February. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 2.3% of checklists.
When do Mountain Bluebirds leave New Mexico?
Mountain Bluebirds never fully leave New Mexico: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early February, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.3% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Mountain Bluebird in New Mexico?
The Mountain Bluebird is reported most often in early November, on about 6.0% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Mountain Bluebirds seen most often?
By county, Cibola County, Harding County, and Guadalupe County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mountain Bluebird (counties with at least 200 checklists).