WhenToBird

Sitta canadensis · Sittidae

When Do Red-breasted Nuthatches Arrive in Montana?

Adult Red-breasted Nuthatch
Photo: Joshua Liverman, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in Montana all year. It turns up on about 23% of checklists at its peak (late August) and on 15% in its quietest week (mid April).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekAug 22-31late August
Quietest weekApr 15-21mid April

Best: late August. Here all year. Peak: on about 23% of Montana checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 18% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 20% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 19% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 20% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 21% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 20% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 20% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 20% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 19% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 17% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 17% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 16% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 15% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 16% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 15% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 16% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 15% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 16% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 16% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 17% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 16% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 17% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 19% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 20% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 22% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 22% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 24% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 24% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 22% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 22% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 21% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 20% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 20% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 20% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 20% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 20% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 24% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 23% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 22% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 22% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 20% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 21% 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. Mineral CountyBest the second week of February · 14 checklists that week, 2,163 in all57%
  2. Lincoln CountyBest early March · 72 checklists that week, 5,543 in all53%
  3. Valley CountyBest early February · 24 checklists that week, 3,392 in all52%
  4. Stillwater CountyBest the second week of November · 15 checklists that week, 2,184 in all50%
  5. Flathead CountyBest early December · 397 checklists that week, 40,185 in all45%
  6. Sanders CountyBest late August · 99 checklists that week, 3,767 in all44%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Pattee Canyon Ski Tour National Recreation TrailMissoula County, best mid April · 28 checklists that week, 550 in all96%
  2. Lolo National ForestMissoula County, best late October · 32 checklists that week, 2,195 in all88%
  3. Flathead Lake/Wayfarers State ParkFlathead County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 635 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (27% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 23% of 12719 checklists7 am: 27% of 31202 checklists8 am: 27% of 47646 checklists9 am: 23% of 44624 checklists10 am: 20% of 40704 checklists11 am: 18% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 17% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 16% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 14% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 13% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 12% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 11% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 11% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 11% 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
January18%20%19%19%
February20%21%20%20%
March20%19%18%17%
April17%16%15%16%
May16%16%15%16%
June15%16%17%16%
July17%16%17%19%
August20%22%22%24%
September24%22%22%21%
October21%20%20%20%
November20%20%24%23%
December22%22%20%21%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: year-round, peaks mid September
  • Wyoming: year-round, peaks early September
  • Utah: all year, most in fall, peaks mid August
  • Washington: year-round, peaks late August

Common questions

When do Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in Montana?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in Montana all year. It turns up on about 23% of checklists at its peak (late August) and on 15% in its quietest week (mid April).
When do Red-breasted Nuthatches leave Montana?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch does not leave Montana: it is reported all year, from 15% of checklists in mid April to 23% in late August.
When is the best time to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch in Montana?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is reported most often in late August, on about 23% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Red-breasted Nuthatches seen most often?
By county, Mineral County, Lincoln County, and Valley County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-breasted Nuthatch (counties with at least 200 checklists).