WhenToBird

Poecile gambeli · Paridae

When Do Mountain Chickadees Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult Mountain Chickadee
Photo: Wendy McCrady, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Mountain Chickadee is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (mid October) and on 9.6% in its quietest week (the second week of May).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekOct 15-21mid October
Quietest weekMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: mid October. Here all year. Peak: on about 17% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 14% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 13% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 13% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 13% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 13% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 13% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 12% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 13% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 11% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 11% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 11% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.9% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.7% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.4% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.8% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 11% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 13% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 16% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 17% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 17% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 16% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 16% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 15% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 16% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 14% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 16% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 16% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 18% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 17% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 15% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 16% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 15% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 15% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 15% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 16% 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. Colfax CountyBest early February · 53 checklists that week, 8,053 in all55%
  2. Cibola CountyBest the second week of February · 37 checklists that week, 3,986 in all52%
  3. Los Alamos CountyBest the second week of November · 842 checklists that week, 50,554 in all45%
  4. Otero CountyBest mid August · 136 checklists that week, 8,483 in all35%
  5. Taos CountyBest mid November · 194 checklists that week, 19,175 in all33%
  6. Santa Fe CountyBest mid October · 1262 checklists that week, 66,241 in all33%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. ResevoirLos Alamos County, best mid September · 26 checklists that week, 1,055 in all97%
  2. Ranch School TrailLos Alamos County, best late September · 48 checklists that week, 1,691 in all97%
  3. Los AlamosLos Alamos County, best the second week of November · 26 checklists that week, 1,430 in all96%
  4. Capulin Spring, best the second week of September · 29 checklists that week, 950 in all95%
  5. Santa Fe Recreation AreaSanta Fe County, best late August · 35 checklists that week, 595 in all91%
  6. Capulin Spring (Capulin Peak)Sandoval County, best late July · 36 checklists that week, 276 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Mountain Chickadee is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (17% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%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: 13% of 29677 checklists7 am: 16% of 71785 checklists8 am: 17% of 79208 checklists9 am: 17% of 61605 checklists10 am: 15% of 49588 checklists11 am: 13% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 12% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 12% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 11% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 10% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 9.1% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 8.6% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 7.1% 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
January14%13%13%13%
February13%13%13%12%
March13%13%13%11%
April11%11%9.9%10%
May9.7%9.4%9.8%11%
June11%13%14%14%
July16%17%17%16%
August16%15%15%16%
September16%14%16%16%
October16%17%18%17%
November16%15%16%15%
December15%14%15%16%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: summer visitor, peaks early September
  • Colorado: year-round, peaks early August
  • Utah: all year, most in summer, peaks late July
  • Wyoming: all year, most in fall, peaks early September

Common questions

When do Mountain Chickadees arrive in New Mexico?
The Mountain Chickadee is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (mid October) and on 9.6% in its quietest week (the second week of May).
When do Mountain Chickadees leave New Mexico?
The Mountain Chickadee does not leave New Mexico: it is reported all year, from 9.6% of checklists in the second week of May to 17% in mid October.
When is the best time to see a Mountain Chickadee in New Mexico?
The Mountain Chickadee is reported most often in mid October, on about 17% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Mountain Chickadees seen most often?
By county, Colfax County, Cibola County, and Los Alamos County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mountain Chickadee (counties with at least 200 checklists).