WhenToBird

Zenaida macroura · Columbidae

When Do Mourning Doves Arrive in Utah?

Adult male Mourning Dove
Photo: Texas Bird Family, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Mourning Doves are in Utah all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late April, peak in mid May (35% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of September. In the quietest week (late January) they are still on about 9.5% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildApr 22-30late April
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Fall back bySep 8-14the second week of September
FewestJan 22-31late January

Best: mid May. Here all year; numbers build from late April and fall back by the second week of September. Peak: on about 35% of Utah checklists.

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

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 11% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 10% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.9% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.9% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.6% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 11% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 11% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 11% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 12% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 11% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 12% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 12% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 12% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 19% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 26% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 34% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 35% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 35% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 34% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 32% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 31% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 31% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 31% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 30% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 30% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 29% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 31% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 31% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 30% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 30% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 30% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 28% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 23% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 21% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 17% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 12% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 11% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 13% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Salt Lake CountyBest mid May · 2863 checklists that week, 104,432 in all48%
  2. Millard CountyBest early June · 62 checklists that week, 2,206 in all47%
  3. Sanpete CountyBest the second week of May · 148 checklists that week, 6,190 in all42%
  4. Utah CountyBest mid May · 2219 checklists that week, 70,971 in all42%
  5. Tooele CountyBest late June · 135 checklists that week, 4,788 in all41%
  6. Uintah CountyBest mid June · 203 checklists that week, 9,143 in all41%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Utah Lake WetlandsUtah County, best the second week of June · 26 checklists that week, 1,189 in all97%
  2. Big Cottonwood ParkSalt Lake County, best the second week of June · 47 checklists that week, 3,275 in all94%
  3. Goshen Warm Springs State Wildlife AreaUtah County, best the second week of June · 24 checklists that week, 545 in all93%
  4. Stewart Lake State Wildlife AreaUintah County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 420 in all93%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Mourning Dove is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (32% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 39% of 11714 checklists7 am: 30% of 33209 checklists8 am: 27% of 46944 checklists9 am: 23% of 46290 checklists10 am: 18% of 43144 checklists11 am: 15% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 14% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 12% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 13% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 15% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 18% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 23% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 28% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 30% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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
January11%10%8.9%9.9%
February9.6%11%11%11%
March12%11%12%12%
April12%14%19%26%
May34%35%35%34%
June32%31%31%31%
July30%30%29%31%
August31%30%30%30%
September28%23%21%17%
October14%12%11%11%
November11%11%11%12%
December13%12%13%12%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives early April, 3 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks the second week of May
  • Colorado: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Utah
  • Idaho: arrives late April, in the same week than Utah

Common questions

When do Mourning Doves arrive in Utah?
Mourning Doves are in Utah all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late April, peak in mid May (35% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of September. In the quietest week (late January) they are still on about 9.5% of checklists.
When do Mourning Doves leave Utah?
Mourning Doves never fully leave Utah: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of September, but some are still reported in every week, about 9.5% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Mourning Dove in Utah?
The Mourning Dove is reported most often in mid May, on about 35% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Mourning Doves seen most often?
By county, Salt Lake County, Millard County, and Sanpete County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Mourning Dove (counties with at least 200 checklists).