WhenToBird

Cygnus buccinator · Anatidae

When Do Trumpeter Swans Arrive in Oregon?

Adult Trumpeter Swan
Photo: brentnmoran, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Trumpeter Swans are winter birds in Oregon: they arrive in late October, peak in mid January (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid June.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 22-31late October
Common byOct 22-31late October
PeakJan 15-21mid January
Most gone byJun 15-21mid June

Best: mid January. First arrivals late October; most are gone by mid June. Peak: on about 1.1% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 1.0% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.0% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.1% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.1% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.9% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.5% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.5% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.5% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.3% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.5% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.2% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.3% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.8% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.8% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.0% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.8% of 37592 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 Oregon 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 Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake CountyBest the second week of January · 20 checklists that week, 13,301 in all18%
  2. Columbia CountyBest mid December · 390 checklists that week, 27,750 in all9.7%
  3. Harney CountyBest the second week of December · 204 checklists that week, 40,943 in all5.3%
  4. Malheur CountyBest mid November · 48 checklists that week, 4,699 in all3.8%
  5. Deschutes CountyBest early February · 1087 checklists that week, 86,260 in all3.5%
  6. Morrow CountyBest early December · 19 checklists that week, 3,484 in all3.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Deschutes River Segment CDeschutes County, best late September · 37 checklists that week, 1,354 in all85%
  2. First Street Rapids ParkDeschutes County, best early February · 33 checklists that week, 874 in all73%
  3. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (Bird Waterhole)Harney County, best the second week of April · 24 checklists that week, 1,298 in all64%
  4. Rest LakeLake County, best the second week of April · 25 checklists that week, 883 in all54%
  5. William L. Finley National Wildlife RefugeBenton County, best the second week of January · 35 checklists that week, 1,760 in all47%
  6. Marquam LakeMultnomah County, best mid December · 54 checklists that week, 2,050 in all36%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Trumpeter Swan is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 0.2% of 50677 checklists7 am: 0.4% of 125347 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 163668 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 160351 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 148940 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 0.2% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) 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
January1.0%1.0%1.1%1.1%
February0.9%0.9%0.7%0.5%
March0.7%0.5%0.5%0.4%
April0.4%0.4%0.4%0.3%
May0.3%0.4%0.4%0.6%
June0.5%0.4%0.3%0.2%
July0.3%0.2%0.2%0.2%
August0.3%0.2%0.3%0.3%
September0.3%0.2%0.2%0.3%
October0.3%0.2%0.2%0.3%
November0.5%0.6%0.8%0.8%
December0.8%0.8%1.0%0.8%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives late October, in the same week than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives late October, in the same week than Oregon
  • Montana: arrives mid July, 13 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Utah: arrives the second week of November, 2 weeks later than Oregon

Common questions

When do Trumpeter Swans arrive in Oregon?
Trumpeter Swans are winter birds in Oregon: they arrive in late October, peak in mid January (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid June.
When do Trumpeter Swans leave Oregon?
Most Trumpeter Swans have left Oregon by mid June, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Trumpeter Swan in Oregon?
The Trumpeter Swan is reported most often in mid January, on about 1.1% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Trumpeter Swans seen most often?
By county, Lake County, Columbia County, and Harney County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Trumpeter Swan (counties with at least 200 checklists).