WhenToBird

Myadestes townsendi · Turdidae

When Do Townsend's Solitaires Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult Townsend's Solitaire
Photo: Cole Wolf, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Townsend's Solitaires are winter birds in New Mexico: the first arrive in mid June, they are common by the second week of September, peak in mid October (14% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 15-21mid June
Common bySep 8-14the second week of September
PeakOct 15-21mid October
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: mid October. First arrivals mid June; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 14% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 9.0% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.4% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.9% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.0% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.1% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 9.0% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.5% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.5% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 10% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.3% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 9.2% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.9% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.7% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.1% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.1% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.7% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.7% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.1% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.9% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.1% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.2% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.7% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.9% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.9% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.9% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.8% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.2% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.3% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.2% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.1% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.5% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 13% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 13% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 14% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 13% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 12% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 11% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 11% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% 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. Cibola CountyBest early February · 33 checklists that week, 3,986 in all54%
  2. Union CountyBest early November · 21 checklists that week, 2,373 in all36%
  3. Santa Fe CountyBest late November · 1391 checklists that week, 66,241 in all34%
  4. Los Alamos CountyBest late October · 1185 checklists that week, 50,554 in all33%
  5. Rio Arriba CountyBest mid November · 126 checklists that week, 8,526 in all30%
  6. Taos CountyBest mid November · 194 checklists that week, 19,175 in all28%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Caja del Rio CanyonSanta Fe County, best mid December · 31 checklists that week, 471 in all97%
  2. Cibola National ForestBernalillo County, best early November · 26 checklists that week, 1,158 in all93%
  3. Blue Dot TrailLos Alamos County, best mid January · 21 checklists that week, 429 in all91%
  4. Bandelier National Monument (northwest 3)Los Alamos County, best early October · 21 checklists that week, 606 in all89%
  5. Santa Cruz LakeSanta Fe County, best late October · 23 checklists that week, 339 in all84%
  6. Bandelier National Monument (Chaquehui Canyon)Los Alamos County, best late September · 27 checklists that week, 822 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Townsend's Solitaire is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (9.8% 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: 3.9% of 29677 checklists7 am: 8.2% of 71785 checklists8 am: 9.8% of 79208 checklists9 am: 9.7% of 61605 checklists10 am: 8.1% of 49588 checklists11 am: 6.6% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 5.5% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 5.7% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 5.3% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 4.7% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 3.5% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 3.0% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 1.5% 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
January9.0%9.4%7.9%9.0%
February9.1%9.0%7.5%8.5%
March10%9.3%9.2%8.9%
April8.7%7.1%5.1%3.7%
May1.7%1.1%0.9%1.0%
June0.8%0.9%1.2%1.1%
July1.2%1.7%1.9%1.9%
August1.9%1.8%2.2%2.3%
September3.2%5.1%7.5%11%
October13%13%15%14%
November13%12%13%12%
December11%11%13%12%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: arrives mid September, 12 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Colorado: arrives the second week of September, 11 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Utah: arrives early September, 10 weeks later than New Mexico
  • Wyoming: arrives early September, 10 weeks later than New Mexico

Common questions

When do Townsend's Solitaires arrive in New Mexico?
Townsend's Solitaires are winter birds in New Mexico: the first arrive in mid June, they are common by the second week of September, peak in mid October (14% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Townsend's Solitaires leave New Mexico?
Most Townsend's Solitaires have left New Mexico by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a Townsend's Solitaire in New Mexico?
The Townsend's Solitaire is reported most often in mid October, on about 14% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Townsend's Solitaires seen most often?
By county, Cibola County, Union County, and Santa Fe County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Townsend's Solitaire (counties with at least 200 checklists).