WhenToBird

Dryocopus pileatus · Picidae

When Do Pileated Woodpeckers Arrive in California?

Adult male Pileated Woodpecker
Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Pileated Woodpeckers arrive in California in mid January, peak in early June (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late December.

When to look

First arrivalsJan 15-21mid January
Common byJan 15-21mid January
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone byDec 22-31late December

Best: early June. First arrivals mid January; most are gone by late December. Peak: on about 1.5% of California checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.3% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.4% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.5% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.4% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.5% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.5% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.5% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.8% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.9% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.0% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.2% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.2% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.4% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.4% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.6% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.5% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.4% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.3% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.0% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.8% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.8% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.9% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.6% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.5% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% 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. Calaveras CountyBest late May · 268 checklists that week, 6,843 in all14%
  2. Mariposa CountyBest late May · 659 checklists that week, 17,385 in all12%
  3. Mendocino CountyBest mid September · 1166 checklists that week, 47,934 in all10%
  4. Napa CountyBest the second week of May · 427 checklists that week, 18,976 in all9.6%
  5. Nevada CountyBest early September · 420 checklists that week, 25,896 in all9.4%
  6. Trinity CountyBest mid September · 215 checklists that week, 9,037 in all9.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Big Basin Redwoods State Park (northeast)Santa Cruz County, best late July · 21 checklists that week, 156 in all62%
  2. Redwood Regional ParkAlameda County, best late April · 52 checklists that week, 978 in all51%
  3. Yosemite National Park (Hodgdon Meadow)Tuolumne County, best early May · 20 checklists that week, 188 in all50%
  4. Browns LakeSiskiyou County, best mid April · 39 checklists that week, 1,397 in all49%
  5. Yosemite National Park (Tuolumne Grove)Tuolumne County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 259 in all49%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Pileated Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 1.3% of 186053 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 444086 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 535846 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 486061 checklists10 am: 0.8% of 411130 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 0.5% 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
January0.3%0.4%0.4%0.5%
February0.4%0.5%0.4%0.5%
March0.5%0.5%0.7%0.8%
April0.9%1.0%1.0%1.2%
May1.2%1.2%1.4%1.4%
June1.6%1.5%1.4%1.3%
July1.0%1.0%1.0%0.8%
August0.7%0.8%0.8%0.9%
September0.9%1.0%0.8%0.8%
October0.8%0.7%0.7%0.6%
November0.6%0.5%0.5%0.5%
December0.5%0.5%0.5%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: year-round, peaks early September
  • Idaho: arrives late February, 5 weeks later than California
  • Washington: year-round, peaks late April
  • Montana: year-round, peaks early March

Common questions

When do Pileated Woodpeckers arrive in California?
Pileated Woodpeckers arrive in California in mid January, peak in early June (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late December.
When do Pileated Woodpeckers leave California?
Most Pileated Woodpeckers have left California by late December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Pileated Woodpecker in California?
The Pileated Woodpecker is reported most often in early June, on about 1.5% of California checklists.
Where in California are Pileated Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Calaveras County, Mariposa County, and Mendocino County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Pileated Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).