WhenToBird

Loxia curvirostra · Fringillidae

When Do Red Crossbills Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult male Red Crossbill
Photo: Leslie Alanís, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Red Crossbills reach New Mexico in mid January, are common by late February, peak in mid July (3.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.

When to look

First arrivalsJan 15-21mid January
Common byFeb 22-28late February
PeakJul 15-21mid July
Most gone byDec 1-7early December

Best: mid July. First arrivals mid January; most are gone by early December. Peak: on about 3.0% of New Mexico checklists.

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

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.7% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.0% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.0% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.9% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.1% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.1% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.9% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.2% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.3% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.5% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.3% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.7% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.9% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.1% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.1% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.7% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.5% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.7% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.0% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.4% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.2% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.2% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.4% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.3% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.5% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.2% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.9% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.4% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.3% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.0% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.4% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.4% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.3% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.3% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.4% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.0% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.0% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.1% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.9% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% 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. Cibola CountyBest the second week of January · 37 checklists that week, 3,986 in all9.5%
  2. McKinley CountyBest early May · 104 checklists that week, 2,545 in all8.3%
  3. Los Alamos CountyBest mid May · 1303 checklists that week, 50,554 in all7.0%
  4. Catron CountyBest early March · 63 checklists that week, 6,114 in all6.3%
  5. Torrance CountyBest early July · 86 checklists that week, 4,945 in all6.2%
  6. Sandoval CountyBest late July · 863 checklists that week, 32,643 in all6.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Capulin Spring (Capulin Peak)Sandoval County, best late July · 36 checklists that week, 276 in all67%
  2. Cibola National Forest (northwest)Bernalillo County, best mid July · 24 checklists that week, 322 in all51%
  3. Sandia CrestBernalillo County, best the second week of October · 28 checklists that week, 2,797 in all35%
  4. Los AlamosLos Alamos County, best early June · 24 checklists that week, 1,430 in all34%
  5. Cibola National ForestBernalillo County, best late September · 24 checklists that week, 1,158 in all33%
  6. Ranch School TrailLos Alamos County, best the second week of June · 21 checklists that week, 1,691 in all32%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Red Crossbill is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (1.9% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%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: 2.1% of 29677 checklists7 am: 1.7% of 71785 checklists8 am: 1.9% of 79208 checklists9 am: 1.9% of 61605 checklists10 am: 1.7% of 49588 checklists11 am: 1.3% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 1.3% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 0.6% 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
January0.7%0.8%1.0%0.9%
February1.0%1.0%0.9%1.2%
March1.1%1.1%0.9%1.0%
April1.2%1.3%1.0%1.5%
May1.3%1.7%1.9%2.1%
June2.1%1.7%1.5%1.7%
July2.0%2.4%3.2%3.2%
August2.4%2.3%2.5%2.2%
September1.9%1.4%1.3%1.3%
October1.0%1.4%1.4%1.3%
November1.3%1.2%1.4%1.0%
December1.0%1.1%0.9%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: arrives late January, 1 week later than New Mexico
  • Colorado: arrives the second week of December, 5 weeks earlier than New Mexico
  • Utah: arrives the second week of June, 19 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Wyoming: arrives mid April, 12 weeks later than New Mexico

Common questions

When do Red Crossbills arrive in New Mexico?
Red Crossbills reach New Mexico in mid January, are common by late February, peak in mid July (3.0% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.
When do Red Crossbills leave New Mexico?
Most Red Crossbills have left New Mexico by early December, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid December.
When is the best time to see a Red Crossbill in New Mexico?
The Red Crossbill is reported most often in mid July, on about 3.0% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Red Crossbills seen most often?
By county, Cibola County, McKinley County, and Los Alamos County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red Crossbill (counties with at least 200 checklists).