WhenToBird

Bucephala islandica · Anatidae

When Do Barrow's Goldeneyes Arrive in Wyoming?

Adult male Barrow's Goldeneye
Photo: Kevin Krebs, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Barrow's Goldeneye is in Wyoming all year. It turns up on about 5.6% of checklists at its peak (the second week of November) and on 3.1% in its quietest week (the second week of September).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekNov 8-14the second week of November
Quietest weekSep 8-14the second week of September

Best: the second week of November. Here all year. Peak: on about 5.6% of Wyoming checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 4.7% of 2543 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.9% of 2114 checklistsJan 15-21: 4.1% of 1984 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.0% of 2605 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.4% of 1940 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.5% of 1954 checklistsFeb 15-21: 4.6% of 2575 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.2% of 1932 checklistsMar 1-7: 4.5% of 2486 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.4% of 2535 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.3% of 2726 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.4% of 4349 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.5% of 3300 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.4% of 3500 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.4% of 3701 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.3% of 5887 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.7% of 5341 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.1% of 6910 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.8% of 6884 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.3% of 10652 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.1% of 6807 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.3% of 6714 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.7% of 6708 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.0% of 8160 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.0% of 5755 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.2% of 5379 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.6% of 5299 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.2% of 6830 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.3% of 4581 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.1% of 4625 checklistsAug 15-21: 3.2% of 4466 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.3% of 6562 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.9% of 4543 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.9% of 4652 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.4% of 4186 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.6% of 5301 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.4% of 3248 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.9% of 3010 checklistsOct 15-21: 4.2% of 2624 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.7% of 3170 checklistsNov 1-7: 5.2% of 2110 checklistsNov 8-14: 6.5% of 2153 checklistsNov 15-21: 5.1% of 1971 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.6% of 2136 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.7% of 1646 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.2% of 1609 checklistsDec 15-21: 4.2% of 1954 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.6% of 2392 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Teton CountyBest the second week of December · 83 checklists that week, 34,686 in all29%
  2. Sublette CountyBest early December · 58 checklists that week, 6,738 in all19%
  3. Fremont CountyBest the second week of November · 419 checklists that week, 27,707 in all12%
  4. Sweetwater CountyBest early March · 70 checklists that week, 5,064 in all12%
  5. Carbon CountyBest late February · 33 checklists that week, 6,429 in all9.4%
  6. Park CountyBest mid October · 310 checklists that week, 27,277 in all8.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. South Park Wildlife Habitat Management AreaTeton County, best early May · 80 checklists that week, 756 in all93%
  2. National Elk RefugeTeton County, best mid December · 22 checklists that week, 1,797 in all88%
  3. Dry LakeFremont County, best the second week of November · 22 checklists that week, 276 in all84%
  4. Grand Teton National Park (southwest 2)Teton County, best mid May · 23 checklists that week, 535 in all76%
  5. Yellowstone National Park (south)Teton County, best the second week of July · 26 checklists that week, 361 in all76%
  6. Sleeping Indian PondTeton County, best late May · 28 checklists that week, 180 in all67%

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

Best time of day

In Wyoming, the Barrow's Goldeneye is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (5.7% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (59) to judge1 am: too few checklists (76) to judge2 am: too few checklists (86) to judge3 am: too few checklists (79) to judge4 am: too few checklists (326) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2271) to judge6 am: 2.4% of 8808 checklists7 am: 3.1% of 18458 checklists8 am: 3.3% of 22143 checklists9 am: 4.0% of 21499 checklists10 am: 4.7% of 19425 checklists11 am: 5.1% of 16017 checklists12 pm: 5.5% of 13868 checklists1 pm: 5.9% of 12984 checklists2 pm: 5.6% of 12605 checklists3 pm: 5.1% of 11821 checklists4 pm: 4.5% of 10571 checklists5 pm: 4.8% of 8746 checklists6 pm: 3.9% of 6707 checklists7 pm: 4.0% of 4890 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2323) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (554) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (134) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (59) 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
January4.7%4.9%4.1%4.0%
February4.4%3.5%4.6%4.2%
March4.5%5.4%4.3%5.4%
April5.5%5.4%4.4%4.3%
May5.7%5.1%4.8%5.3%
June5.1%4.3%4.7%5.0%
July4.0%4.2%3.6%4.2%
August3.3%3.1%3.2%3.3%
September2.9%2.9%3.4%3.6%
October3.4%3.9%4.2%3.7%
November5.2%6.5%5.1%4.6%
December3.7%3.2%4.2%4.6%

Neighboring states

  • Colorado: winter visitor, peaks the second week of January
  • Utah: winter visitor, peaks the second week of January
  • Montana: winter visitor, peaks the second week of November
  • Idaho: winter visitor, peaks late December

Common questions

When do Barrow's Goldeneyes arrive in Wyoming?
The Barrow's Goldeneye is in Wyoming all year. It turns up on about 5.6% of checklists at its peak (the second week of November) and on 3.1% in its quietest week (the second week of September).
When do Barrow's Goldeneyes leave Wyoming?
The Barrow's Goldeneye does not leave Wyoming: it is reported all year, from 3.1% of checklists in the second week of September to 5.6% in the second week of November.
When is the best time to see a Barrow's Goldeneye in Wyoming?
The Barrow's Goldeneye is reported most often in the second week of November, on about 5.6% of Wyoming checklists.
Where in Wyoming are Barrow's Goldeneyes seen most often?
By county, Teton County, Sublette County, and Fremont County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Barrow's Goldeneye (counties with at least 200 checklists).