WhenToBird

Birding spot · Rio Grande County, Colorado

Birding at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge are American Coot (80%), Mallard (77%), and Red-winged Blackbird (76%). It is busiest in summer, when 78 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of May (97 species). 166 species have been reported here across 1,219 complete checklists from 750 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: low data (1 checklists)Jan 8-14: low data (1 checklists)Jan 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Jan 22-31: low data (1 checklists)Feb 1-7: low data (1 checklists)Feb 8-14: low data (4 checklists)Feb 15-21: low data (9 checklists)Feb 22-28: 34 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsMar 1-7: 48 species on 5%+ of 77 checklistsMar 8-14: 44 species on 5%+ of 168 checklistsMar 15-21: 48 species on 5%+ of 102 checklistsMar 22-31: 49 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsApr 1-7: 55 species on 5%+ of 30 checklistsApr 8-14: 55 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsApr 15-21: 74 species on 5%+ of 19 checklistsApr 22-30: 71 species on 5%+ of 32 checklistsMay 1-7: 92 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsMay 8-14: 97 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsMay 15-21: 83 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsMay 22-31: 77 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsJun 1-7: 75 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsJun 8-14: 57 species on 5%+ of 30 checklistsJun 15-21: 60 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsJun 22-30: 64 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsJul 1-7: 73 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsJul 8-14: 70 species on 5%+ of 49 checklistsJul 15-21: 71 species on 5%+ of 64 checklistsJul 22-31: 75 species on 5%+ of 45 checklistsAug 1-7: 81 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsAug 8-14: 73 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsAug 15-21: 85 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsAug 22-31: 62 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsSep 1-7: 68 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsSep 8-14: 67 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsSep 15-21: 58 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsSep 22-30: 53 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsOct 1-7: 38 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsOct 8-14: 55 species on 5%+ of 35 checklistsOct 15-21: 58 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsOct 22-31: 58 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsNov 1-7: low data (7 checklists)Nov 8-14: low data (5 checklists)Nov 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Nov 22-30: low data (4 checklists)Dec 1-7: low data (1 checklists)Dec 8-14: low data (1 checklists)Dec 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Dec 22-31: low data (1 checklists)JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1American Coot80%
  2. 2Mallard77%
  3. 3Red-winged Blackbird76%
  4. 4Canada Goose76%
  5. 5Ruddy Duck63%
  6. 6Gadwall58%
  7. 7Cinnamon Teal54%
  8. 8Northern Harrier52%
  9. 9Song Sparrow50%
  10. 10Western Meadowlark49%
  11. 11Redhead48%
  12. 12Black-billed Magpie48%
  13. 13Yellow-headed Blackbird46%
  14. 14Sandhill Crane45%
  15. 15Marsh Wren45%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 37 species

  1. Sandhill Crane64%
  2. Black-billed Magpie53%
  3. Canada Goose53%
  4. Mallard53%
  5. Northern Harrier49%

Spring 64 species

  1. Mallard81%
  2. American Coot81%
  3. Canada Goose81%
  4. Red-winged Blackbird79%
  5. Cinnamon Teal69%

Summer 78 species

  1. American Coot88%
  2. Yellow-headed Blackbird84%
  3. Ruddy Duck83%
  4. Red-winged Blackbird79%
  5. Marsh Wren75%

Fall 61 species

  1. Canada Goose84%
  2. Mallard79%
  3. American Coot74%
  4. Red-winged Blackbird70%
  5. Northern Harrier65%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Colorado.

  • Yellow Rail6.2% of checklists here vs 0.1% statewide: 972.8×
  • Sandhill Crane45% of checklists here vs 1.0% statewide: 44.5×
  • Marsh Wren45% of checklists here vs 1.2% statewide: 36.5×
  • Sora16% of checklists here vs 0.7% statewide: 22.0×
  • Sage Thrasher16% of checklists here vs 0.8% statewide: 19.0×
  • Yellow-headed Blackbird46% of checklists here vs 2.4% statewide: 18.9×
  • Cinnamon Teal54% of checklists here vs 3.1% statewide: 17.5×
  • Northern Pintail31% of checklists here vs 1.8% statewide: 17.2×

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.