WhenToBird

Anser albifrons · Anatidae

When Do Greater White-fronted Geese Arrive in Washington?

Adult Greater White-fronted Goose
Photo: Andrey Gulivanov, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Greater White-fronted Geese are winter birds in Washington: they arrive in mid September, peak in early October (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: early October. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by the second week of May. Peak: on about 3.3% of Washington checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augrare
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 1.3% of 41928 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.0% of 31152 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.9% of 31753 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 42530 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.7% of 29739 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 32746 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 40328 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.0% of 28432 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.0% of 30758 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.0% of 29368 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.0% of 32580 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 45614 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.0% of 33997 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.2% of 34729 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.7% of 38474 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.9% of 52185 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.1% of 44236 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 48708 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.3% of 41742 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 57082 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 39193 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 36042 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 34003 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 39711 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 31949 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 29086 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 28045 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 38275 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 28846 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 28036 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 27614 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 40356 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 31214 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 27795 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 29677 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.4% of 35241 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.5% of 28605 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.0% of 28655 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.6% of 24643 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.1% of 34874 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.8% of 25658 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.6% of 25700 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.4% of 24331 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 32784 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.9% of 24099 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.7% of 23339 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 27666 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.8% of 42130 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 Washington 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 Washington

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Grays Harbor CountyBest the second week of October · 413 checklists that week, 28,443 in all17%
  2. Walla Walla CountyBest mid March · 798 checklists that week, 35,829 in all13%
  3. Clark CountyBest early October · 1064 checklists that week, 53,250 in all10%
  4. Pacific CountyBest mid April · 407 checklists that week, 19,516 in all9.2%
  5. Franklin CountyBest the second week of March · 125 checklists that week, 7,970 in all7.4%
  6. Cowlitz CountyBest early October · 291 checklists that week, 15,273 in all7.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mcnary National Wildlife RefugeWalla Walla County, best early April · 59 checklists that week, 2,162 in all86%
  2. Mcnary National Wildlife Refuge (Hunt)Walla Walla County, best mid March · 30 checklists that week, 1,089 in all54%
  3. Marsh Unit OneGrant County, best late March · 51 checklists that week, 263 in all52%
  4. Grays Harbor National Wildlife RefugeGrays Harbor County, best mid October · 96 checklists that week, 1,366 in all52%

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

Best time of day

In Washington, the Greater White-fronted Goose is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (1.0% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (796) to judge1 am: too few checklists (776) to judge2 am: too few checklists (709) to judge3 am: too few checklists (901) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3221) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16576) to judge6 am: 0.7% of 56744 checklists7 am: 0.9% of 133294 checklists8 am: 1.0% of 184196 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 186303 checklists10 am: 1.0% of 177063 checklists11 am: 1.0% of 154936 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 138061 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 127449 checklists2 pm: 1.0% of 121511 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 107793 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 82862 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 57183 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 39886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (26969) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (12427) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3658) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1500) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (834) 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
January1.3%1.0%0.9%0.8%
February0.7%0.7%0.7%1.0%
March1.0%1.0%1.0%1.0%
April1.0%1.2%1.7%1.9%
May1.1%0.6%0.3%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
September0.3%0.4%0.8%3.4%
October3.5%3.0%2.6%2.1%
November1.8%1.6%1.4%1.2%
December0.9%0.7%0.7%0.8%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: arrives the second week of September, 1 week earlier than Washington
  • Idaho: arrives early February, 18 weeks later than Washington
  • Nevada: arrives early September, 2 weeks earlier than Washington
  • California: arrives mid September, in the same week than Washington

Common questions

When do Greater White-fronted Geese arrive in Washington?
Greater White-fronted Geese are winter birds in Washington: they arrive in mid September, peak in early October (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.
When do Greater White-fronted Geese leave Washington?
Most Greater White-fronted Geese have left Washington by the second week of May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Greater White-fronted Goose in Washington?
The Greater White-fronted Goose is reported most often in early October, on about 3.3% of Washington checklists.
Where in Washington are Greater White-fronted Geese seen most often?
By county, Grays Harbor County, Walla Walla County, and Clark County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Greater White-fronted Goose (counties with at least 200 checklists).