WhenToBird

Pipilo maculatus · Passerellidae

When Do Spotted Towhees Arrive in Colorado?

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

The Spotted Towhee is in Colorado all year. It turns up on about 25% of checklists at its peak (the second week of May) and on 10% in its quietest week (early February).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMay 8-14the second week of May
Quietest weekFeb 1-7early February

Best: the second week of May. Here all year. Peak: on about 25% of Colorado checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  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%Jan 1-7: 11% of 32254 checklistsJan 8-14: 10% of 23278 checklistsJan 15-21: 10% of 22933 checklistsJan 22-31: 10% of 30856 checklistsFeb 1-7: 10% of 21464 checklistsFeb 8-14: 10% of 22910 checklistsFeb 15-21: 11% of 28739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 12% of 21833 checklistsMar 1-7: 13% of 23066 checklistsMar 8-14: 14% of 23783 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 24797 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 38439 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 31676 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 35092 checklistsApr 15-21: 15% of 36778 checklistsApr 22-30: 20% of 50885 checklistsMay 1-7: 24% of 44186 checklistsMay 8-14: 26% of 49011 checklistsMay 15-21: 25% of 40784 checklistsMay 22-31: 24% of 53073 checklistsJun 1-7: 23% of 32432 checklistsJun 8-14: 23% of 29978 checklistsJun 15-21: 21% of 29457 checklistsJun 22-30: 21% of 36072 checklistsJul 1-7: 21% of 28857 checklistsJul 8-14: 20% of 27224 checklistsJul 15-21: 20% of 27629 checklistsJul 22-31: 19% of 37318 checklistsAug 1-7: 17% of 25893 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 24870 checklistsAug 15-21: 12% of 24035 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 35691 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 27068 checklistsSep 8-14: 13% of 26709 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 26098 checklistsSep 22-30: 17% of 31550 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 24110 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 23352 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 21895 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 28319 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 21698 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 21061 checklistsNov 15-21: 12% of 19855 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 25798 checklistsDec 1-7: 12% of 18626 checklistsDec 8-14: 13% of 19004 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 23103 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 30802 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 Colorado 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 Colorado

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Douglas CountyBest mid June · 1047 checklists that week, 60,057 in all59%
  2. El Paso CountyBest the second week of July · 1775 checklists that week, 104,376 in all53%
  3. Dolores CountyBest late March · 49 checklists that week, 2,000 in all50%
  4. Las Animas CountyBest late May · 254 checklists that week, 3,491 in all49%
  5. Jefferson CountyBest mid May · 5478 checklists that week, 183,749 in all40%
  6. Montezuma CountyBest early June · 431 checklists that week, 15,992 in all40%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Roxborough State ParkDouglas County, best the second week of July · 43 checklists that week, 1,453 in all99%
  2. Deer Creek Canyon ParkJefferson County, best the second week of June · 24 checklists that week, 337 in all99%
  3. Eltuck BayLarimer County, best early July · 20 checklists that week, 1,063 in all99%
  4. Kohler ReservoirBoulder County, best mid July · 22 checklists that week, 1,037 in all98%
  5. Lindsay - West (north)Boulder County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 476 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In Colorado, the Spotted Towhee is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (26% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (512) to judge1 am: too few checklists (468) to judge2 am: too few checklists (513) to judge3 am: too few checklists (656) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1918) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16045) to judge6 am: 28% of 71991 checklists7 am: 25% of 159189 checklists8 am: 21% of 177206 checklists9 am: 17% of 165269 checklists10 am: 14% of 141029 checklists11 am: 12% of 115283 checklists12 pm: 11% of 96068 checklists1 pm: 10% of 89512 checklists2 pm: 10% of 86319 checklists3 pm: 11% of 82496 checklists4 pm: 11% of 71648 checklists5 pm: 13% of 52445 checklists6 pm: 14% of 40199 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24246) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7986) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2004) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (888) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (450) 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
January11%10%10%10%
February10%10%11%12%
March13%14%13%15%
April14%14%15%20%
May24%26%25%24%
June23%23%21%21%
July21%20%20%19%
August17%15%12%12%
September12%13%15%17%
October17%17%14%13%
November11%11%12%12%
December12%13%13%12%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: summer visitor, peaks the second week of May
  • New Mexico: year-round, peaks early July
  • Utah: year-round, peaks late November
  • Nebraska: winter visitor, peaks early October

Common questions

When do Spotted Towhees arrive in Colorado?
The Spotted Towhee is in Colorado all year. It turns up on about 25% of checklists at its peak (the second week of May) and on 10% in its quietest week (early February).
When do Spotted Towhees leave Colorado?
The Spotted Towhee does not leave Colorado: it is reported all year, from 10% of checklists in early February to 25% in the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a Spotted Towhee in Colorado?
The Spotted Towhee is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 25% of Colorado checklists.
Where in Colorado are Spotted Towhees seen most often?
By county, Douglas County, El Paso County, and Dolores County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Spotted Towhee (counties with at least 200 checklists).