WhenToBird

Piranga ludoviciana · Cardinalidae

When Do Western Tanagers Arrive in Arizona?

Adult male Western Tanager
Photo: Irene, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Western Tanagers reach Arizona in the second week of April, are common by late April, peak in mid May (24% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 8-14the second week of April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: mid May. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 24% of Arizona checklists.

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

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.6% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.1% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 18% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 24% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 27% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 21% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.7% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.3% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.2% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.5% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 6.8% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.0% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 12% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 17% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 16% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.9% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.4% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.8% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.3% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Cochise CountyBest mid May · 6067 checklists that week, 190,093 in all37%
  2. Yavapai CountyBest mid May · 1663 checklists that week, 83,606 in all33%
  3. Greenlee CountyBest mid May · 84 checklists that week, 2,745 in all33%
  4. Yuma CountyBest the second week of May · 353 checklists that week, 14,687 in all31%
  5. Santa Cruz CountyBest mid September · 1693 checklists that week, 162,726 in all29%
  6. Gila CountyBest mid May · 351 checklists that week, 14,834 in all29%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Butterfly SpringYavapai County, best mid May · 32 checklists that week, 550 in all92%
  2. Verde River Greenway State Natural AreaYavapai County, best mid May · 20 checklists that week, 512 in all85%
  3. Coronado National Forest (Peach Tree Spring)Cochise County, best mid September · 29 checklists that week, 613 in all83%

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

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Western Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (14% 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: 15% of 38350 checklists6 am: 13% of 118786 checklists7 am: 8.4% of 183415 checklists8 am: 5.9% of 187346 checklists9 am: 5.0% of 151342 checklists10 am: 4.5% of 124522 checklists11 am: 4.1% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 3.8% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 3.7% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 3.6% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 3.4% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 3.3% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 4.0% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 3.6% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.7%2.6%8.1%
May18%24%27%21%
June14%9.7%8.3%7.2%
July6.5%6.8%8.0%10%
August12%12%11%11%
September16%17%16%11%
October6.9%3.4%1.8%0.6%
November0.3%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

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

Common questions

When do Western Tanagers arrive in Arizona?
Western Tanagers reach Arizona in the second week of April, are common by late April, peak in mid May (24% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Western Tanagers leave Arizona?
Most Western Tanagers have left Arizona by early October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid October.
When is the best time to see a Western Tanager in Arizona?
The Western Tanager is reported most often in mid May, on about 24% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Western Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Cochise County, Yavapai County, and Greenlee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Western Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).