WhenToBird

Cyanocitta stelleri · Corvidae

When Do Steller's Jays Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult Steller's Jay
Photo: Steven Smethurst, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

The Steller's Jay is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 9.8% of checklists at its peak (late August) and on 4.6% in its quietest week (late January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekAug 22-31late August
Quietest weekJan 22-31late January

Best: late August. Here all year. Peak: on about 9.8% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 5.0% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 5.1% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 4.6% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.8% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.3% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.7% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.3% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 5.1% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 5.4% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 6.2% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.7% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.5% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.5% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.3% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.1% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.4% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.1% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.0% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.6% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.2% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.5% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.2% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.1% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.7% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 7.7% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.0% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.8% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.7% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.8% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.3% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.9% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 10% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 10% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.7% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.7% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.8% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.4% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.9% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.5% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.9% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.4% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 6.7% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 6.5% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 5.5% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 5.7% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 5.6% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.1% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 5.9% of 14523 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Colfax CountyBest early February · 53 checklists that week, 8,053 in all54%
  2. Mora CountyBest the second week of September · 86 checklists that week, 2,730 in all44%
  3. Cibola CountyBest the second week of February · 37 checklists that week, 3,986 in all44%
  4. Otero CountyBest early October · 118 checklists that week, 8,483 in all36%
  5. Catron CountyBest the second week of September · 132 checklists that week, 6,114 in all33%
  6. Lincoln CountyBest early September · 66 checklists that week, 4,676 in all24%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cibola National ForestBernalillo County, best late October · 21 checklists that week, 1,158 in all95%
  2. Sulphur CanyonBernalillo County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 749 in all92%
  3. Gila National ForestGrant County, best early October · 21 checklists that week, 392 in all90%
  4. ResevoirLos Alamos County, best mid September · 26 checklists that week, 1,055 in all90%
  5. Los Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos County, best early November · 44 checklists that week, 1,305 in all89%
  6. Capulin Spring, best late September · 35 checklists that week, 950 in all84%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Steller's Jay is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (8.1% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (186) to judge1 am: too few checklists (180) to judge2 am: too few checklists (172) to judge3 am: too few checklists (183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (527) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4013) to judge6 am: 5.2% of 29677 checklists7 am: 6.4% of 71785 checklists8 am: 7.9% of 79208 checklists9 am: 8.5% of 61605 checklists10 am: 7.7% of 49588 checklists11 am: 7.1% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 6.3% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 6.2% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 5.6% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 5.0% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 4.4% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 4.8% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 4.2% of 15112 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (9040) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2738) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (736) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (384) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January5.0%5.1%4.6%4.8%
February4.3%4.7%5.3%5.1%
March5.4%6.2%5.7%5.5%
April5.5%5.3%5.1%5.4%
May5.1%5.0%5.6%6.2%
June6.5%6.2%7.1%6.7%
July7.7%7.0%7.8%7.7%
August7.8%8.3%8.9%10%
September10%8.7%8.7%9.8%
October9.4%8.9%9.5%7.9%
November7.4%6.7%6.5%5.5%
December5.7%5.6%5.1%5.9%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: summer visitor, peaks late August
  • Colorado: all year, most in fall, peaks late September
  • Utah: all year, most in fall, peaks early October
  • Wyoming: summer visitor, peaks late September

Common questions

When do Steller's Jays arrive in New Mexico?
The Steller's Jay is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 9.8% of checklists at its peak (late August) and on 4.6% in its quietest week (late January).
When do Steller's Jays leave New Mexico?
The Steller's Jay does not leave New Mexico: it is reported all year, from 4.6% of checklists in late January to 9.8% in late August.
When is the best time to see a Steller's Jay in New Mexico?
The Steller's Jay is reported most often in late August, on about 9.8% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Steller's Jays seen most often?
By county, Colfax County, Mora County, and Cibola County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Steller's Jay (counties with at least 200 checklists).