WhenToBird

Poecile gambeli · Paridae

When Do Mountain Chickadees Arrive in Oregon?

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

The Mountain Chickadee is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 8.2% of checklists at its peak (late June) and on 3.4% in its quietest week (the second week of January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekJun 22-30late June
Quietest weekJan 8-14the second week of January

Best: late June. Here all year. Peak: on about 8.2% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 3.1% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.5% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.4% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.4% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.3% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.8% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.8% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.3% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.6% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.5% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.8% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.3% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.9% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.1% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.2% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.3% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.6% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.3% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.8% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.4% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.6% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.6% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.2% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.6% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 7.8% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.2% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.5% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.9% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.9% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.5% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.0% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.1% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.2% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.9% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.7% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.9% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.2% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.5% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.0% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.2% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 5.1% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.0% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.7% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.4% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.1% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.8% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 4.4% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.8% of 37592 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 Oregon 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 Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Deschutes CountyBest late September · 1804 checklists that week, 86,260 in all55%
  2. Klamath CountyBest mid July · 747 checklists that week, 26,875 in all36%
  3. Jefferson CountyBest late July · 281 checklists that week, 11,014 in all34%
  4. Wheeler CountyBest late November · 10 checklists that week, 3,129 in all30%
  5. Grant CountyBest late August · 141 checklists that week, 6,818 in all29%
  6. Wallowa CountyBest early September · 146 checklists that week, 9,170 in all29%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Deschutes River Segment C (The Dead Slough)Deschutes County, best the second week of September · 26 checklists that week, 1,353 in all97%
  2. Deschutes River Segment C (northwest)Deschutes County, best late August · 25 checklists that week, 441 in all94%
  3. Cold SpringDeschutes County, best the second week of September · 20 checklists that week, 1,295 in all93%
  4. Deschutes River Segment CDeschutes County, best early August · 58 checklists that week, 1,354 in all88%
  5. Deschutes National Forest (south)Deschutes County, best late March · 47 checklists that week, 262 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Mountain Chickadee is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (6.7% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 6.7% of 50677 checklists7 am: 6.6% of 125347 checklists8 am: 6.8% of 163668 checklists9 am: 6.4% of 160351 checklists10 am: 5.6% of 148940 checklists11 am: 5.0% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 4.7% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 4.7% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 4.4% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 4.1% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 3.6% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 3.5% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 3.3% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 2.4% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) 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
January3.1%3.5%3.4%3.4%
February3.3%3.8%3.8%3.3%
March3.6%3.5%3.8%4.3%
April3.9%4.1%4.2%4.3%
May4.6%5.3%5.8%6.4%
June6.6%6.6%8.2%8.6%
July7.8%7.2%7.5%6.9%
August6.9%6.5%6.0%6.1%
September6.2%5.9%5.7%5.9%
October6.2%5.5%6.0%5.2%
November5.1%5.0%4.7%4.4%
December4.1%3.8%4.4%3.8%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks late June
  • Idaho: all year, most in fall, peaks late July
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks early July
  • California: summer visitor, peaks late June

Common questions

When do Mountain Chickadees arrive in Oregon?
The Mountain Chickadee is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 8.2% of checklists at its peak (late June) and on 3.4% in its quietest week (the second week of January).
When do Mountain Chickadees leave Oregon?
The Mountain Chickadee does not leave Oregon: it is reported all year, from 3.4% of checklists in the second week of January to 8.2% in late June.
When is the best time to see a Mountain Chickadee in Oregon?
The Mountain Chickadee is reported most often in late June, on about 8.2% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Mountain Chickadees seen most often?
By county, Deschutes County, Klamath County, and Jefferson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mountain Chickadee (counties with at least 200 checklists).