WhenToBird

Salpinctes obsoletus · Troglodytidae

When Do Rock Wrens Arrive in Washington?

Adult Rock Wren
Photo: Chris Acree, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Rock Wrens arrive in Washington in mid March, peak in early June (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: early June. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 1.4% of Washington checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 41928 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 31152 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 31753 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 42530 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 29739 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 32746 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 40328 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 28432 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 30758 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 29368 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 32580 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 45614 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 33997 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 34729 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.3% of 38474 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.5% of 52185 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 44236 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.0% of 48708 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.2% of 41742 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.4% of 57082 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.6% of 39193 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.3% of 36042 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.1% of 34003 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 39711 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.6% of 31949 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.5% of 29086 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.6% of 28045 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 38275 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 28846 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 28036 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 27614 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.5% of 40356 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 31214 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 27795 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 29677 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 35241 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 28605 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 28655 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.3% of 24643 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 34874 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.3% of 25658 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 25700 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 24331 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 32784 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 24099 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 23339 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 27666 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 42130 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 Washington 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 Washington

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Garfield CountyBest the second week of September · 15 checklists that week, 1,130 in all20%
  2. Douglas CountyBest late May · 319 checklists that week, 9,418 in all14%
  3. Grant CountyBest the second week of June · 600 checklists that week, 19,963 in all11%
  4. Columbia CountyBest late August · 42 checklists that week, 1,894 in all11%
  5. Kittitas CountyBest early June · 1354 checklists that week, 26,338 in all11%
  6. Adams CountyBest early September · 209 checklists that week, 4,574 in all9.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Grant Co PUD#2Kittitas County, best late May · 42 checklists that week, 711 in all79%
  2. Steptoe ButteWhitman County, best late June · 20 checklists that week, 483 in all73%
  3. Steamboat RockGrant County, best early June · 20 checklists that week, 547 in all70%
  4. Quincy LakesGrant County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 264 in all65%
  5. Middle CanyonKittitas County, best late May · 178 checklists that week, 943 in all59%

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

Best time of day

In Washington, the Rock Wren is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (796) to judge1 am: too few checklists (776) to judge2 am: too few checklists (709) to judge3 am: too few checklists (901) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3221) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16576) to judge6 am: 1.0% of 56744 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 133294 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 184196 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 186303 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 177063 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 154936 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 138061 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 127449 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 121511 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 107793 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 82862 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 57183 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 39886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (26969) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (12427) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3658) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1500) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (834) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.2%0.2%0.3%0.4%
April0.4%0.3%0.3%0.5%
May0.7%1.0%1.2%1.4%
June1.6%1.3%1.1%0.9%
July0.6%0.5%0.6%0.4%
August0.3%0.3%0.3%0.5%
September0.4%0.5%0.4%0.3%
October0.2%0.2%0.3%0.3%
November0.3%0.2%0.2%0.1%
December0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: arrives late April, 5 weeks later than Washington
  • Idaho: arrives mid March, in the same week than Washington
  • Montana: arrives early May, 6 weeks later than Washington
  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid June

Common questions

When do Rock Wrens arrive in Washington?
Rock Wrens arrive in Washington in mid March, peak in early June (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Rock Wrens leave Washington?
Most Rock Wrens have left Washington by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Rock Wren in Washington?
The Rock Wren is reported most often in early June, on about 1.4% of Washington checklists.
Where in Washington are Rock Wrens seen most often?
By county, Garfield County, Douglas County, and Grant County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rock Wren (counties with at least 200 checklists).