WhenToBird

Colaptes auratus · Picidae

When Do Northern Flickers Arrive in California?

Adult male Northern Flicker
Photo: Ben, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Flickers are in California all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early October, peak in late October (27% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of February. In the quietest week (mid August) they are still on about 8.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 1-7early October
PeakOct 22-31late October
Fall back byFeb 8-14the second week of February
FewestAug 15-21mid August

Best: late October. Here all year; numbers build from early October and fall back by the second week of February. Peak: on about 27% of California checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 20% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 19% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 20% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 20% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 19% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 19% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 17% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 18% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 19% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 19% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 20% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 17% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 12% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 11% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.9% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.3% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 10% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 10% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 10% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 11% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 11% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 10% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 10% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.4% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.9% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.1% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.9% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.9% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.2% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.9% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 11% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 17% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 23% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 25% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 28% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 27% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 26% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 25% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 24% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 23% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 23% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 23% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 25% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 23% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nevada CountyBest the second week of October · 416 checklists that week, 25,896 in all62%
  2. Lake CountyBest mid October · 250 checklists that week, 12,989 in all60%
  3. Placer CountyBest mid October · 718 checklists that week, 43,945 in all58%
  4. Shasta CountyBest late October · 648 checklists that week, 31,369 in all58%
  5. Tehama CountyBest the second week of October · 272 checklists that week, 15,658 in all54%
  6. El Dorado CountyBest mid October · 463 checklists that week, 25,075 in all53%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Galileo ParkKern County, best the second week of October · 21 checklists that week, 508 in all100%
  2. Riverside ParkMendocino County, best early April · 30 checklists that week, 1,220 in all100%
  3. Sacramento River National Wildlife RefugeTehama County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 418 in all100%
  4. American River Parkway (west 2)Sacramento County, best late October · 26 checklists that week, 633 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Northern Flicker is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (21% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 17% of 186053 checklists7 am: 22% of 444086 checklists8 am: 21% of 535846 checklists9 am: 19% of 486061 checklists10 am: 17% of 411130 checklists11 am: 15% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 14% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 14% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 14% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 14% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 13% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 10% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 7.3% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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
January20%19%20%20%
February19%19%17%18%
March19%19%20%17%
April14%12%11%10%
May9.9%9.3%10%11%
June10%10%11%11%
July10%10%10%9.4%
August8.9%9.1%8.9%8.9%
September9.2%9.9%11%17%
October23%25%28%27%
November26%25%24%23%
December23%23%25%23%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives late September, 1 week earlier than California
  • Utah: arrives mid September, 2 weeks earlier than California
  • Arizona: arrives late September, 1 week earlier than California
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks early October

Common questions

When do Northern Flickers arrive in California?
Northern Flickers are in California all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early October, peak in late October (27% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of February. In the quietest week (mid August) they are still on about 8.9% of checklists.
When do Northern Flickers leave California?
Northern Flickers never fully leave California: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of February, but some are still reported in every week, about 8.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Northern Flicker in California?
The Northern Flicker is reported most often in late October, on about 27% of California checklists.
Where in California are Northern Flickers seen most often?
By county, Nevada County, Lake County, and Placer County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Flicker (counties with at least 200 checklists).