WhenToBird

Sitta canadensis · Sittidae

When Do Red-breasted Nuthatches Arrive in New Mexico?

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

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 6.1% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 2.7% in its quietest week (mid May).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 15-21mid September
Quietest weekMay 15-21mid May

Best: mid September. Here all year. Peak: on about 6.1% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 2.8% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.1% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.1% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.2% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.9% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.0% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.1% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.2% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.7% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.5% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.2% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.2% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.0% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.0% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.1% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.2% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.0% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.5% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.9% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.8% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.0% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.1% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.8% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.2% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.1% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.7% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.4% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.7% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.3% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.9% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.6% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.6% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.2% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.1% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.8% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.3% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.6% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.5% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.5% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.4% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.3% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.0% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.9% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.5% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.8% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.5% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.6% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.2% of 14523 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Colfax CountyBest early February · 53 checklists that week, 8,053 in all28%
  2. Lea CountyBest the second week of October · 115 checklists that week, 2,698 in all19%
  3. Roosevelt CountyBest early October · 153 checklists that week, 4,563 in all16%
  4. Torrance CountyBest the second week of October · 165 checklists that week, 4,945 in all15%
  5. Union CountyBest early October · 42 checklists that week, 2,373 in all13%
  6. Cibola CountyBest mid September · 63 checklists that week, 3,986 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Capulin Spring, best the second week of September · 29 checklists that week, 950 in all86%
  2. Capulin Spring (Capulin Peak)Sandoval County, best late July · 36 checklists that week, 276 in all84%
  3. Cibola National ForestBernalillo County, best late September · 24 checklists that week, 1,158 in all82%
  4. Cibola National Forest (northwest)Bernalillo County, best late June · 20 checklists that week, 322 in all74%
  5. Sandia CrestBernalillo County, best early August · 20 checklists that week, 2,797 in all71%
  6. Sulphur CanyonBernalillo County, best mid April · 25 checklists that week, 749 in all70%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (4.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (186) to judge1 am: too few checklists (180) to judge2 am: too few checklists (172) to judge3 am: too few checklists (183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (527) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4013) to judge6 am: 3.4% of 29677 checklists7 am: 4.1% of 71785 checklists8 am: 4.8% of 79208 checklists9 am: 5.0% of 61605 checklists10 am: 4.5% of 49588 checklists11 am: 4.1% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 3.7% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 3.3% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 3.1% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 2.6% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 2.0% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 1.9% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 1.3% of 15112 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (9040) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2738) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (736) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (384) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January2.8%3.1%3.1%3.2%
February2.9%3.0%3.1%3.2%
March3.7%3.5%3.2%3.2%
April3.0%3.0%3.1%3.2%
May3.0%2.5%2.9%2.8%
June3.0%3.1%3.8%3.2%
July4.1%3.7%3.4%3.7%
August3.3%3.9%4.6%5.6%
September6.2%6.1%5.8%6.3%
October5.6%5.5%5.5%4.4%
November4.3%4.0%3.9%3.5%
December3.8%3.5%3.6%4.2%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: summer visitor, peaks late August
  • Colorado: all year, most in fall, peaks the second week of September
  • Utah: all year, most in fall, peaks mid August
  • Oklahoma: winter visitor, peaks late November

Common questions

When do Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in New Mexico?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 6.1% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 2.7% in its quietest week (mid May).
When do Red-breasted Nuthatches leave New Mexico?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch does not leave New Mexico: it is reported all year, from 2.7% of checklists in mid May to 6.1% in mid September.
When is the best time to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch in New Mexico?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is reported most often in mid September, on about 6.1% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Red-breasted Nuthatches seen most often?
By county, Colfax County, Lea County, and Roosevelt County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-breasted Nuthatch (counties with at least 200 checklists).