WhenToBird

Spinus pinus · Fringillidae

When Do Pine Siskins Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Pine Siskin
Photo: Dominique Bérubé, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Pine Siskins are in Oregon all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in the second week of April (16% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of May. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 4.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Fall back byMay 8-14the second week of May
FewestSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: the second week of April. Here all year; numbers build from mid March and fall back by the second week of May. Peak: on about 16% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 9.9% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.0% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.7% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.3% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.1% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 9.0% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 8.2% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.1% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.1% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.9% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 11% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 13% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 16% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 16% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 15% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 11% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.9% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.1% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.2% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.7% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.6% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.2% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.4% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.4% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.2% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.8% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.6% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.2% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.8% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.2% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.0% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.5% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.5% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.0% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.2% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 6.4% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.7% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 6.6% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.6% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.3% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 11% of 37592 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 Oregon 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clackamas CountyBest the second week of April · 1101 checklists that week, 50,929 in all29%
  2. Multnomah CountyBest mid April · 5003 checklists that week, 182,088 in all29%
  3. Hood River CountyBest late July · 312 checklists that week, 9,695 in all28%
  4. Columbia CountyBest mid April · 560 checklists that week, 27,750 in all26%
  5. Washington CountyBest mid April · 2726 checklists that week, 110,376 in all23%
  6. Josephine CountyBest early April · 462 checklists that week, 20,837 in all21%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Glen OakLane County, best mid January · 22 checklists that week, 102 in all84%
  2. Sutton LakeLane County, best the second week of August · 27 checklists that week, 1,189 in all80%
  3. North Canemah BluffsClackamas County, best early April · 20 checklists that week, 506 in all75%
  4. Mount Tabor ParkMultnomah County, best early April · 277 checklists that week, 8,576 in all73%
  5. Joseph Wood Hill ParkMultnomah County, best the second week of April · 22 checklists that week, 445 in all73%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Pine Siskin is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 12% of 50677 checklists7 am: 14% of 125347 checklists8 am: 12% of 163668 checklists9 am: 11% of 160351 checklists10 am: 9.1% of 148940 checklists11 am: 8.4% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 8.4% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 7.2% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 6.9% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 5.9% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 5.2% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 5.7% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 4.8% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 2.9% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) 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%9.0%7.7%6.3%
February7.1%9.0%8.2%8.1%
March9.1%9.9%11%13%
April15%16%16%15%
May13%11%8.9%8.1%
June6.2%5.7%5.6%6.2%
July6.4%6.4%7.2%6.8%
August6.6%6.2%5.8%5.2%
September5.0%4.5%4.5%5.0%
October6.2%6.4%6.7%6.6%
November6.6%8.3%11%12%
December12%12%11%11%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives mid May, 8 weeks later than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives late September, 23 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • California: arrives late September, 23 weeks earlier than Oregon

Common questions

When do Pine Siskins arrive in Oregon?
Pine Siskins are in Oregon all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in the second week of April (16% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of May. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 4.7% of checklists.
When do Pine Siskins leave Oregon?
Pine Siskins never fully leave Oregon: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of May, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Pine Siskin in Oregon?
The Pine Siskin is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 16% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Pine Siskins seen most often?
By county, Clackamas County, Multnomah County, and Hood River County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Pine Siskin (counties with at least 200 checklists).