WhenToBird

Aix sponsa · Anatidae

When Do Wood Ducks Arrive in New Mexico?

Adult male Wood Duck
Photo: Andrew Lai, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Wood Duck is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 8.0% of checklists at its peak (late March) and on 3.9% in its quietest week (early July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 22-31late March
Quietest weekJul 1-7early July

Best: late March. Here all year. Peak: on about 8.0% of New Mexico checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 6.5% of 11827 checklistsJan 8-14: 6.3% of 9370 checklistsJan 15-21: 5.9% of 9561 checklistsJan 22-31: 6.1% of 12707 checklistsFeb 1-7: 6.1% of 9365 checklistsFeb 8-14: 5.2% of 10141 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.9% of 12431 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.5% of 9159 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.4% of 9348 checklistsMar 8-14: 6.9% of 9704 checklistsMar 15-21: 7.2% of 9896 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.5% of 14679 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.0% of 11145 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.2% of 11939 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.3% of 12885 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.1% of 17935 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.3% of 15202 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.0% of 16604 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.5% of 12720 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.4% of 16699 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.0% of 9889 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.1% of 9322 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.3% of 8341 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.9% of 10562 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.9% of 9036 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.8% of 8461 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.3% of 8585 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.6% of 11800 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.7% of 8289 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.0% of 8882 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.5% of 9136 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.9% of 12662 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.8% of 9936 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.6% of 9581 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.2% of 9355 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.3% of 12402 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.0% of 9467 checklistsOct 8-14: 6.1% of 10279 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.7% of 8990 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.2% of 11986 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.7% of 8461 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.7% of 8801 checklistsNov 15-21: 6.4% of 8616 checklistsNov 22-30: 6.6% of 11088 checklistsDec 1-7: 7.6% of 8444 checklistsDec 8-14: 6.4% of 8575 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.7% of 10958 checklistsDec 22-31: 6.0% of 14523 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bernalillo CountyBest late March · 3888 checklists that week, 135,737 in all25%
  2. Sandoval CountyBest early April · 666 checklists that week, 32,643 in all17%
  3. Lea CountyBest early November · 49 checklists that week, 2,698 in all11%
  4. De Baca CountyBest mid November · 32 checklists that week, 2,203 in all9.9%
  5. Rio Arriba CountyBest the second week of March · 123 checklists that week, 8,526 in all9.5%
  6. Valencia CountyBest the second week of October · 139 checklists that week, 8,351 in all6.7%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rio Grande Botanic GardenBernalillo County, best mid February · 38 checklists that week, 429 in all94%
  2. Bosque (Old Town)Bernalillo County, best the second week of March · 65 checklists that week, 2,390 in all92%
  3. Bosque (South Valley)Bernalillo County, best mid March · 20 checklists that week, 718 in all91%
  4. Bosque (north)Bernalillo County, best the second week of September · 26 checklists that week, 1,846 in all91%
  5. Montano Southwest BosqueBernalillo County, best the second week of September · 109 checklists that week, 6,997 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In New Mexico, the Wood Duck is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (7.5% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (186) to judge1 am: too few checklists (180) to judge2 am: too few checklists (172) to judge3 am: too few checklists (183) to judge4 am: too few checklists (527) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4013) to judge6 am: 7.3% of 29677 checklists7 am: 5.5% of 71785 checklists8 am: 8.4% of 79208 checklists9 am: 6.5% of 61605 checklists10 am: 5.6% of 49588 checklists11 am: 5.0% of 38079 checklists12 pm: 4.8% of 31089 checklists1 pm: 5.7% of 27524 checklists2 pm: 6.1% of 26644 checklists3 pm: 5.9% of 26849 checklists4 pm: 4.8% of 25156 checklists5 pm: 4.4% of 19061 checklists6 pm: 3.8% of 15112 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (9040) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2738) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (736) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (384) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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
January6.5%6.3%5.9%6.1%
February6.1%5.2%5.9%6.5%
March6.4%6.9%7.2%8.5%
April8.0%7.2%7.3%6.1%
May5.3%5.0%4.5%4.4%
June4.0%4.1%4.3%3.9%
July3.9%3.8%4.3%4.6%
August4.7%5.0%5.5%5.9%
September5.8%5.6%6.2%6.3%
October6.0%6.1%6.7%7.2%
November7.7%7.7%6.4%6.6%
December7.6%6.4%5.7%6.0%

Neighboring states

  • Arizona: winter visitor, peaks the second week of November
  • Colorado: summer visitor, peaks late April
  • Utah: winter visitor, peaks late March
  • Oklahoma: summer visitor, peaks the second week of April

Common questions

When do Wood Ducks arrive in New Mexico?
The Wood Duck is in New Mexico all year. It turns up on about 8.0% of checklists at its peak (late March) and on 3.9% in its quietest week (early July).
When do Wood Ducks leave New Mexico?
The Wood Duck does not leave New Mexico: it is reported all year, from 3.9% of checklists in early July to 8.0% in late March.
When is the best time to see a Wood Duck in New Mexico?
The Wood Duck is reported most often in late March, on about 8.0% of New Mexico checklists.
Where in New Mexico are Wood Ducks seen most often?
By county, Bernalillo County, Sandoval County, and Lea County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Wood Duck (counties with at least 200 checklists).