WhenToBird

Pipilo maculatus · Passerellidae

When Do Spotted Towhees Arrive in California?

Adult male Spotted Towhee
Photo: Tser, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Spotted Towhee is in California all year. It turns up on about 32% of checklists at its peak (late May) and on 16% in its quietest week (mid August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMay 22-31late May
Quietest weekAug 15-21mid August

Best: late May. Here all year. Peak: on about 32% of California checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  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: 17% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 16% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 17% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 20% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 20% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 20% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 21% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 22% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 22% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 24% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 24% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 26% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 28% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 29% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 30% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 30% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 30% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 32% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 32% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 32% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 30% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 30% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 29% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 28% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 25% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 20% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 18% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 17% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 16% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 17% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 18% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 19% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 21% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 21% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 21% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 20% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 19% 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: 20% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 18% 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. Nevada CountyBest the second week of December · 294 checklists that week, 25,896 in all64%
  2. Santa Cruz CountyBest the second week of June · 2237 checklists that week, 140,819 in all56%
  3. Contra Costa CountyBest late May · 2939 checklists that week, 115,071 in all52%
  4. Amador CountyBest the second week of February · 82 checklists that week, 4,733 in all50%
  5. San Mateo CountyBest late June · 2798 checklists that week, 148,781 in all49%
  6. Calaveras CountyBest the second week of December · 81 checklists that week, 6,843 in all46%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. EbmudContra Costa County, best late April · 25 checklists that week, 523 in all100%
  2. DeLaveaga Park & Golf CourseSanta Cruz County, best the second week of July · 25 checklists that week, 459 in all100%
  3. Montaña de Oro State ParkSan Luis Obispo County, best early June · 21 checklists that week, 504 in all100%
  4. Manchester Mitigation BankSan Diego County, best mid March · 30 checklists that week, 773 in all100%
  5. American River Parkway (west 2)Sacramento County, best early February · 20 checklists that week, 633 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Spotted Towhee is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (32% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%40%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: 33% of 186053 checklists7 am: 31% of 444086 checklists8 am: 29% of 535846 checklists9 am: 26% of 486061 checklists10 am: 22% of 411130 checklists11 am: 18% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 16% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 15% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 15% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 15% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 15% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 18% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 19% 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%16%17%19%
February20%20%20%21%
March22%22%24%24%
April26%28%29%30%
May30%30%32%32%
June32%30%30%29%
July28%25%23%20%
August18%17%16%16%
September17%18%19%21%
October21%21%21%20%
November19%18%18%18%
December18%18%20%18%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: all year, most in summer, peaks the second week of June
  • Utah: year-round, peaks late November
  • Arizona: all year, most in summer, peaks the second week of June
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks the second week of March

Common questions

When do Spotted Towhees arrive in California?
The Spotted Towhee is in California all year. It turns up on about 32% of checklists at its peak (late May) and on 16% in its quietest week (mid August).
When do Spotted Towhees leave California?
The Spotted Towhee does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 16% of checklists in mid August to 32% in late May.
When is the best time to see a Spotted Towhee in California?
The Spotted Towhee is reported most often in late May, on about 32% of California checklists.
Where in California are Spotted Towhees seen most often?
By county, Nevada County, Santa Cruz County, and Contra Costa County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Spotted Towhee (counties with at least 200 checklists).