WhenToBird

Sayornis saya · Tyrannidae

When Do Say's Phoebes Arrive in California?

Adult Say's Phoebe
Photo: Peter Chen 2.0, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Say's Phoebes are winter birds in California: the first arrive in the second week of September, they are common by mid September, peak in late November (18% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of March.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 8-14the second week of September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakNov 22-30late November
Most gone byMar 8-14the second week of March

Best: late November. First arrivals the second week of September; most are gone by the second week of March. Peak: on about 18% of California checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 17% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 17% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 16% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 12% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.9% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 7.4% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.9% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 4.7% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.2% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.8% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.8% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.6% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.4% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.9% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.2% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.6% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.4% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.2% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.8% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.6% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.3% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.1% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.2% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.9% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.8% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.9% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.0% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.6% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.5% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.6% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 16% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 17% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 18% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 18% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 18% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 18% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 18% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 18% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 17% 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. Imperial CountyBest mid December · 985 checklists that week, 24,551 in all39%
  2. Merced CountyBest the second week of November · 267 checklists that week, 13,095 in all35%
  3. Riverside CountyBest late December · 4763 checklists that week, 113,541 in all30%
  4. Solano CountyBest early December · 407 checklists that week, 25,325 in all29%
  5. Orange CountyBest late November · 6384 checklists that week, 244,559 in all28%
  6. Ventura CountyBest the second week of December · 1509 checklists that week, 94,391 in all28%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Edward R. Levin Park (northwest)Santa Clara County, best mid February · 22 checklists that week, 159 in all96%
  2. Ramona Grasslands Preserve (Santa Maria Valley)San Diego County, best the second week of November · 23 checklists that week, 109 in all95%
  3. Galileo ParkKern County, best the second week of October · 21 checklists that week, 508 in all94%
  4. Griffith Park (southwest)Los Angeles County, best early October · 28 checklists that week, 388 in all93%
  5. San Jacinto Wildlife AreaRiverside County, best the second week of November · 74 checklists that week, 2,774 in all93%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Say's Phoebe is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (12% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 9.9% of 186053 checklists7 am: 12% of 444086 checklists8 am: 12% of 535846 checklists9 am: 11% of 486061 checklists10 am: 11% of 411130 checklists11 am: 9.9% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 9.7% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 9.7% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 9.4% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 8.7% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 6.4% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 4.3% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 2.7% 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
January17%17%17%16%
February15%14%12%12%
March11%8.9%7.4%5.9%
April4.7%4.2%3.8%3.8%
May3.6%3.4%3.9%4.2%
June3.6%3.4%3.2%2.8%
July2.6%2.3%2.1%2.2%
August1.9%1.8%1.9%2.0%
September2.6%4.5%8.6%13%
October15%16%16%17%
November18%18%18%18%
December18%18%18%17%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives mid November, 9 weeks later than California
  • Utah: arrives mid March, 23 weeks earlier than California
  • Arizona: arrives mid September, 1 week later than California
  • Oregon: arrives mid February, 21 weeks later than California

Common questions

When do Say's Phoebes arrive in California?
Say's Phoebes are winter birds in California: the first arrive in the second week of September, they are common by mid September, peak in late November (18% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of March.
When do Say's Phoebes leave California?
Most Say's Phoebes have left California by the second week of March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of June.
When is the best time to see a Say's Phoebe in California?
The Say's Phoebe is reported most often in late November, on about 18% of California checklists.
Where in California are Say's Phoebes seen most often?
By county, Imperial County, Merced County, and Riverside County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Say's Phoebe (counties with at least 200 checklists).