WhenToBird

Piranga rubra · Cardinalidae

When Do Summer Tanagers Arrive in Arizona?

Adult male Summer Tanager
Photo: tcantrell52, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Summer Tanagers reach Arizona in the second week of April, are common by mid April, peak in early May (14% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 8-14the second week of April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakMay 1-7early May
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: early May. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 14% of Arizona checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.4% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.4% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 14% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 15% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 14% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 14% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 13% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 11% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 12% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.9% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.6% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.7% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.8% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.2% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.4% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.9% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.6% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.1% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.3% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.3% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% of 39567 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 Arizona 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 Arizona

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Santa Cruz CountyBest early May · 5233 checklists that week, 162,726 in all39%
  2. Yavapai CountyBest early May · 2499 checklists that week, 83,606 in all34%
  3. Greenlee CountyBest mid September · 81 checklists that week, 2,745 in all28%
  4. Graham CountyBest the second week of May · 372 checklists that week, 9,876 in all17%
  5. La Paz CountyBest early July · 53 checklists that week, 7,279 in all15%
  6. Cochise CountyBest early July · 2664 checklists that week, 190,093 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Aliso CanyonSanta Cruz County, best the second week of June · 22 checklists that week, 1,888 in all94%
  2. Palm LakeMaricopa County, best mid May · 173 checklists that week, 5,615 in all92%
  3. Verde River Greenway State Natural AreaYavapai County, best late July · 22 checklists that week, 512 in all92%
  4. Tubac CreekSanta Cruz County, best mid June · 83 checklists that week, 8,824 in all91%
  5. Tumacacori National Historical Park (north)Santa Cruz County, best early June · 33 checklists that week, 1,470 in all90%
  6. Empire-Cienega Area of Critical Environmental ConcernPima County, best early June · 20 checklists that week, 1,656 in all89%

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

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Summer Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (12% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (488) to judge1 am: too few checklists (503) to judge2 am: too few checklists (489) to judge3 am: too few checklists (735) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4115) to judge5 am: 12% of 38350 checklists6 am: 11% of 118786 checklists7 am: 7.5% of 183415 checklists8 am: 5.3% of 187346 checklists9 am: 4.4% of 151342 checklists10 am: 4.0% of 124522 checklists11 am: 3.6% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 3.4% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 3.3% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 3.2% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 3.0% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 3.1% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 3.8% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 4.5% of 31061 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (16076) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2369) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1100) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (604) 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
January0.2%0.2%0.1%0.2%
February0.2%0.1%0.1%0.2%
March0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
April0.3%2.4%8.4%14%
May15%14%14%13%
June11%12%12%12%
July12%12%11%11%
August9.9%9.6%8.7%8.8%
September9.2%9.4%10%8.9%
October5.6%2.1%0.8%0.3%
November0.3%0.2%0.2%0.4%
December0.2%0.3%0.3%0.3%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: arrives the second week of April, in the same week than Arizona
  • Nevada: arrives late April, 2 weeks later than Arizona
  • Utah: arrives mid April, 1 week later than Arizona
  • Texas: arrives late March, 2 weeks earlier than Arizona

Common questions

When do Summer Tanagers arrive in Arizona?
Summer Tanagers reach Arizona in the second week of April, are common by mid April, peak in early May (14% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Summer Tanagers leave Arizona?
Most Summer Tanagers have left Arizona by early October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Summer Tanager in Arizona?
The Summer Tanager is reported most often in early May, on about 14% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Summer Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Santa Cruz County, Yavapai County, and Greenlee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Summer Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).