WhenToBird

Empidonax difficilis · Tyrannidae

When Do Western Flycatchers Arrive in Utah?

Western Flycatchers reach Utah in mid May, are common by late May, peak in early July (6.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 15-21mid May
Common byMay 22-31late May
PeakJul 1-7early July
Most gone bySep 8-14the second week of September

Best: early July. First arrivals mid May; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 6.4% of Utah checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.7% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.8% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.7% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.5% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.7% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.2% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.8% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.2% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.9% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.5% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.0% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.8% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.6% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.8% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.6% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.0% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.5% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sanpete CountyBest the second week of July · 228 checklists that week, 6,190 in all40%
  2. Beaver CountyBest mid June · 128 checklists that week, 6,956 in all16%
  3. Kane CountyBest mid July · 145 checklists that week, 6,105 in all13%
  4. Juab CountyBest mid June · 61 checklists that week, 2,572 in all13%
  5. Iron CountyBest mid June · 144 checklists that week, 8,774 in all10%
  6. Salt Lake CountyBest the second week of July · 1947 checklists that week, 104,432 in all9.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Left Fork Maple CanyonSanpete County, best the second week of July · 55 checklists that week, 196 in all73%
  2. Wasatch National ForestSalt Lake County, best late July · 23 checklists that week, 265 in all62%
  3. Lake SolitudeSalt Lake County, best the second week of July · 27 checklists that week, 171 in all51%
  4. Mount Olympus WildernessSalt Lake County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 220 in all50%
  5. Collins GulchSalt Lake County, best early July · 38 checklists that week, 1,774 in all48%
  6. Zion National Park (Goose Creek Knoll)Washington County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 299 in all43%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Western Flycatcher is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.8% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 3.6% of 11714 checklists7 am: 2.5% of 33209 checklists8 am: 1.8% of 46944 checklists9 am: 1.5% of 46290 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 43144 checklists11 am: 1.0% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 0.8% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 1.1% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 1.4% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0.1%0%0.1%
May0.1%0.4%0.7%1.8%
June3.7%4.5%5.7%6.2%
July5.8%7.2%5.9%5.5%
August3.0%1.8%1.6%1.8%
September2.6%2.0%1.3%0.5%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0%0.1%0%0%
December0%0%0%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives early June, 2 weeks later than Utah
  • Nevada: arrives late April, 3 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Colorado: arrives mid May, in the same week than Utah
  • Idaho: arrives mid May, in the same week than Utah

Common questions

When do Western Flycatchers arrive in Utah?
Western Flycatchers reach Utah in mid May, are common by late May, peak in early July (6.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Western Flycatchers leave Utah?
Most Western Flycatchers have left Utah by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid September.
When is the best time to see a Western Flycatcher in Utah?
The Western Flycatcher is reported most often in early July, on about 6.4% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Western Flycatchers seen most often?
By county, Sanpete County, Beaver County, and Kane County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Western Flycatcher (counties with at least 200 checklists).