WhenToBird

Piranga ludoviciana · Cardinalidae

When Do Western Tanagers Arrive in Texas?

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

Western Tanagers arrive in Texas in mid April, peak in the second week of May (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Most gone byMay 22-31late May

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by late May. Peak: on about 1.5% of Texas checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.6% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.6% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.2% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.0% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.1% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.1% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.9% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.5% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 73015 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 Texas 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 Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Culberson CountyBest the second week of May · 170 checklists that week, 5,249 in all37%
  2. Jeff Davis CountyBest mid September · 271 checklists that week, 21,421 in all31%
  3. El Paso CountyBest the second week of September · 403 checklists that week, 21,777 in all26%
  4. Brewster CountyBest the second week of May · 1489 checklists that week, 32,691 in all20%
  5. Presidio CountyBest the second week of September · 92 checklists that week, 5,169 in all20%
  6. Hudspeth CountyBest the second week of May · 37 checklists that week, 1,695 in all16%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Memorial Park (west)El Paso County, best the second week of September · 43 checklists that week, 824 in all65%
  2. Davis Mountains Fee (Madera Tank)Jeff Davis County, best late August · 31 checklists that week, 178 in all62%
  3. MarathonBrewster County, best the second week of May · 64 checklists that week, 942 in all61%
  4. Guadalupe Mountains National ParkCulberson County, best the second week of May · 28 checklists that week, 855 in all53%
  5. Big Bend National Park (Vernon Bailey Peak)Brewster County, best the second week of May · 25 checklists that week, 348 in all48%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Western Tanager is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 0.6% of 74687 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 285131 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 329960 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 267889 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 218205 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 0.3% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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%0.2%0.2%
February0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.2%0.7%1.1%
May1.6%1.6%1.2%0.5%
June0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.2%0.3%0.3%
August0.4%0.7%1.0%1.2%
September1.1%1.1%0.9%0.8%
October0.5%0.3%0.2%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: arrives mid April, in the same week than Texas
  • Nebraska: arrives the second week of May, 3 weeks later than Texas
  • Arizona: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than Texas
  • Colorado: arrives late April, 1 week later than Texas

Common questions

When do Western Tanagers arrive in Texas?
Western Tanagers arrive in Texas in mid April, peak in the second week of May (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.
When do Western Tanagers leave Texas?
Most Western Tanagers have left Texas by late May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Western Tanager in Texas?
The Western Tanager is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 1.5% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Western Tanagers seen most often?
By county, Culberson County, Jeff Davis County, and El Paso County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Western Tanager (counties with at least 200 checklists).