WhenToBird

Megaceryle alcyon · Alcedinidae

When Do Belted Kingfishers Arrive in Montana?

Adult female Belted Kingfisher
Photo: Jonathan Eisen, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Belted Kingfishers are in Montana all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from the second week of August, peak in the second week of September (14% of checklists), and fall back by mid November. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 8-14the second week of August
PeakSep 8-14the second week of September
Fall back byNov 15-21mid November
FewestFeb 15-21mid February

Best: the second week of September. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of August and fall back by mid November. Peak: on about 14% of Montana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 6.3% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 5.7% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 6.8% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.8% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.7% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.9% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.6% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.7% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 4.0% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.2% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.4% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.8% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.3% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.0% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.7% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.6% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.9% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.6% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.2% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.7% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.1% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.4% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.8% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.1% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.9% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.5% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.0% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.5% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.1% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 10% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 13% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 14% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 13% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 12% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 12% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 9.7% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 10% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 9.4% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 9.4% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 8.0% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 7.2% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 7.3% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 6.8% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 6.3% of 6672 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 Montana 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 Montana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Broadwater CountyBest early September · 81 checklists that week, 2,470 in all27%
  2. Silver Bow CountyBest mid January · 48 checklists that week, 3,051 in all25%
  3. Fergus CountyBest mid August · 102 checklists that week, 4,948 in all25%
  4. Mineral CountyBest early November · 14 checklists that week, 2,163 in all24%
  5. Big Horn CountyBest early November · 27 checklists that week, 1,279 in all24%
  6. Missoula CountyBest early September · 1032 checklists that week, 64,368 in all22%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Council Grove State ParkMissoula County, best late November · 21 checklists that week, 1,323 in all82%
  2. Riverside ParkMissoula County, best early September · 22 checklists that week, 595 in all81%
  3. Milwaukee Fishing Access SiteGallatin County, best early January · 28 checklists that week, 383 in all67%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Belted Kingfisher is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (8.1% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (183) to judge1 am: too few checklists (169) to judge2 am: too few checklists (163) to judge3 am: too few checklists (212) to judge4 am: too few checklists (503) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4022) to judge6 am: 7.2% of 12719 checklists7 am: 8.1% of 31202 checklists8 am: 8.1% of 47646 checklists9 am: 8.2% of 44624 checklists10 am: 7.5% of 40704 checklists11 am: 6.8% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 5.9% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 6.0% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 6.7% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 6.5% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 6.0% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 6.3% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 6.6% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 5.9% of 9926 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5765) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2099) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (595) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (230) 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
January6.3%5.7%6.8%5.8%
February4.7%3.9%3.6%3.7%
March4.0%4.2%4.4%4.8%
April5.3%6.0%6.7%7.6%
May6.9%6.6%6.2%4.7%
June4.1%4.4%3.8%4.1%
July3.9%4.5%5.0%6.5%
August8.1%10%11%13%
September14%14%13%12%
October12%11%11%9.7%
November10%9.4%9.4%8.0%
December7.2%7.3%6.8%6.3%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: arrives mid August, 1 week later than Montana
  • Wyoming: arrives the second week of August, in the same week than Montana
  • Utah: arrives the second week of July, 4 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Washington: arrives mid July, 3 weeks earlier than Montana

Common questions

When do Belted Kingfishers arrive in Montana?
Belted Kingfishers are in Montana all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from the second week of August, peak in the second week of September (14% of checklists), and fall back by mid November. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.
When do Belted Kingfishers leave Montana?
Belted Kingfishers never fully leave Montana: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid November, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Belted Kingfisher in Montana?
The Belted Kingfisher is reported most often in the second week of September, on about 14% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Belted Kingfishers seen most often?
By county, Broadwater County, Silver Bow County, and Fergus County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Belted Kingfisher (counties with at least 200 checklists).