WhenToBird

Vidua macroura · Viduidae

When Do Pin-tailed Whydahs Arrive in California?

Pin-tailed Whydahs arrive in California in mid April, peak in mid September (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakSep 15-21mid September
Most gone byNov 15-21mid November

Best: mid September. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by mid November. Peak: on about 1.7% of California checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.2% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.3% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.6% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.6% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.9% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.0% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.9% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.9% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.0% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.0% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.4% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.4% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.6% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.7% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.8% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.5% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.1% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.8% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% 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. Orange CountyBest mid September · 4859 checklists that week, 244,559 in all17%
  2. Los Angeles CountyBest late September · 10126 checklists that week, 410,235 in all6.1%
  3. Riverside CountyBest the second week of August · 1131 checklists that week, 113,541 in all0.9%
  4. San Bernardino CountyBest early October · 1538 checklists that week, 84,093 in all0.8%
  5. San Diego CountyBest the second week of September · 7177 checklists that week, 405,465 in all0.6%
  6. Ventura CountyBest the second week of September · 1945 checklists that week, 94,391 in all0.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Pattinson ParkOrange County, best the second week of November · 82 checklists that week, 282 in all83%
  2. Sea Canyon ParkOrange County, best late April · 39 checklists that week, 312 in all72%
  3. Huntington Beach Central ParkOrange County, best mid August · 78 checklists that week, 7,470 in all71%
  4. Gilman ParkOrange County, best late June · 25 checklists that week, 2,384 in all70%
  5. Brookside ParkLos Angeles County, best late September · 33 checklists that week, 555 in all69%
  6. Satellite ParkLos Angeles County, best mid September · 21 checklists that week, 956 in all69%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Pin-tailed Whydah is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.2% 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: 1.1% of 186053 checklists7 am: 1.2% of 444086 checklists8 am: 1.0% of 535846 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 486061 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 411130 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 0.4% 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
January0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
February0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
March0.2%0.2%0.3%0.3%
April0.3%0.4%0.4%0.6%
May0.6%0.7%0.8%0.9%
June1.0%0.9%0.9%0.9%
July0.9%0.9%0.9%0.9%
August1.0%1.0%1.1%1.4%
September1.4%1.6%1.7%1.8%
October1.5%1.1%1.0%0.8%
November0.7%0.6%0.4%0.4%
December0.4%0.4%0.3%0.3%

Common questions

When do Pin-tailed Whydahs arrive in California?
Pin-tailed Whydahs arrive in California in mid April, peak in mid September (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.
When do Pin-tailed Whydahs leave California?
Most Pin-tailed Whydahs have left California by mid November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Pin-tailed Whydah in California?
The Pin-tailed Whydah is reported most often in mid September, on about 1.7% of California checklists.
Where in California are Pin-tailed Whydahs seen most often?
By county, Orange County, Los Angeles County, and Riverside County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Pin-tailed Whydah (counties with at least 200 checklists).