WhenToBird

Urile pelagicus · Phalacrocoracidae

When Do Pelagic Cormorants Arrive in California?

Adult Pelagic Cormorant
Photo: Peter Chen 2.0, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Pelagic Cormorant is in California all year. It turns up on about 3.2% of checklists at its peak (mid November) and on 1.7% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekNov 15-21mid November
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: mid November. Here all year. Peak: on about 3.2% of California checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.5% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.7% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.8% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.5% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.2% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.2% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.1% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.5% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.5% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.5% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.5% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.3% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.0% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.8% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.9% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.7% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.9% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.7% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.9% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.8% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.7% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.7% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.8% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.8% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.9% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.9% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.1% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.2% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.3% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.4% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.5% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.4% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.5% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.1% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.0% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.0% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.8% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.9% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.0% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.1% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.0% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 3.1% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.2% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.2% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.1% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.9% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.1% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.7% 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. Monterey CountyBest early December · 2617 checklists that week, 132,505 in all31%
  2. Mendocino CountyBest the second week of August · 892 checklists that week, 47,934 in all16%
  3. Del Norte CountyBest early April · 222 checklists that week, 16,363 in all14%
  4. San Luis Obispo CountyBest mid January · 4602 checklists that week, 124,667 in all9.7%
  5. Humboldt CountyBest late May · 2516 checklists that week, 95,963 in all7.5%
  6. Sonoma CountyBest the second week of July · 1764 checklists that week, 113,105 in all7.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Crespi PondMonterey County, best late March · 84 checklists that week, 7,637 in all97%
  2. Campbell CoveSonoma County, best mid April · 61 checklists that week, 3,153 in all94%
  3. MacKerricher State Park (Laguna Point)Mendocino County, best late January · 20 checklists that week, 646 in all90%
  4. Point AlonesMonterey County, best the second week of April · 21 checklists that week, 816 in all87%
  5. Marine Gardens ParkMonterey County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 1,223 in all86%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Pelagic Cormorant is most often listed on checklists started between 11 am and 1 pm (2.7% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%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: 2.1% of 186053 checklists7 am: 2.2% of 444086 checklists8 am: 2.2% of 535846 checklists9 am: 2.5% of 486061 checklists10 am: 2.6% of 411130 checklists11 am: 2.7% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 2.6% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 2.7% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 2.5% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 2.1% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 1.8% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 1.3% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 1.0% 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
January2.5%2.7%2.8%2.5%
February2.2%2.2%2.1%2.5%
March2.5%2.5%2.5%2.3%
April2.0%1.8%1.9%1.7%
May1.9%1.7%1.9%1.8%
June1.7%1.7%1.8%1.8%
July1.9%1.9%2.1%2.2%
August2.3%2.4%2.5%2.4%
September2.5%2.1%2.0%2.0%
October1.8%1.9%2.0%2.1%
November3.0%3.1%3.2%3.2%
December3.1%2.9%2.1%2.7%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: year-round, peaks the second week of August
  • Washington: all year, most in winter, peaks mid October
  • Alaska: all year, most in winter, peaks late November

Common questions

When do Pelagic Cormorants arrive in California?
The Pelagic Cormorant is in California all year. It turns up on about 3.2% of checklists at its peak (mid November) and on 1.7% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Pelagic Cormorants leave California?
The Pelagic Cormorant does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 1.7% of checklists in the second week of June to 3.2% in mid November.
When is the best time to see a Pelagic Cormorant in California?
The Pelagic Cormorant is reported most often in mid November, on about 3.2% of California checklists.
Where in California are Pelagic Cormorants seen most often?
By county, Monterey County, Mendocino County, and Del Norte County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Pelagic Cormorant (counties with at least 200 checklists).