WhenToBird

Ixoreus naevius · Turdidae

When Do Varied Thrushes Arrive in Idaho?

Adult male Varied Thrush
Photo: Sunny Zhang 张迎新, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Varied Thrushes are winter birds in Idaho: they arrive in early November, peak in early March (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 1-7early November
Common byNov 1-7early November
PeakMar 1-7early March
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: early March. First arrivals early November; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 1.9% of Idaho checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 1.6% of 9357 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.7% of 6408 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.4% of 6358 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.1% of 8601 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.0% of 5611 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.5% of 6090 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.3% of 7973 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.1% of 5866 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.8% of 6144 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.9% of 6456 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.5% of 6786 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 9539 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.9% of 7202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 7608 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 8069 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 10973 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.4% of 9481 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 11318 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.3% of 9141 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 13984 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.5% of 8897 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.7% of 8504 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 8078 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.0% of 9665 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.6% of 7144 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.1% of 6557 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 6430 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.8% of 8696 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 5896 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 5643 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 6151 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 7863 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 5769 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 5646 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 5460 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.4% of 6363 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 4980 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 5096 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.3% of 4878 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 6426 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 4822 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.8% of 4999 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.7% of 4601 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 6027 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 4180 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.1% of 4775 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.6% of 6522 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.4% of 7792 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 Idaho 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 Idaho

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Shoshone CountyBest the second week of July · 116 checklists that week, 2,886 in all20%
  2. Idaho CountyBest late June · 262 checklists that week, 3,961 in all16%
  3. Clearwater CountyBest the second week of July · 29 checklists that week, 1,909 in all15%
  4. Bonner CountyBest early April · 201 checklists that week, 10,972 in all12%
  5. Boundary CountyBest early July · 197 checklists that week, 6,362 in all10%
  6. Minidoka CountyBest late January · 27 checklists that week, 1,365 in all9.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Arboretum & Botanical GardenLatah County, best mid February · 28 checklists that week, 2,190 in all42%
  2. Tammany CreekNez Perce County, best the second week of January · 23 checklists that week, 546 in all32%
  3. Victory WetlandAda County, best late December · 26 checklists that week, 542 in all23%
  4. Kathryn Albertson ParkAda County, best the second week of January · 174 checklists that week, 3,927 in all23%

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

Best time of day

In Idaho, the Varied Thrush is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (180) to judge1 am: too few checklists (176) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (164) to judge4 am: too few checklists (450) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2270) to judge6 am: 1.8% of 9122 checklists7 am: 1.3% of 22204 checklists8 am: 1.0% of 38672 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 38930 checklists10 am: 0.8% of 37338 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 33508 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 28544 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 25774 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 24296 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 21784 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 19051 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 14150 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 10014 checklists7 pm: 0.4% of 7495 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1449) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (525) 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
January1.6%1.7%1.4%1.1%
February1.0%1.5%1.3%2.1%
March1.8%1.9%1.5%1.0%
April0.9%0.7%0.5%0.4%
May0.4%0.2%0.3%0.5%
June0.5%0.7%0.9%1.0%
July1.6%1.1%0.9%0.8%
August0.4%0.2%0.1%0.1%
September0.1%0.2%0.2%0.4%
October0.3%0.2%0.3%0.5%
November0.4%0.8%0.7%0.4%
December0.7%1.1%1.6%1.4%

Neighboring states

  • Montana: arrives the second week of May, 23 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Oregon: arrives mid September, 6 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Washington: arrives the second week of September, 7 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Nevada: arrives the second week of October, 3 weeks earlier than Idaho

Common questions

When do Varied Thrushes arrive in Idaho?
Varied Thrushes are winter birds in Idaho: they arrive in early November, peak in early March (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Varied Thrushes leave Idaho?
Most Varied Thrushes have left Idaho by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Varied Thrush in Idaho?
The Varied Thrush is reported most often in early March, on about 1.9% of Idaho checklists.
Where in Idaho are Varied Thrushes seen most often?
By county, Shoshone County, Idaho County, and Clearwater County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Varied Thrush (counties with at least 200 checklists).