WhenToBird

Leiothlypis celata · Parulidae

When Do Orange-crowned Warblers Arrive in California?

Adult Orange-crowned Warbler
Photo: Irene, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Orange-crowned Warblers are in California all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in mid April (23% of checklists), and fall back by early June. In the quietest week (mid July) they are still on about 4.8% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Fall back byJun 1-7early June
FewestJul 15-21mid July

Best: mid April. Here all year; numbers build from mid March and fall back by early June. Peak: on about 23% of California checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 9.9% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.3% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.8% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 8.6% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.7% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 8.2% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 8.3% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 10% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 18% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 21% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 23% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 24% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 22% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 17% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 15% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 11% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.1% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.1% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.9% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.5% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.9% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.4% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.9% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.2% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 19% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 21% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 22% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 20% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 12% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 11% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 11% 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 April · 527 checklists that week, 25,896 in all43%
  2. San Diego CountyBest late September · 9621 checklists that week, 405,465 in all41%
  3. Santa Barbara CountyBest mid September · 2632 checklists that week, 120,616 in all37%
  4. Orange CountyBest late September · 5728 checklists that week, 244,559 in all37%
  5. Humboldt CountyBest mid April · 3419 checklists that week, 95,963 in all36%
  6. Kings CountyBest mid October · 82 checklists that week, 3,688 in all36%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Oak Creek ParkLos Angeles County, best mid September · 24 checklists that week, 323 in all97%
  2. Carpinteria CreekSanta Barbara County, best the second week of December · 23 checklists that week, 900 in all97%
  3. Nobel Athletic AreaSan Diego County, best the second week of September · 35 checklists that week, 333 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Orange-crowned Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (20% 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: 20% of 186053 checklists7 am: 21% of 444086 checklists8 am: 19% of 535846 checklists9 am: 15% of 486061 checklists10 am: 13% of 411130 checklists11 am: 11% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 10% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 9.2% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 8.8% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 8.4% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 7.9% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 8.2% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 5.2% 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
January9.9%9.3%8.8%8.6%
February8.7%8.2%8.3%10%
March11%13%16%18%
April21%23%24%22%
May19%17%16%15%
June14%12%11%8.1%
July6.1%4.9%4.5%4.9%
August6.4%7.9%9.2%12%
September16%19%21%22%
October20%17%15%13%
November12%11%11%11%
December12%12%12%11%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives late July, 17 weeks later than California
  • Utah: arrives mid April, 4 weeks later than California
  • Arizona: arrives early August, 18 weeks later than California
  • Oregon: arrives mid March, in the same week than California

Common questions

When do Orange-crowned Warblers arrive in California?
Orange-crowned Warblers are in California all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in mid April (23% of checklists), and fall back by early June. In the quietest week (mid July) they are still on about 4.8% of checklists.
When do Orange-crowned Warblers leave California?
Orange-crowned Warblers never fully leave California: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early June, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.8% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Orange-crowned Warbler in California?
The Orange-crowned Warbler is reported most often in mid April, on about 23% of California checklists.
Where in California are Orange-crowned Warblers seen most often?
By county, Nevada County, San Diego County, and Santa Barbara County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Orange-crowned Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).