WhenToBird

Aegolius acadicus · Strigidae

When Do Northern Saw-whet Owls Arrive in Alaska?

Adult Northern Saw-whet Owl
Photo: Dan Bender, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Saw-whet Owls are winter birds in Alaska: they arrive in mid December, peak in mid March (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.

When to look

First arrivalsDec 15-21mid December
Common byDec 15-21mid December
PeakMar 15-21mid March
Most gone byMay 1-7early May

Best: mid March. First arrivals mid December; most are gone by early May. Peak: on about 1.1% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.3% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.4% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.9% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.2% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.2% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.1% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.8% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% 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.

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Where in Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Haines BoroughBest late March · 20 checklists that week, 1,690 in all5.5%
  2. Lake and Peninsula BoroughBest mid May · 16 checklists that week, 1,172 in all4.3%
  3. Matanuska-Susitna BoroughBest late March · 477 checklists that week, 23,028 in all3.9%
  4. Kenai Peninsula BoroughBest mid April · 1245 checklists that week, 49,772 in all2.4%
  5. Anchorage MunicipalityBest mid March · 870 checklists that week, 65,703 in all1.8%
  6. Ketchikan Gateway BoroughBest mid December · 31 checklists that week, 4,641 in all1.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kincaid ParkAnchorage Municipality, best the second week of March · 20 checklists that week, 853 in all12%
  2. Jim LakeMatanuska-Susitna Borough, best mid May · 36 checklists that week, 438 in all3.1%
  3. Hillside ParkAnchorage Municipality, best the second week of June · 45 checklists that week, 338 in all1.8%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Northern Saw-whet Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 pm (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.2% of 9751 checklists7 am: 0.1% of 17236 checklists8 am: 0.1% of 24936 checklists9 am: 0.1% of 30139 checklists10 am: 0.1% of 30866 checklists11 am: 0.1% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 0.1% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 0.1% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 0.1% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 0.1% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 0.1% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 0.5% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 0.8% 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
January0.3%0.5%0.3%0.4%
February0.4%0.8%0.7%0.4%
March0.9%1.2%1.2%1.1%
April0.8%0.3%0.4%0.7%
May0.2%0.1%0.2%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.1%0.3%
October0.3%0.3%0.1%0.1%
November0.2%0.1%0.1%0.3%
December0.2%0.2%0.3%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • North Dakota: arrives early November, 6 weeks earlier than Alaska
  • South Dakota: arrives mid October, 8 weeks earlier than Alaska

Common questions

When do Northern Saw-whet Owls arrive in Alaska?
Northern Saw-whet Owls are winter birds in Alaska: they arrive in mid December, peak in mid March (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.
When do Northern Saw-whet Owls leave Alaska?
Most Northern Saw-whet Owls have left Alaska by early May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Northern Saw-whet Owl in Alaska?
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is reported most often in mid March, on about 1.1% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Northern Saw-whet Owls seen most often?
By county, Haines Borough, Lake and Peninsula Borough, and Matanuska-Susitna Borough have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Saw-whet Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).