WhenToBird

Aix sponsa · Anatidae

When Do Wood Ducks Arrive in Oregon?

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

Wood Ducks are in Oregon all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid July, peak in late August (8.4% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of October. In the quietest week (the second week of January) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildJul 15-21mid July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Fall back byOct 8-14the second week of October
FewestJan 8-14the second week of January

Best: late August. Here all year; numbers build from mid July and fall back by the second week of October. Peak: on about 8.4% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 3.1% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.9% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.7% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.3% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.4% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.0% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.7% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.0% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 5.2% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.4% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 6.5% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.4% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.2% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.7% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.7% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.3% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 7.7% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.0% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.4% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.6% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.5% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.1% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.8% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.2% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.8% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.5% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 6.0% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.7% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.4% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.9% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.4% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.5% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 8.2% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.3% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.2% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 7.1% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.7% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.8% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.1% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.6% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.9% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 3.9% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.7% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.4% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.2% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.2% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.1% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.9% 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. Washington CountyBest the second week of August · 1563 checklists that week, 110,376 in all24%
  2. Columbia CountyBest late April · 669 checklists that week, 27,750 in all22%
  3. Morrow CountyBest late October · 51 checklists that week, 3,484 in all19%
  4. Umatilla CountyBest mid September · 236 checklists that week, 17,651 in all18%
  5. Multnomah CountyBest late April · 6833 checklists that week, 182,088 in all16%
  6. Josephine CountyBest late October · 465 checklists that week, 20,837 in all15%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Crystal Springs Rhododendron GardenMultnomah County, best late September · 40 checklists that week, 1,773 in all99%
  2. Errol Heights PropertyMultnomah County, best late September · 32 checklists that week, 1,547 in all99%
  3. Stewart LakeBenton County, best late August · 34 checklists that week, 1,256 in all97%
  4. Sandy River Greenway TrailMultnomah County, best the second week of September · 21 checklists that week, 1,433 in all94%
  5. Whitaker Ponds Nature ParkMultnomah County, best mid September · 81 checklists that week, 6,890 in all94%
  6. Ashland PondsJackson County, best mid June · 23 checklists that week, 1,344 in all90%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Wood Duck is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (7.5% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 7.4% of 50677 checklists7 am: 7.5% of 125347 checklists8 am: 6.8% of 163668 checklists9 am: 6.5% of 160351 checklists10 am: 5.8% of 148940 checklists11 am: 4.9% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 4.5% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 4.5% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 4.8% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 4.8% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 4.8% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 5.4% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 5.8% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 4.1% 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
January3.1%2.9%2.7%3.3%
February3.4%3.0%3.7%4.0%
March5.2%5.4%6.5%7.4%
April8.2%7.7%7.7%7.3%
May7.7%7.0%6.4%5.6%
June5.5%5.1%4.8%4.2%
July4.8%5.5%6.0%6.7%
August7.4%7.9%8.4%8.5%
September8.2%7.3%7.2%7.1%
October6.7%5.8%5.1%4.6%
November3.9%3.9%3.7%3.4%
December3.2%3.2%3.1%2.9%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives mid March, 16 weeks earlier than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives mid October, 12 weeks later than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives mid July, in the same week than Oregon
  • California: year-round, peaks late March

Common questions

When do Wood Ducks arrive in Oregon?
Wood Ducks are in Oregon all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from mid July, peak in late August (8.4% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of October. In the quietest week (the second week of January) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.
When do Wood Ducks leave Oregon?
Wood Ducks never fully leave Oregon: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of October, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Wood Duck in Oregon?
The Wood Duck is reported most often in late August, on about 8.4% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Wood Ducks seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Columbia County, and Morrow County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Wood Duck (counties with at least 200 checklists).