WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in New Mexico?

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

Red-winged Blackbirds are in New Mexico all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in mid April (22% of checklists), and fall back by late June. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 7.4% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildFeb 15-21mid February
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Fall back byJun 22-30late June
FewestSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: mid April. Here all year; numbers build from mid February and fall back by late June. Peak: on about 22% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 14% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 13% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 13% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 13% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 15% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 18% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 20% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 20% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 20% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 22% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 22% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 22% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 22% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 23% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 22% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 20% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 15% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 16% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 15% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 14% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 13% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 13% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.9% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.7% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.5% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.8% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.6% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.6% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.0% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.9% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 19% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 18% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 17% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 17% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 16% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 15% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% 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. De Baca CountyBest early June · 17 checklists that week, 2,203 in all56%
  2. Valencia CountyBest the second week of April · 241 checklists that week, 8,351 in all54%
  3. Chaves CountyBest the second week of June · 61 checklists that week, 5,298 in all53%
  4. Socorro CountyBest early April · 685 checklists that week, 33,508 in all45%
  5. Lea CountyBest late May · 136 checklists that week, 2,698 in all41%
  6. Dona Ana CountyBest late June · 399 checklists that week, 29,776 in all41%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (southwest)Socorro County, best late May · 31 checklists that week, 2,113 in all98%
  2. Bosque Redondo LakeDe Baca County, best early May · 51 checklists that week, 605 in all98%
  3. La CieneguillaSanta Fe County, best early June · 20 checklists that week, 276 in all97%
  4. La Llorona ParkDona Ana County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 1,183 in all97%
  5. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (east)Socorro County, best late May · 21 checklists that week, 586 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (19% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 16% of 29677 checklists7 am: 18% of 71785 checklists8 am: 21% of 79208 checklists9 am: 16% of 61605 checklists10 am: 14% of 49588 checklists11 am: 13% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 12% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 13% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 14% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 15% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 15% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 13% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 14% 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
January14%13%14%13%
February13%14%15%18%
March20%20%20%22%
April22%22%22%23%
May22%21%20%19%
June18%15%16%15%
July14%13%13%12%
August9.9%9.7%8.5%7.8%
September7.6%7.6%7.0%8.9%
October11%14%16%19%
November18%18%17%17%
December16%15%13%13%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: year-round, peaks mid March
  • Colorado: arrives early March, 2 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Utah: arrives late February, 1 week later than New Mexico
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of February, 1 week earlier than New Mexico

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in New Mexico?
Red-winged Blackbirds are in New Mexico all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in mid April (22% of checklists), and fall back by late June. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 7.4% of checklists.
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave New Mexico?
Red-winged Blackbirds never fully leave New Mexico: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late June, but some are still reported in every week, about 7.4% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in New Mexico?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in mid April, on about 22% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, De Baca County, Valencia County, and Chaves County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).