WhenToBird

Agelaius phoeniceus · Icteridae

When Do Red-winged Blackbirds Arrive in Texas?

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

Red-winged Blackbirds are in Texas all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of November, peak in mid March (30% of checklists), and fall back by late May. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 7.3% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildNov 8-14the second week of November
PeakMar 15-21mid March
Fall back byMay 22-31late May
FewestSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: mid March. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of November and fall back by late May. Peak: on about 30% of Texas checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 19% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 20% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 21% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 22% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 24% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 24% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 24% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 29% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 30% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 30% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 31% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 30% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 29% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 30% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 31% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 28% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 24% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 20% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 17% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 17% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 17% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 16% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 15% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 14% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.9% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.9% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.9% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.5% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.0% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.4% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.1% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 11% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 13% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 16% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 18% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 20% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 20% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 19% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 20% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 19% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 19% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 19% of 73015 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 Texas 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 Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Swisher CountyBest late March · 17 checklists that week, 817 in all86%
  2. Hansford CountyBest the second week of May · 11 checklists that week, 519 in all73%
  3. Hartley CountyBest mid May · 11 checklists that week, 460 in all72%
  4. Gray CountyBest early March · 10 checklists that week, 578 in all72%
  5. Castro CountyBest late April · 22 checklists that week, 371 in all71%
  6. Karnes CountyBest the second week of May · 42 checklists that week, 1,746 in all70%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cement Creek ReservoirTarrant County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 436 in all100%
  2. I-20 Wildlife Preserve and Jenna Welch Nature Study CenterMidland County, best the second week of July · 37 checklists that week, 2,359 in all99%
  3. TolucaHidalgo County, best mid January · 75 checklists that week, 839 in all99%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Red-winged Blackbird is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (27% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 26% of 74687 checklists7 am: 27% of 285131 checklists8 am: 26% of 329960 checklists9 am: 22% of 267889 checklists10 am: 20% of 218205 checklists11 am: 18% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 17% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 18% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 19% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 20% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 19% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 18% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 17% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 13% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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
January19%20%21%22%
February24%24%24%29%
March30%30%31%30%
April29%30%31%28%
May24%21%20%19%
June18%17%17%17%
July17%16%15%14%
August12%9.9%8.9%7.9%
September7.5%7.0%7.4%9.1%
October11%13%14%16%
November18%20%20%19%
December20%19%19%19%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: year-round, peaks mid April
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of February, 12 weeks later than Texas
  • Arkansas: arrives mid February, 13 weeks later than Texas
  • Mississippi: arrives mid January, 9 weeks later than Texas

Common questions

When do Red-winged Blackbirds arrive in Texas?
Red-winged Blackbirds are in Texas all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from the second week of November, peak in mid March (30% of checklists), and fall back by late May. In the quietest week (the second week of September) they are still on about 7.3% of checklists.
When do Red-winged Blackbirds leave Texas?
Red-winged Blackbirds never fully leave Texas: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late May, but some are still reported in every week, about 7.3% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-winged Blackbird in Texas?
The Red-winged Blackbird is reported most often in mid March, on about 30% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Red-winged Blackbirds seen most often?
By county, Swisher County, Hansford County, and Hartley County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-winged Blackbird (counties with at least 200 checklists).