WhenToBird

Charadrius semipalmatus · Charadriidae

When Do Semipalmated Plovers Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Semipalmated Plover
Photo: Hungry-Sarracenia Photo, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Semipalmated Plovers arrive in Oregon in mid July, peak in late August (4.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: late August. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 4.4% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.6% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.6% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.1% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.0% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.1% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.9% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.6% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.7% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.9% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.7% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.5% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.8% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.9% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.8% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.0% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.1% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.5% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.4% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clatsop CountyBest mid August · 884 checklists that week, 44,300 in all16%
  2. Lincoln CountyBest early May · 2018 checklists that week, 66,994 in all14%
  3. Tillamook CountyBest early May · 1097 checklists that week, 45,809 in all12%
  4. Columbia CountyBest mid August · 453 checklists that week, 27,750 in all11%
  5. Coos CountyBest early May · 505 checklists that week, 24,368 in all11%
  6. Crook CountyBest late August · 223 checklists that week, 9,466 in all8.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Heceta Beach County ParkLane County, best late April · 52 checklists that week, 462 in all83%
  2. Wapato Lake National Wildlife RefugeWashington County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 605 in all77%
  3. Fort Stevens State ParkClatsop County, best early May · 63 checklists that week, 1,818 in all76%
  4. Hidden Lake (Thursday Creek)Lincoln County, best late August · 39 checklists that week, 214 in all75%
  5. Nehalem Bay State Park (Nehalem Spit)Tillamook County, best mid August · 29 checklists that week, 650 in all71%
  6. Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (Coyote Creek)Lane County, best early August · 74 checklists that week, 981 in all64%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Semipalmated Plover is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.4% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%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: 1.7% of 50677 checklists7 am: 1.3% of 125347 checklists8 am: 1.2% of 163668 checklists9 am: 1.0% of 160351 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 148940 checklists11 am: 0.9% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 0.8% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 1.1% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 1.2% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.8% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.6%2.6%
May4.1%2.0%1.1%0.3%
June0.1%0.2%0.1%0.1%
July0.3%0.9%1.6%2.7%
August2.9%3.7%4.5%4.8%
September3.9%2.8%2.0%1.1%
October0.8%0.5%0.4%0.4%
November0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives early July, 2 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives mid July, in the same week than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives mid July, in the same week than Oregon
  • California: arrives the second week of July, 1 week earlier than Oregon

Common questions

When do Semipalmated Plovers arrive in Oregon?
Semipalmated Plovers arrive in Oregon in mid July, peak in late August (4.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Semipalmated Plovers leave Oregon?
Most Semipalmated Plovers have left Oregon by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Semipalmated Plover in Oregon?
The Semipalmated Plover is reported most often in late August, on about 4.4% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Semipalmated Plovers seen most often?
By county, Clatsop County, Lincoln County, and Tillamook County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Semipalmated Plover (counties with at least 200 checklists).