WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in Oregon?

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

Red-winged Blackbirds are in Oregon all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in the second week of May (34% of checklists), and fall back by mid June. In the quietest week (the second week of August) they are still on about 11% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildFeb 15-21mid February
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Fall back byJun 15-21mid June
FewestAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: the second week of May. Here all year; numbers build from mid February and fall back by mid June. Peak: on about 34% of Oregon checklists.

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

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 15% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 18% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 21% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 22% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 21% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 22% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 25% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 28% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 29% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 30% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 31% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 33% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 34% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 33% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 34% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 34% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 34% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 34% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 32% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 28% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 27% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 24% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 20% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 19% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 17% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 15% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 17% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 18% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 16% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 15% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 14% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 12% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 12% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 12% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 14% 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. Klamath CountyBest mid April · 615 checklists that week, 26,875 in all60%
  2. Crook CountyBest late March · 256 checklists that week, 9,466 in all58%
  3. Harney CountyBest the second week of May · 2018 checklists that week, 40,943 in all58%
  4. Morrow CountyBest the second week of May · 94 checklists that week, 3,484 in all57%
  5. Sherman CountyBest the second week of May · 113 checklists that week, 4,629 in all53%
  6. Washington CountyBest the second week of May · 3091 checklists that week, 110,376 in all53%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. First LakeLinn County, best mid June · 30 checklists that week, 1,730 in all100%
  2. Meadowlark PrairieLane County, best early May · 26 checklists that week, 695 in all100%
  3. Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge (Wapato Lake Bed)Yamhill County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 176 in all100%
  4. Danebo PondLane County, best mid May · 21 checklists that week, 799 in all100%
  5. Wapato Lake National Wildlife RefugeWashington County, best late May · 36 checklists that week, 605 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (26% 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: 23% of 50677 checklists7 am: 25% of 125347 checklists8 am: 26% of 163668 checklists9 am: 26% of 160351 checklists10 am: 23% of 148940 checklists11 am: 21% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 19% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 19% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 20% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 22% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 21% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 21% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 20% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 14% 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
January15%17%18%21%
February22%21%22%25%
March28%29%30%31%
April33%34%33%34%
May34%34%34%32%
June28%27%24%20%
July19%17%15%12%
August12%11%11%12%
September14%15%17%18%
October17%16%16%15%
November14%13%12%12%
December12%12%12%14%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives mid February, in the same week than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives mid February, in the same week than Oregon
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid April
  • California: year-round, peaks late April

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in Oregon?
Red-winged Blackbirds are in Oregon all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid February, peak in the second week of May (34% of checklists), and fall back by mid June. In the quietest week (the second week of August) they are still on about 11% of checklists.
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave Oregon?
Red-winged Blackbirds never fully leave Oregon: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid June, but some are still reported in every week, about 11% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in Oregon?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 34% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, Klamath County, Crook County, and Harney County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).