WhenToBird

Certhia americana · Certhiidae

When Do Brown Creepers Arrive in Alaska?

Adult Brown Creeper
Photo: Melanie Gaddy, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Brown Creepers are winter birds in Alaska: the first arrive in mid June, they are common by the second week of July, peak in late October (5.9% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 15-21mid June
Common byJul 8-14the second week of July
PeakOct 22-31late October
Most gone byApr 8-14the second week of April

Best: late October. First arrivals mid June; most are gone by the second week of April. Peak: on about 5.9% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  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: 3.9% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.5% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.9% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.7% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.0% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.3% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.1% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.8% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.9% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.0% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.3% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.2% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.4% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.9% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.4% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.9% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.6% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.5% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.9% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.3% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.4% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.4% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.9% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.1% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.5% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.9% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.3% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.8% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.8% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.4% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.4% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.7% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.9% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.0% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.2% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.5% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.1% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.3% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.0% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 5.9% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 5.9% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.1% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.0% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 5.0% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.9% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 4.6% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.4% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.2% of 3442 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 Alaska 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hoonah-Angoon Census AreaBest mid October · 66 checklists that week, 8,159 in all25%
  2. Wrangell City and BoroughBest mid September · 12 checklists that week, 2,509 in all15%
  3. Skagway MunicipalityBest early April · 18 checklists that week, 2,045 in all13%
  4. Prince of Wales-Hyder Census AreaBest early September · 76 checklists that week, 2,822 in all12%
  5. Ketchikan Gateway BoroughBest mid January · 22 checklists that week, 4,641 in all12%
  6. Haines BoroughBest late September · 21 checklists that week, 1,690 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sitka National Historical ParkSitka City and Borough, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 803 in all33%
  2. Headquarters LakeKenai Peninsula Borough, best early July · 29 checklists that week, 298 in all28%
  3. Fort Abercrombie State Historical ParkKodiak Island Borough, best early June · 21 checklists that week, 709 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Brown Creeper is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (4.1% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 3.3% of 9751 checklists7 am: 3.5% of 17236 checklists8 am: 4.0% of 24936 checklists9 am: 4.1% of 30139 checklists10 am: 3.9% of 30866 checklists11 am: 3.4% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 3.2% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 3.0% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 2.9% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 2.5% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 1.9% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 1.8% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 1.3% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 0.6% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January3.9%3.5%3.9%3.7%
February4.0%3.3%3.1%2.8%
March3.9%4.0%4.3%4.2%
April3.4%2.9%2.4%1.9%
May1.6%1.5%1.9%1.3%
June1.4%1.4%1.9%2.1%
July2.5%2.9%3.3%3.8%
August3.8%3.4%4.4%4.7%
September4.9%5.0%5.2%5.5%
October6.1%5.3%6.0%5.9%
November5.9%5.1%4.0%5.0%
December3.9%4.6%5.4%4.2%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks late July
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks late August
  • Idaho: arrives the second week of June, 1 week earlier than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives late June, 1 week later than Alaska

Common questions

When do Brown Creepers arrive in Alaska?
Brown Creepers are winter birds in Alaska: the first arrive in mid June, they are common by the second week of July, peak in late October (5.9% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.
When do Brown Creepers leave Alaska?
Most Brown Creepers have left Alaska by the second week of April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a Brown Creeper in Alaska?
The Brown Creeper is reported most often in late October, on about 5.9% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Brown Creepers seen most often?
By county, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Wrangell City and Borough, and Skagway Municipality have the highest peak reporting rates for the Brown Creeper (counties with at least 200 checklists).