WhenToBird

Anser albifrons · Anatidae

When Do Greater White-fronted Geese Arrive in Wisconsin?

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

Greater White-fronted Geese mostly pass through Wisconsin: they arrive in mid February, peak in the second week of March (5.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 15-21mid February
Common byFeb 15-21mid February
PeakMar 8-14the second week of March
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: the second week of March. First arrivals mid February; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 5.2% of Wisconsin checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 27925 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 18337 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 17370 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 23777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 16656 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 18286 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.3% of 24739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.8% of 20113 checklistsMar 1-7: 4.9% of 24024 checklistsMar 8-14: 6.1% of 26722 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.8% of 27238 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.4% of 40171 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.3% of 34961 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 39128 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 38887 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 57231 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 55115 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 63098 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 49821 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 56796 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 33621 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 31282 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 30186 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 35128 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 27088 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 23293 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 20933 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 27595 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 19147 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 18286 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 19195 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 28229 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 22408 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 20857 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 20707 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 26469 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 21069 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 21011 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.3% of 20006 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 26362 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 18928 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 17052 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 16291 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 20564 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 15354 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 16294 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 21430 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 26314 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Columbia CountyBest the second week of March · 447 checklists that week, 15,761 in all42%
  2. Green CountyBest early March · 60 checklists that week, 4,387 in all18%
  3. Dodge CountyBest the second week of March · 682 checklists that week, 34,980 in all15%
  4. Jefferson CountyBest the second week of March · 720 checklists that week, 31,378 in all14%
  5. Outagamie CountyBest mid March · 741 checklists that week, 24,461 in all11%
  6. Rock CountyBest the second week of March · 390 checklists that week, 15,236 in all11%

Best time of day

In Wisconsin, the Greater White-fronted Goose is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (993) to judge1 am: too few checklists (844) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1488) to judge4 am: too few checklists (5344) to judge5 am: 0.1% of 27016 checklists6 am: 0.2% of 83973 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 160717 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 160531 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 136968 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 119110 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 99116 checklists12 pm: 0.8% of 85078 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 80688 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 79140 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 78599 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 69767 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 53229 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 38769 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24396) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (10155) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4990) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2463) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1281) 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
January0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.8%1.3%2.8%
March4.9%6.1%4.8%2.4%
April1.3%0.7%0.4%0.2%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
July0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0%0%0.1%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0.1%0.2%0.3%0.3%
November0.5%0.2%0.3%0.4%
December0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: arrives mid October, 16 weeks earlier than Wisconsin
  • Iowa: arrives late January, 3 weeks earlier than Wisconsin
  • Michigan: arrives late December, 7 weeks earlier than Wisconsin
  • Minnesota: arrives late February, 1 week later than Wisconsin

Common questions

When do Greater White-fronted Geese arrive in Wisconsin?
Greater White-fronted Geese mostly pass through Wisconsin: they arrive in mid February, peak in the second week of March (5.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Greater White-fronted Geese leave Wisconsin?
Most Greater White-fronted Geese have left Wisconsin by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early April.
When is the best time to see a Greater White-fronted Goose in Wisconsin?
The Greater White-fronted Goose is reported most often in the second week of March, on about 5.2% of Wisconsin checklists.
Where in Wisconsin are Greater White-fronted Geese seen most often?
By county, Columbia County, Green County, and Dodge County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Greater White-fronted Goose (counties with at least 200 checklists).