WhenToBird

Pipilo maculatus · Passerellidae

When Do Spotted Towhees Arrive in Utah?

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

The Spotted Towhee is in Utah all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (late November) and on 8.2% in its quietest week (mid August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekNov 22-30late November
Quietest weekAug 15-21mid August

Best: late November. Here all year. Peak: on about 19% of Utah checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 16% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 16% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 15% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 16% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 14% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 15% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 15% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 16% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 15% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 16% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 13% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 15% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 17% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 17% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 17% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 13% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.1% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.1% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.2% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 7.4% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.7% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 10% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 10% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 14% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 16% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 18% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 18% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 19% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 19% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 19% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 18% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 20% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 18% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Uintah CountyBest early June · 268 checklists that week, 9,143 in all33%
  2. San Juan CountyBest mid May · 293 checklists that week, 6,877 in all32%
  3. Weber CountyBest the second week of December · 249 checklists that week, 13,172 in all30%
  4. Grand CountyBest the second week of May · 641 checklists that week, 18,662 in all30%
  5. Salt Lake CountyBest mid November · 1576 checklists that week, 104,432 in all28%
  6. Morgan CountyBest the second week of June · 85 checklists that week, 3,178 in all25%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Yellow Fork CanyonSalt Lake County, best the second week of June · 27 checklists that week, 817 in all95%
  2. Red Butte ReservoirSalt Lake County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 422 in all91%
  3. Dimple Dell ParkSalt Lake County, best the second week of May · 22 checklists that week, 615 in all89%
  4. Hollow ParkUtah County, best the second week of February · 27 checklists that week, 261 in all89%
  5. Crestwood Outdoor PoolSalt Lake County, best early May · 25 checklists that week, 546 in all87%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Spotted Towhee is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (21% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 20% of 11714 checklists7 am: 21% of 33209 checklists8 am: 21% of 46944 checklists9 am: 18% of 46290 checklists10 am: 16% of 43144 checklists11 am: 14% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 12% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 12% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 12% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 12% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 13% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 12% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 11% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 9.9% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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
January16%16%15%16%
February14%15%15%16%
March15%16%16%15%
April14%13%14%15%
May16%16%16%17%
June18%17%17%17%
July15%13%12%9.1%
August9.1%8.2%7.4%8.7%
September10%10%12%14%
October15%16%16%18%
November16%18%19%19%
December19%18%20%18%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: summer visitor, peaks the second week of May
  • Nevada: all year, most in summer, peaks the second week of June
  • Colorado: year-round, peaks the second week of May
  • Idaho: all year, most in spring, peaks mid June

Common questions

When do Spotted Towhees arrive in Utah?
The Spotted Towhee is in Utah all year. It turns up on about 19% of checklists at its peak (late November) and on 8.2% in its quietest week (mid August).
When do Spotted Towhees leave Utah?
The Spotted Towhee does not leave Utah: it is reported all year, from 8.2% of checklists in mid August to 19% in late November.
When is the best time to see a Spotted Towhee in Utah?
The Spotted Towhee is reported most often in late November, on about 19% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Spotted Towhees seen most often?
By county, Uintah County, San Juan County, and Weber County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Spotted Towhee (counties with at least 200 checklists).