WhenToBird

Passerella iliaca · Passerellidae

When Do Fox Sparrows Arrive in Montana?

Adult Fox Sparrow
Photo: Kevin Krebs, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Fox Sparrows mostly pass through Montana: they arrive in early June, peak in early July (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late July.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 1-7early June
Common byJun 1-7early June
PeakJul 1-7early July
Most gone byJul 22-31late July

Best: early July. First arrivals early June; most are gone by late July. Peak: on about 2.7% of Montana checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.3% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.4% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.1% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.5% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.8% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.8% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.8% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.5% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.9% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.6% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.5% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Glacier CountyBest late June · 801 checklists that week, 9,238 in all21%
  2. Flathead CountyBest late June · 1700 checklists that week, 40,185 in all7.1%
  3. Lincoln CountyBest the second week of July · 196 checklists that week, 5,543 in all5.6%
  4. Liberty CountyBest the second week of October · 37 checklists that week, 800 in all4.9%
  5. Mineral CountyBest the second week of July · 74 checklists that week, 2,163 in all3.5%
  6. Phillips CountyBest mid September · 77 checklists that week, 4,818 in all3.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Glacier National ParkGlacier County, best late June · 67 checklists that week, 579 in all56%
  2. Pray LakeGlacier County, best late June · 23 checklists that week, 250 in all50%
  3. Swiftcurrent FallsGlacier County, best late June · 22 checklists that week, 177 in all48%
  4. Avalanche LakeFlathead County, best early July · 22 checklists that week, 338 in all19%
  5. Glacier National Park (southwest 2)Flathead County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 210 in all13%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Fox Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.2% 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: 1.7% of 12719 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 31202 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 47646 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 44624 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 40704 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 0.5% 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
January0.1%0.2%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.2%0.3%0.4%
May0.4%0.5%0.4%0.7%
June1.1%1.5%1.8%2.8%
July2.8%2.5%1.9%1.0%
August0.6%0.5%0.2%0.2%
September0.3%0.4%0.3%0.3%
October0.3%0.3%0.2%0.2%
November0.1%0.1%0.2%0.3%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: arrives the second week of April, 7 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Wyoming: arrives mid April, 6 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Utah: arrives early April, 8 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Washington: arrives the second week of September, 13 weeks later than Montana

Common questions

When do Fox Sparrows arrive in Montana?
Fox Sparrows mostly pass through Montana: they arrive in early June, peak in early July (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late July.
When do Fox Sparrows leave Montana?
Most Fox Sparrows have left Montana by late July, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Fox Sparrow in Montana?
The Fox Sparrow is reported most often in early July, on about 2.7% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Fox Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Glacier County, Flathead County, and Lincoln County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Fox Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).