WhenToBird

Piranga ludoviciana · Cardinalidae

When Do Western Tanagers Arrive in Oregon?

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

Western Tanagers reach Oregon in mid April, are common by early May, peak in late May (21% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

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

Best: late May. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 21% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octrare
  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 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.4% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 18% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 22% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 22% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 17% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 16% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 16% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 17% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 16% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 14% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.5% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.5% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.4% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.2% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.3% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.3% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.4% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.0% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.3% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.0% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Hood River CountyBest early July · 230 checklists that week, 9,695 in all34%
  2. Douglas CountyBest late May · 1207 checklists that week, 17,976 in all34%
  3. Wallowa CountyBest early July · 299 checklists that week, 9,170 in all33%
  4. Grant CountyBest mid June · 330 checklists that week, 6,818 in all32%
  5. Benton CountyBest late May · 3731 checklists that week, 144,626 in all32%
  6. Jefferson CountyBest early June · 544 checklists that week, 11,014 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Whiskey SpringJefferson County, best the second week of June · 22 checklists that week, 435 in all85%
  2. Blue Mountain Forest State Scenic CorridorUmatilla County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 189 in all84%
  3. Malheur National Wildlife RefugeHarney County, best mid May · 351 checklists that week, 4,410 in all82%
  4. Elijah Bristow State ParkLane County, best mid May · 24 checklists that week, 234 in all80%
  5. Trout Creek SwampDeschutes County, best the second week of July · 24 checklists that week, 590 in all76%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Western Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (12% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%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: 17% of 50677 checklists7 am: 11% of 125347 checklists8 am: 8.1% of 163668 checklists9 am: 6.6% of 160351 checklists10 am: 5.4% of 148940 checklists11 am: 4.4% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 3.9% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 3.6% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 3.2% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 3.1% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 3.3% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 4.1% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 5.1% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 5.0% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.4%3.4%
May12%18%22%22%
June17%16%16%17%
July16%14%12%9.5%
August7.5%8.4%8.2%9.3%
September9.3%7.4%5.0%2.3%
October1.0%0.3%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives late April, 1 week later than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives early May, 2 weeks later than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives mid April, in the same week than Oregon
  • California: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than Oregon

Common questions

When do Western Tanagers arrive in Oregon?
Western Tanagers reach Oregon in mid April, are common by early May, peak in late May (21% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Western Tanagers leave Oregon?
Most Western Tanagers have left Oregon by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early October.
When is the best time to see a Western Tanager in Oregon?
The Western Tanager is reported most often in late May, on about 21% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Western Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Hood River County, Douglas County, and Wallowa County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Western Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).