WhenToBird

Piranga ludoviciana · Cardinalidae

When Do Western Tanagers Arrive in California?

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

Western Tanagers reach California in the second week of April, are common by mid April, peak in the second week of May (16% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

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

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 16% of California checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.4% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.3% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.3% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.3% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.7% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.9% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 17% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 17% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 14% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.7% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.0% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.2% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.9% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.9% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.1% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.9% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.3% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.9% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.4% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.4% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.0% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 12% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 12% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.7% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.7% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.9% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.6% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.8% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.6% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.5% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sierra CountyBest the second week of July · 283 checklists that week, 8,945 in all42%
  2. Yolo CountyBest early September · 1481 checklists that week, 67,424 in all39%
  3. Mariposa CountyBest late May · 659 checklists that week, 17,385 in all35%
  4. El Dorado CountyBest mid June · 759 checklists that week, 25,075 in all34%
  5. Calaveras CountyBest late May · 268 checklists that week, 6,843 in all33%
  6. Inyo CountyBest mid May · 875 checklists that week, 35,713 in all33%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Eisenhower Park (Olive)Orange County, best late April · 50 checklists that week, 355 in all98%
  2. Signal HillLos Angeles County, best early May · 50 checklists that week, 423 in all97%
  3. Meadow ParkSan Luis Obispo County, best the second week of May · 34 checklists that week, 1,429 in all94%
  4. Riverside ParkMendocino County, best late August · 30 checklists that week, 1,220 in all94%
  5. Lake FreySolano County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 159 in all94%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Western Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (8.2% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 10% of 186053 checklists7 am: 7.3% of 444086 checklists8 am: 5.8% of 535846 checklists9 am: 4.6% of 486061 checklists10 am: 3.8% of 411130 checklists11 am: 3.3% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 3.0% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 2.7% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 2.4% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 2.3% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 3.4% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 3.2% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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
January0.4%0.4%0.3%0.4%
February0.3%0.3%0.3%0.2%
March0.3%0.3%0.3%0.4%
April0.6%1.7%4.9%12%
May17%17%14%11%
June7.7%7.0%7.2%6.9%
July5.9%5.1%4.9%5.3%
August5.9%6.4%6.4%8.0%
September12%12%12%9.7%
October5.7%2.9%1.6%0.8%
November0.6%0.4%0.4%0.4%
December0.4%0.6%0.5%0.4%

Neighboring states

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

Common questions

When do Western Tanagers arrive in California?
Western Tanagers reach California in the second week of April, are common by mid April, peak in the second week of May (16% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Western Tanagers leave California?
Most Western Tanagers have left California 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 California?
The Western Tanager is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 16% of California checklists.
Where in California are Western Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Sierra County, Yolo County, and Mariposa County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Western Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).