WhenToBird

Sitta canadensis · Sittidae

When Do Red-breasted Nuthatches Arrive in Oregon?

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

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 22% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 12% in its quietest week (mid January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 1-7early September
Quietest weekJan 15-21mid January

Best: early September. Here all year. Peak: on about 22% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 12% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 12% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 12% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 12% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 13% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 14% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 14% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 16% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 16% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 15% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 14% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 15% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 15% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 16% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 18% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 17% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 17% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 18% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 19% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 19% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 21% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 20% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 22% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 23% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 21% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 21% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 21% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 19% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 17% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 16% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 14% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 14% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 14% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 13% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% 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.

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Where in Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clackamas CountyBest early September · 771 checklists that week, 50,929 in all44%
  2. Washington CountyBest the second week of September · 1622 checklists that week, 110,376 in all38%
  3. Linn CountyBest the second week of August · 376 checklists that week, 27,533 in all38%
  4. Hood River CountyBest late August · 330 checklists that week, 9,695 in all37%
  5. Yamhill CountyBest the second week of September · 188 checklists that week, 11,537 in all37%
  6. Wallowa CountyBest the second week of September · 163 checklists that week, 9,170 in all32%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Marys Peak Botanical AreaBenton County, best the second week of June · 24 checklists that week, 1,177 in all95%
  2. Sherrard PointMultnomah County, best the second week of June · 20 checklists that week, 1,135 in all89%
  3. Glen OakLane County, best mid January · 22 checklists that week, 102 in all89%
  4. Rose City Golf CourseMultnomah County, best the second week of October · 37 checklists that week, 437 in all88%
  5. Mount Tabor ParkMultnomah County, best early September · 145 checklists that week, 8,576 in all87%
  6. Camas PrairieWasco County, best late May · 29 checklists that week, 124 in all86%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (24% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 25% of 50677 checklists7 am: 24% of 125347 checklists8 am: 22% of 163668 checklists9 am: 19% of 160351 checklists10 am: 16% of 148940 checklists11 am: 15% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 15% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 13% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 11% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 11% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 10% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 11% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 11% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 8.1% 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
January12%12%12%12%
February12%13%13%13%
March14%13%14%15%
April16%16%18%17%
May16%15%14%14%
June15%15%16%18%
July17%17%18%19%
August19%21%20%22%
September23%21%21%21%
October21%19%17%16%
November14%14%14%14%
December14%13%13%13%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks late August
  • Idaho: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Nevada: all year, most in fall, peaks early October
  • California: all year, most in fall, peaks the second week of October

Common questions

When do Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in Oregon?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in Oregon all year. It turns up on about 22% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 12% in its quietest week (mid January).
When do Red-breasted Nuthatches leave Oregon?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch does not leave Oregon: it is reported all year, from 12% of checklists in mid January to 22% in early September.
When is the best time to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch in Oregon?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is reported most often in early September, on about 22% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Red-breasted Nuthatches seen most often?
By county, Clackamas County, Washington County, and Linn County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-breasted Nuthatch (counties with at least 200 checklists).