WhenToBird

Antigone canadensis · Gruidae

When Do Sandhill Cranes Arrive in Idaho?

Adult Sandhill crane
Photo: Cathy Perkins, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Sandhill Cranes reach Idaho in late February, are common by early March, peak in early April (6.7% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 22-28late February
Common byMar 1-7early March
PeakApr 1-7early April
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: early April. First arrivals late February; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 6.7% of Idaho checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 9357 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 6408 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 6358 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 8601 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 5611 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 6090 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 7973 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.1% of 5866 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.8% of 6144 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.3% of 6456 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.5% of 6786 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.7% of 9539 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.7% of 7202 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.8% of 7608 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.2% of 8069 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.6% of 10973 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.2% of 9481 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.3% of 11318 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.6% of 9141 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.8% of 13984 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.3% of 8897 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.9% of 8504 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.3% of 8078 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.1% of 9665 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.3% of 7144 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.2% of 6557 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.9% of 6430 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.1% of 8696 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.0% of 5896 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.1% of 5643 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.4% of 6151 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.3% of 7863 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.5% of 5769 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.4% of 5646 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.5% of 5460 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.9% of 6363 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.1% of 4980 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.5% of 5096 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.9% of 4878 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.8% of 6426 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 4822 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 4999 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 4601 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% 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. Jefferson CountyBest late March · 203 checklists that week, 5,319 in all45%
  2. Camas CountyBest late April · 110 checklists that week, 2,112 in all43%
  3. Teton CountyBest mid April · 174 checklists that week, 6,406 in all42%
  4. Bear Lake CountyBest mid April · 24 checklists that week, 1,581 in all33%
  5. Franklin CountyBest the second week of April · 16 checklists that week, 651 in all33%
  6. Caribou CountyBest mid April · 23 checklists that week, 608 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Little RockGem County, best the second week of October · 24 checklists that week, 620 in all86%
  2. Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management AreaCamas County, best late April · 28 checklists that week, 504 in all75%
  3. Market Lake Wildlife Management AreaJefferson County, best late March · 45 checklists that week, 697 in all67%
  4. Camas National Wildlife RefugeJefferson County, best mid September · 30 checklists that week, 540 in all67%
  5. Camas National Wildlife Refuge (Willow Pond (historical))Jefferson County, best early September · 21 checklists that week, 354 in all65%

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

Best time of day

In Idaho, the Sandhill Crane is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (4.8% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%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: 5.8% of 9122 checklists7 am: 4.3% of 22204 checklists8 am: 3.2% of 38672 checklists9 am: 3.2% of 38930 checklists10 am: 3.1% of 37338 checklists11 am: 2.9% of 33508 checklists12 pm: 2.9% of 28544 checklists1 pm: 2.5% of 25774 checklists2 pm: 2.5% of 24296 checklists3 pm: 2.4% of 21784 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 19051 checklists5 pm: 3.4% of 14150 checklists6 pm: 4.8% of 10014 checklists7 pm: 4.8% 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%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.5%2.1%
March3.8%4.3%5.5%6.7%
April6.7%6.8%6.2%5.6%
May5.2%5.3%5.6%5.8%
June4.3%3.9%3.3%3.1%
July3.3%3.2%3.9%3.1%
August5.0%4.1%4.4%4.3%
September4.5%4.4%3.5%2.9%
October2.1%1.5%1.9%0.8%
November0.8%0.6%0.4%0.2%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Montana: arrives early March, 1 week later than Idaho
  • Utah: arrives the second week of February, 2 weeks earlier than Idaho
  • Oregon: arrives early August, 21 weeks later than Idaho
  • Washington: arrives the second week of September, 22 weeks earlier than Idaho

Common questions

When do Sandhill Cranes arrive in Idaho?
Sandhill Cranes reach Idaho in late February, are common by early March, peak in early April (6.7% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Sandhill Cranes leave Idaho?
Most Sandhill Cranes have left Idaho by early October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late October.
When is the best time to see a Sandhill Crane in Idaho?
The Sandhill Crane is reported most often in early April, on about 6.7% of Idaho checklists.
Where in Idaho are Sandhill Cranes seen most often?
By county, Jefferson County, Camas County, and Teton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sandhill Crane (counties with at least 200 checklists).