WhenToBird

Perisoreus canadensis · Corvidae

When Do Canada Jays Arrive in Montana?

Adult Canada Jay
Photo: Teagan Weiss, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Canada Jays arrive in Montana in late May, peak in mid August (2.2% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 22-31late May
Common byMay 22-31late May
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byMar 15-21mid March

Best: mid August. First arrivals late May; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 2.2% of Montana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.0% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.9% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.7% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.9% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.2% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.9% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.9% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.8% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.5% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.4% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.9% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.5% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.6% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.9% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.6% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.6% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.8% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.1% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.0% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.3% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.2% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.8% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.7% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.7% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.5% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.7% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.3% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.3% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.3% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.3% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.4% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.6% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.7% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.7% 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. Granite CountyBest the second week of January · 16 checklists that week, 1,737 in all23%
  2. Lincoln CountyBest early November · 49 checklists that week, 5,543 in all12%
  3. Mineral CountyBest late November · 31 checklists that week, 2,163 in all12%
  4. Sanders CountyBest the second week of October · 83 checklists that week, 3,767 in all8.9%
  5. Powell CountyBest the second week of August · 51 checklists that week, 5,305 in all8.8%
  6. Glacier CountyBest mid August · 353 checklists that week, 9,238 in all8.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Swiftcurrent FallsGlacier County, best the second week of July · 23 checklists that week, 177 in all32%
  2. Glacier National Park (east)Glacier County, best early August · 21 checklists that week, 322 in all25%
  3. Pattee Canyon Ski Tour National Recreation TrailMissoula County, best early April · 21 checklists that week, 550 in all17%
  4. Pray LakeGlacier County, best late August · 20 checklists that week, 250 in all12%
  5. Swiftcurrent LakeGlacier County, best late June · 23 checklists that week, 224 in all8.8%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Canada Jay is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%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: 1.6% of 12719 checklists7 am: 1.2% of 31202 checklists8 am: 1.2% of 47646 checklists9 am: 1.4% of 44624 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 40704 checklists11 am: 1.1% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 1.1% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 1.0% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 0.8% 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
January0.8%1.0%0.9%0.9%
February0.7%0.9%1.2%1.2%
March0.9%0.9%0.8%0.5%
April0.3%0.4%0.4%0.4%
May0.4%0.6%0.4%0.7%
June0.9%0.9%1.5%1.6%
July1.9%1.6%1.6%1.8%
August2.1%2.0%2.3%2.2%
September1.8%1.7%1.3%1.7%
October1.5%1.7%1.3%1.3%
November1.1%1.3%1.3%1.4%
December0.6%0.7%0.6%0.7%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: arrives early June, 1 week later than Montana
  • Wyoming: arrives early June, 1 week later than Montana
  • Washington: arrives early June, 1 week later than Montana
  • Oregon: arrives late April, 4 weeks earlier than Montana

Common questions

When do Canada Jays arrive in Montana?
Canada Jays arrive in Montana in late May, peak in mid August (2.2% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Canada Jays leave Montana?
Most Canada Jays have left Montana by mid March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Canada Jay in Montana?
The Canada Jay is reported most often in mid August, on about 2.2% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Canada Jays seen most often?
By county, Granite County, Lincoln County, and Mineral County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Canada Jay (counties with at least 200 checklists).