WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in California?

Adult male Red-winged Blackbird
Photo: infiniteuniverse, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

The Red-winged Blackbird is in California all year. It turns up on about 21% of checklists at its peak (late April) and on 9.7% in its quietest week (the second week of August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekApr 22-30late April
Quietest weekAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: late April. Here all year. Peak: on about 21% of California checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 12% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 12% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 13% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 15% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 16% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 19% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 19% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 20% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 21% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 21% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 21% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 22% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 21% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 20% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 19% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 18% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 16% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 15% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 13% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.9% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.5% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.6% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 13% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 14% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 15% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 14% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 12% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 11% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 10% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 9.9% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 10% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Colusa CountyBest the second week of April · 143 checklists that week, 7,653 in all69%
  2. Yolo CountyBest late April · 2000 checklists that week, 67,424 in all54%
  3. Glenn CountyBest the second week of March · 51 checklists that week, 5,189 in all54%
  4. Merced CountyBest late April · 403 checklists that week, 13,095 in all53%
  5. Kings CountyBest late May · 99 checklists that week, 3,688 in all51%
  6. Napa CountyBest late March · 504 checklists that week, 18,976 in all49%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Truckee MarshEl Dorado County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 704 in all100%
  2. Yolo Bypass Wildlife AreaYolo County, best the second week of June · 36 checklists that week, 2,593 in all100%
  3. Tolay Lake Regional ParkSonoma County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 1,188 in all100%
  4. Golden Gate Park (Elk Glen Lake)San Francisco County, best late May · 32 checklists that week, 1,370 in all99%
  5. Estero Bluffs State ParkSan Luis Obispo County, best the second week of June · 25 checklists that week, 2,491 in all99%
  6. Mad River Slough Wildlife AreaHumboldt County, best early June · 20 checklists that week, 3,102 in all99%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (18% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 17% of 186053 checklists7 am: 18% of 444086 checklists8 am: 18% of 535846 checklists9 am: 16% of 486061 checklists10 am: 14% of 411130 checklists11 am: 13% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 12% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 13% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 13% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 14% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 14% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 14% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 13% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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%13%15%
February15%15%14%16%
March17%18%19%19%
April20%21%21%21%
May22%21%21%20%
June19%18%16%15%
July13%12%11%10%
August9.9%9.5%9.6%11%
September12%13%14%15%
October15%14%14%14%
November13%12%12%11%
December11%10%9.9%10%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid April
  • Utah: all year, most in spring, peaks late April
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks mid March
  • Oregon: all year, most in spring, peaks the second week of May

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in California?
The Red-winged Blackbird is in California all year. It turns up on about 21% of checklists at its peak (late April) and on 9.7% in its quietest week (the second week of August).
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave California?
The Red-winged Blackbird does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 9.7% of checklists in the second week of August to 21% in late April.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in California?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in late April, on about 21% of California checklists.
Where in California are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, Colusa County, Yolo County, and Glenn County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).