WhenToBird

Sitta canadensis · Sittidae

When Do Red-breasted Nuthatches Arrive in Arizona?

Adult Red-breasted Nuthatch
Photo: Joshua Liverman, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in Arizona in early April, peak in late August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid December.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone byDec 15-21mid December

Best: late August. First arrivals early April; most are gone by mid December. Peak: on about 2.4% of Arizona checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.5% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.4% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.5% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.4% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.3% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.6% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.6% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.5% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.5% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.7% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.7% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.1% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.2% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.2% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.4% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.4% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.5% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.6% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.7% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.8% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.6% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.0% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.3% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.4% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.4% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.5% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.4% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.1% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.1% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.0% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.0% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.7% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.6% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.2% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.1% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.8% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.0% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% of 39567 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 Arizona 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 Arizona

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Graham CountyBest the second week of August · 180 checklists that week, 9,876 in all15%
  2. Greenlee CountyBest early September · 61 checklists that week, 2,745 in all12%
  3. Coconino CountyBest the second week of October · 2003 checklists that week, 90,870 in all10%
  4. Apache CountyBest early December · 86 checklists that week, 12,931 in all8.0%
  5. Gila CountyBest late September · 307 checklists that week, 14,834 in all7.1%
  6. Navajo CountyBest early September · 483 checklists that week, 18,838 in all4.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Butterfly SpringYavapai County, best late August · 30 checklists that week, 550 in all87%
  2. Soldier CampPima County, best late October · 20 checklists that week, 468 in all72%
  3. Catalina Highway Scenic Area (Boy Scout Spring)Pima County, best the second week of August · 120 checklists that week, 774 in all72%
  4. Miller Peak Wilderness (Pat Scott Canyon)Cochise County, best mid April · 21 checklists that week, 195 in all66%
  5. Bear Wallow SpringPima County, best late July · 31 checklists that week, 810 in all62%
  6. Soldier Camp (Bear Wallow)Pima County, best the second week of August · 47 checklists that week, 360 in all51%

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

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (1.4% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (488) to judge1 am: too few checklists (503) to judge2 am: too few checklists (489) to judge3 am: too few checklists (735) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4115) to judge5 am: 1.1% of 38350 checklists6 am: 1.2% of 118786 checklists7 am: 1.3% of 183415 checklists8 am: 1.4% of 187346 checklists9 am: 1.4% of 151342 checklists10 am: 1.4% of 124522 checklists11 am: 1.3% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 1.3% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 31061 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (16076) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2369) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1100) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (604) 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
January0.5%0.4%0.4%0.5%
February0.5%0.4%0.3%0.6%
March0.6%0.5%0.5%0.7%
April0.7%0.9%1.2%1.1%
May1.2%1.1%1.0%1.2%
June1.2%1.4%1.4%1.5%
July1.6%1.7%1.8%1.6%
August2.0%2.3%2.4%2.4%
September2.5%2.4%2.1%2.1%
October2.0%2.0%1.7%1.6%
November1.2%1.1%0.9%0.8%
December0.7%0.8%1.0%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Nevada: arrives the second week of August, 17 weeks later than Arizona
  • Utah: arrives early July, 12 weeks later than Arizona
  • California: arrives mid August, 18 weeks later than Arizona

Common questions

When do Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in Arizona?
Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in Arizona in early April, peak in late August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid December.
When do Red-breasted Nuthatches leave Arizona?
Most Red-breasted Nuthatches have left Arizona by mid December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch in Arizona?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is reported most often in late August, on about 2.4% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Red-breasted Nuthatches seen most often?
By county, Graham County, Greenlee County, and Coconino County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-breasted Nuthatch (counties with at least 200 checklists).