WhenToBird

Pandion haliaetus · Pandionidae

When Do Ospreys Arrive in Idaho?

Adult female Osprey
Photo: Bill Levine, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Ospreys reach Idaho in mid March, are common by early April, peak in mid August (16% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: mid August. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 16% of Idaho checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 9357 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 6408 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 6358 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 8601 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 5611 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 6090 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 7973 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 5866 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 6144 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 6456 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.2% of 6786 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.7% of 9539 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.9% of 7202 checklistsApr 8-14: 12% of 7608 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 8069 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 10973 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 9481 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 11318 checklistsMay 15-21: 12% of 9141 checklistsMay 22-31: 12% of 13984 checklistsJun 1-7: 10% of 8897 checklistsJun 8-14: 11% of 8504 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 8078 checklistsJun 22-30: 12% of 9665 checklistsJul 1-7: 12% of 7144 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 6557 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 6430 checklistsJul 22-31: 14% of 8696 checklistsAug 1-7: 15% of 5896 checklistsAug 8-14: 16% of 5643 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 6151 checklistsAug 22-31: 16% of 7863 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 5769 checklistsSep 8-14: 14% of 5646 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.6% of 5460 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.5% of 6363 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.0% of 4980 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.5% of 5096 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.3% of 4878 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.2% of 6426 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 4822 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 4999 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 4601 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 6027 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 4180 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 4775 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 6522 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 7792 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 Idaho 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 Idaho

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kootenai CountyBest early August · 149 checklists that week, 8,249 in all43%
  2. Nez Perce CountyBest mid August · 142 checklists that week, 10,708 in all40%
  3. Fremont CountyBest late August · 158 checklists that week, 5,201 in all39%
  4. Bonneville CountyBest mid August · 149 checklists that week, 6,998 in all38%
  5. Lewis CountyBest mid August · 12 checklists that week, 603 in all38%
  6. Valley CountyBest mid August · 238 checklists that week, 8,991 in all37%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mann LakeNez Perce County, best mid August · 57 checklists that week, 1,366 in all96%
  2. Eagle Island State ParkAda County, best the second week of April · 29 checklists that week, 1,077 in all90%
  3. Spring Valley Reservoir Access SiteLatah County, best late April · 34 checklists that week, 536 in all84%
  4. Tubbs HillKootenai County, best the second week of June · 22 checklists that week, 364 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In Idaho, the Osprey is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (11% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (180) to judge1 am: too few checklists (176) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (164) to judge4 am: too few checklists (450) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2270) to judge6 am: 13% of 9122 checklists7 am: 9.8% of 22204 checklists8 am: 7.6% of 38672 checklists9 am: 7.5% of 38930 checklists10 am: 7.1% of 37338 checklists11 am: 6.1% of 33508 checklists12 pm: 5.5% of 28544 checklists1 pm: 5.7% of 25774 checklists2 pm: 6.2% of 24296 checklists3 pm: 6.0% of 21784 checklists4 pm: 6.6% of 19051 checklists5 pm: 7.8% of 14150 checklists6 pm: 9.7% of 10014 checklists7 pm: 9.6% of 7495 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1449) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (525) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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%0.1%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0.1%0.2%1.2%4.7%
April8.9%12%14%13%
May12%13%12%12%
June10%11%13%12%
July12%12%12%14%
August15%16%16%16%
September14%14%9.6%5.5%
October4.0%2.5%2.3%1.2%
November0.7%0.6%0.2%0.4%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Montana: arrives late March, 1 week later than Idaho
  • Utah: arrives mid March, in the same week than Idaho
  • Oregon: arrives mid March, in the same week than Idaho
  • Washington: arrives late March, 1 week later than Idaho

Common questions

When do Ospreys arrive in Idaho?
Ospreys reach Idaho in mid March, are common by early April, peak in mid August (16% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Ospreys leave Idaho?
Most Ospreys have left Idaho by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late October.
When is the best time to see a Osprey in Idaho?
The Osprey is reported most often in mid August, on about 16% of Idaho checklists.
Where in Idaho are Ospreys seen most often?
By county, Kootenai County, Nez Perce County, and Fremont County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Osprey (counties with at least 200 checklists).