WhenToBird

Pipilo maculatus · Passerellidae

When Do Spotted Towhees Arrive in Washington?

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

The Spotted Towhee is in Washington all year. It turns up on about 40% of checklists at its peak (early June) and on 23% in its quietest week (mid August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekJun 1-7early June
Quietest weekAug 15-21mid August

Best: early June. Here all year. Peak: on about 40% of Washington 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. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 31% of 41928 checklistsJan 8-14: 33% of 31152 checklistsJan 15-21: 31% of 31753 checklistsJan 22-31: 30% of 42530 checklistsFeb 1-7: 31% of 29739 checklistsFeb 8-14: 35% of 32746 checklistsFeb 15-21: 36% of 40328 checklistsFeb 22-28: 36% of 28432 checklistsMar 1-7: 37% of 30758 checklistsMar 8-14: 38% of 29368 checklistsMar 15-21: 39% of 32580 checklistsMar 22-31: 38% of 45614 checklistsApr 1-7: 38% of 33997 checklistsApr 8-14: 37% of 34729 checklistsApr 15-21: 38% of 38474 checklistsApr 22-30: 39% of 52185 checklistsMay 1-7: 39% of 44236 checklistsMay 8-14: 39% of 48708 checklistsMay 15-21: 39% of 41742 checklistsMay 22-31: 40% of 57082 checklistsJun 1-7: 40% of 39193 checklistsJun 8-14: 40% of 36042 checklistsJun 15-21: 40% of 34003 checklistsJun 22-30: 40% of 39711 checklistsJul 1-7: 40% of 31949 checklistsJul 8-14: 39% of 29086 checklistsJul 15-21: 36% of 28045 checklistsJul 22-31: 32% of 38275 checklistsAug 1-7: 28% of 28846 checklistsAug 8-14: 24% of 28036 checklistsAug 15-21: 23% of 27614 checklistsAug 22-31: 23% of 40356 checklistsSep 1-7: 25% of 31214 checklistsSep 8-14: 27% of 27795 checklistsSep 15-21: 31% of 29677 checklistsSep 22-30: 34% of 35241 checklistsOct 1-7: 35% of 28605 checklistsOct 8-14: 35% of 28655 checklistsOct 15-21: 34% of 24643 checklistsOct 22-31: 35% of 34874 checklistsNov 1-7: 34% of 25658 checklistsNov 8-14: 35% of 25700 checklistsNov 15-21: 36% of 24331 checklistsNov 22-30: 36% of 32784 checklistsDec 1-7: 36% of 24099 checklistsDec 8-14: 37% of 23339 checklistsDec 15-21: 38% of 27666 checklistsDec 22-31: 37% of 42130 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 Washington 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 Washington

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kitsap CountyBest late May · 2443 checklists that week, 74,545 in all69%
  2. Clark CountyBest early May · 1508 checklists that week, 53,250 in all60%
  3. Ferry CountyBest early April · 117 checklists that week, 5,106 in all59%
  4. Skamania CountyBest late April · 292 checklists that week, 10,140 in all58%
  5. Jefferson CountyBest the second week of May · 1433 checklists that week, 59,663 in all57%
  6. Island CountyBest early June · 822 checklists that week, 46,092 in all57%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Tenny Creek ParkClark County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 132 in all100%
  2. Lake Hills Greenbelt ParkKing County, best late March · 27 checklists that week, 1,360 in all98%
  3. Green CoveThurston County, best the second week of July · 22 checklists that week, 1,089 in all98%
  4. Loth241Spokane County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 205 in all98%
  5. Illahee Trail ParkKing County, best early December · 24 checklists that week, 1,808 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In Washington, the Spotted Towhee is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (49% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (796) to judge1 am: too few checklists (776) to judge2 am: too few checklists (709) to judge3 am: too few checklists (901) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3221) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16576) to judge6 am: 49% of 56744 checklists7 am: 49% of 133294 checklists8 am: 46% of 184196 checklists9 am: 40% of 186303 checklists10 am: 37% of 177063 checklists11 am: 33% of 154936 checklists12 pm: 29% of 138061 checklists1 pm: 28% of 127449 checklists2 pm: 27% of 121511 checklists3 pm: 27% of 107793 checklists4 pm: 27% of 82862 checklists5 pm: 28% of 57183 checklists6 pm: 28% of 39886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (26969) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (12427) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3658) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1500) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (834) 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
January31%33%31%30%
February31%35%36%36%
March37%38%39%38%
April38%37%38%39%
May39%39%39%40%
June40%40%40%40%
July40%39%36%32%
August28%24%23%23%
September25%27%31%34%
October35%35%34%35%
November34%35%36%36%
December36%37%38%37%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: year-round, peaks the second week of March
  • Idaho: all year, most in spring, peaks mid June
  • Montana: summer visitor, peaks late May
  • Nevada: all year, most in summer, peaks the second week of June

Common questions

When do Spotted Towhees arrive in Washington?
The Spotted Towhee is in Washington all year. It turns up on about 40% of checklists at its peak (early June) and on 23% in its quietest week (mid August).
When do Spotted Towhees leave Washington?
The Spotted Towhee does not leave Washington: it is reported all year, from 23% of checklists in mid August to 40% in early June.
When is the best time to see a Spotted Towhee in Washington?
The Spotted Towhee is reported most often in early June, on about 40% of Washington checklists.
Where in Washington are Spotted Towhees seen most often?
By county, Kitsap County, Clark County, and Ferry County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Spotted Towhee (counties with at least 200 checklists).