WhenToBird

Urile pelagicus · Phalacrocoracidae

When Do Pelagic Cormorants Arrive in Washington?

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

Pelagic Cormorants are in Washington all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid August, peak in mid October (7.9% of checklists), and fall back by mid March. In the quietest week (early June) they are still on about 2.5% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 15-21mid August
PeakOct 15-21mid October
Fall back byMar 15-21mid March
FewestJun 1-7early June

Best: mid October. Here all year; numbers build from mid August and fall back by mid March. Peak: on about 7.9% of Washington checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  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%Jan 1-7: 7.2% of 41928 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.3% of 31152 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.1% of 31753 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.7% of 42530 checklistsFeb 1-7: 6.1% of 29739 checklistsFeb 8-14: 5.2% of 32746 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.1% of 40328 checklistsFeb 22-28: 5.4% of 28432 checklistsMar 1-7: 5.5% of 30758 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.3% of 29368 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.5% of 32580 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.9% of 45614 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.0% of 33997 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.0% of 34729 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.6% of 38474 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.0% of 52185 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.8% of 44236 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.1% of 48708 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.8% of 41742 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.5% of 57082 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.4% of 39193 checklistsJun 8-14: 2.6% of 36042 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.5% of 34003 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.4% of 39711 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.3% of 31949 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.0% of 29086 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.1% of 28045 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.8% of 38275 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.9% of 28846 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.3% of 28036 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.2% of 27614 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.5% of 40356 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.9% of 31214 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.9% of 27795 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.0% of 29677 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.8% of 35241 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.7% of 28605 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.7% of 28655 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.8% of 24643 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.1% of 34874 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.6% of 25658 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.6% of 25700 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.7% of 24331 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.6% of 32784 checklistsDec 1-7: 7.4% of 24099 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.2% of 23339 checklistsDec 15-21: 6.8% of 27666 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.1% of 42130 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 Washington 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 Washington

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Jefferson CountyBest mid December · 1108 checklists that week, 59,663 in all27%
  2. Clallam CountyBest mid October · 1613 checklists that week, 85,362 in all24%
  3. Whatcom CountyBest late November · 1528 checklists that week, 64,687 in all20%
  4. Grays Harbor CountyBest late January · 573 checklists that week, 28,443 in all18%
  5. San Juan CountyBest the second week of October · 542 checklists that week, 35,337 in all18%
  6. Pacific CountyBest mid June · 267 checklists that week, 19,516 in all15%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hole-in-the-WallClallam County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 1,063 in all100%
  2. Lighthouse Marine ParkWhatcom County, best the second week of May · 33 checklists that week, 1,449 in all99%
  3. Yellow IslandSan Juan County, best mid March · 20 checklists that week, 757 in all98%
  4. Cattle Point Natural Resources Conservation AreaSan Juan County, best early July · 27 checklists that week, 849 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In Washington, the Pelagic Cormorant is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (6.5% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (796) to judge1 am: too few checklists (776) to judge2 am: too few checklists (709) to judge3 am: too few checklists (901) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3221) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16576) to judge6 am: 3.4% of 56744 checklists7 am: 4.3% of 133294 checklists8 am: 4.9% of 184196 checklists9 am: 5.6% of 186303 checklists10 am: 6.1% of 177063 checklists11 am: 6.3% of 154936 checklists12 pm: 6.1% of 138061 checklists1 pm: 6.5% of 127449 checklists2 pm: 6.5% of 121511 checklists3 pm: 5.9% of 107793 checklists4 pm: 4.7% of 82862 checklists5 pm: 3.8% of 57183 checklists6 pm: 3.1% of 39886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (26969) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (12427) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3658) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1500) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (834) 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
January7.2%7.3%7.1%6.7%
February6.1%5.2%5.1%5.4%
March5.5%5.3%5.5%4.9%
April5.0%5.0%4.6%4.0%
May3.8%3.1%2.8%2.5%
June2.4%2.6%2.5%3.4%
July3.3%4.0%4.1%4.8%
August4.9%5.3%5.2%5.5%
September5.9%6.9%7.0%6.8%
October6.7%7.7%7.8%8.1%
November7.6%7.6%7.7%7.6%
December7.4%7.2%6.8%7.1%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: year-round, peaks the second week of August
  • California: year-round, peaks mid November
  • Alaska: arrives the second week of September, 3 weeks later than Washington

Common questions

When do Pelagic Cormorants arrive in Washington?
Pelagic Cormorants are in Washington all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid August, peak in mid October (7.9% of checklists), and fall back by mid March. In the quietest week (early June) they are still on about 2.5% of checklists.
When do Pelagic Cormorants leave Washington?
Pelagic Cormorants never fully leave Washington: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid March, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.5% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Pelagic Cormorant in Washington?
The Pelagic Cormorant is reported most often in mid October, on about 7.9% of Washington checklists.
Where in Washington are Pelagic Cormorants seen most often?
By county, Jefferson County, Clallam County, and Whatcom County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Pelagic Cormorant (counties with at least 200 checklists).