WhenToBird

Loxia curvirostra · Fringillidae

When Do Red Crossbills Arrive in Montana?

Adult male Red Crossbill
Photo: Leslie Alanís, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Red Crossbills are in Montana all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late June, peak in early August (10% of checklists), and fall back by late August. In the quietest week (the second week of January) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildJun 22-30late June
PeakAug 1-7early August
Fall back byAug 22-31late August
FewestJan 8-14the second week of January

Best: early August. Here all year; numbers build from late June and fall back by late August. Peak: on about 10% of Montana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 3.3% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.0% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.9% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.3% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.6% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.7% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.9% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.9% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 4.3% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.7% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.7% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.7% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 4.4% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.0% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.7% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.8% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.3% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.8% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.4% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.8% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.6% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.3% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.8% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.4% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.9% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.2% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.5% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.9% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 10% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.8% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.2% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.5% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.7% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.1% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.8% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.9% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.5% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.3% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 4.7% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.2% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.9% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.0% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.7% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.6% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.4% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 4.8% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 4.9% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 5.0% 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 early August · 41 checklists that week, 2,163 in all35%
  2. Musselshell CountyBest mid August · 21 checklists that week, 961 in all35%
  3. Powder River CountyBest late October · 13 checklists that week, 598 in all24%
  4. Sanders CountyBest the second week of August · 48 checklists that week, 3,767 in all23%
  5. Lincoln CountyBest the second week of August · 106 checklists that week, 5,543 in all23%
  6. Carter CountyBest mid June · 57 checklists that week, 596 in all23%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Blue Mountain Nature National Recreation TrailMissoula County, best early June · 20 checklists that week, 177 in all59%
  2. Lolo National ForestMissoula County, best late July · 43 checklists that week, 2,195 in all55%
  3. Pattee Canyon Ski Tour National Recreation TrailMissoula County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 550 in all47%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Red Crossbill is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (9.6% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 11% of 12719 checklists7 am: 9.2% of 31202 checklists8 am: 7.5% of 47646 checklists9 am: 6.8% of 44624 checklists10 am: 5.8% of 40704 checklists11 am: 4.9% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 4.3% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 3.9% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 3.5% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 2.8% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 2.8% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 2.9% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 3.0% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 2.8% 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
January3.3%4.0%3.9%4.3%
February4.6%4.7%3.9%3.9%
March4.3%4.7%4.7%4.7%
April4.4%4.0%3.7%3.8%
May4.3%3.8%3.4%3.8%
June4.6%5.3%6.8%7.4%
July8.9%8.2%9.5%9.9%
August10%9.8%8.2%7.5%
September5.7%5.1%4.8%4.9%
October4.5%4.3%4.7%4.2%
November3.9%4.0%4.7%4.6%
December3.4%4.8%4.9%5.0%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: arrives mid April, 9 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Wyoming: arrives mid April, 9 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Utah: arrives the second week of June, 2 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Washington: arrives late February, 16 weeks earlier than Montana

Common questions

When do Red Crossbills arrive in Montana?
Red Crossbills are in Montana all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from late June, peak in early August (10% of checklists), and fall back by late August. In the quietest week (the second week of January) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.
When do Red Crossbills leave Montana?
Red Crossbills never fully leave Montana: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late August, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red Crossbill in Montana?
The Red Crossbill is reported most often in early August, on about 10% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Red Crossbills seen most often?
By county, Mineral County, Musselshell County, and Powder River County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red Crossbill (counties with at least 200 checklists).