WhenToBird

Anas acuta · Anatidae

When Do Northern Pintails Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Northern Pintail
Photo: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Pintails are winter birds in Oregon: the first arrive in the second week of August, they are common by mid August, peak in late January (10% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 8-14the second week of August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakJan 22-31late January
Most gone byApr 22-30late April

Best: late January. First arrivals the second week of August; most are gone by late April. Peak: on about 10% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Augcommon
  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%Jan 1-7: 8.9% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.1% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 10% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 11% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 10% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 8.8% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 8.2% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.7% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.4% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.6% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 7.4% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.6% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.8% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.5% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.0% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.3% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.6% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.8% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.7% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.0% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.5% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.6% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.9% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.0% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.6% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.6% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.3% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.2% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.1% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.0% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.3% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.3% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.9% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 8.0% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.7% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 8.0% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 8.5% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 8.5% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.5% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 7.1% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.9% 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. Columbia CountyBest late February · 555 checklists that week, 27,750 in all28%
  2. Harney CountyBest the second week of March · 319 checklists that week, 40,943 in all26%
  3. Polk CountyBest late January · 834 checklists that week, 29,096 in all26%
  4. Washington CountyBest mid January · 2277 checklists that week, 110,376 in all23%
  5. Klamath CountyBest the second week of March · 317 checklists that week, 26,875 in all22%
  6. Crook CountyBest late March · 256 checklists that week, 9,466 in all22%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Svensen IslandClatsop County, best late November · 20 checklists that week, 476 in all100%
  2. Cottonwood PondPolk County, best mid January · 39 checklists that week, 1,356 in all100%
  3. Atfalati PrairieWashington County, best late January · 38 checklists that week, 310 in all99%
  4. Fernhill WetlandsWashington County, best late November · 187 checklists that week, 6,516 in all96%
  5. McFadden MarshBenton County, best mid December · 60 checklists that week, 2,691 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Northern Pintail is most often listed on checklists started between 11 am and 1 pm (7.1% 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: 2.9% of 50677 checklists7 am: 4.4% of 125347 checklists8 am: 5.5% of 163668 checklists9 am: 6.5% of 160351 checklists10 am: 6.9% of 148940 checklists11 am: 7.3% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 6.8% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 6.9% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 6.9% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 6.6% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 5.2% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 3.8% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 2.7% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 1.2% 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
January8.9%9.1%10%11%
February10%8.8%8.2%8.7%
March8.4%8.6%7.4%6.6%
April6.8%6.5%5.0%4.3%
May3.6%2.8%2.7%2.0%
June1.5%1.1%0.6%0.4%
July0.5%0.4%0.5%0.6%
August0.7%1.9%4.0%5.6%
September7.6%7.3%8.2%8.1%
October7.0%7.3%8.3%8.9%
November8.0%8.7%8.0%8.5%
December8.5%7.5%7.1%7.9%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives the second week of August, in the same week than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives early August, 1 week earlier than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives early August, 1 week earlier than Oregon
  • California: arrives mid August, 1 week later than Oregon

Common questions

When do Northern Pintails arrive in Oregon?
Northern Pintails are winter birds in Oregon: the first arrive in the second week of August, they are common by mid August, peak in late January (10% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.
When do Northern Pintails leave Oregon?
Most Northern Pintails have left Oregon by late April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of June.
When is the best time to see a Northern Pintail in Oregon?
The Northern Pintail is reported most often in late January, on about 10% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Northern Pintails seen most often?
By county, Columbia County, Harney County, and Polk County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Pintail (counties with at least 200 checklists).