WhenToBird

Plectrophenax nivalis · Calcariidae

When Do Snow Buntings Arrive in Montana?

Adult male Snow Bunting
Photo: William Stephens, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Snow Buntings are winter birds in Montana: they arrive in mid October, peak in the second week of November (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early March.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 15-21mid October
Common byOct 15-21mid October
PeakNov 8-14the second week of November
Most gone byMar 1-7early March

Best: the second week of November. First arrivals mid October; most are gone by early March. Peak: on about 1.4% of Montana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 1.0% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.3% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.7% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.6% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.9% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.6% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.3% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 0% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 0% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 0% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 0% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 0% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 0% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.2% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.6% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.5% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% 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. Wheatland CountyBest late December · 11 checklists that week, 1,384 in all33%
  2. Toole CountyBest early January · 11 checklists that week, 1,763 in all22%
  3. Glacier CountyBest mid February · 62 checklists that week, 9,238 in all13%
  4. Hill CountyBest late February · 10 checklists that week, 988 in all11%
  5. Teton CountyBest late October · 11 checklists that week, 2,579 in all9.1%
  6. Meagher CountyBest mid December · 11 checklists that week, 1,201 in all8.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Warm Springs Wildlife Management AreaDeer Lodge County, best the second week of November · 22 checklists that week, 838 in all8.2%
  2. Helena Valley Reservoir Fishing Access SiteLewis and Clark County, best early December · 28 checklists that week, 1,628 in all7.0%
  3. Browns LakePowell County, best late October · 46 checklists that week, 433 in all6.2%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Snow Bunting is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (0.4% of those checklists).

0%0.5%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: 0.1% of 12719 checklists7 am: 0.1% of 31202 checklists8 am: 0.2% of 47646 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 44624 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 40704 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 0% 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
January1.0%1.3%0.7%0.5%
February0.6%0.7%0.9%0.6%
March0.3%0.4%0.3%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0%0%
May0%0%0%0%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0%0%0%
September0%0%0%0%
October0.1%0.1%0.2%1.2%
November1.6%1.5%1.1%0.9%
December0.8%0.6%0.4%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • North Dakota: arrives mid October, in the same week than Montana
  • South Dakota: arrives late October, 1 week later than Montana
  • Minnesota: arrives mid October, in the same week than Montana
  • Wisconsin: arrives mid October, in the same week than Montana

Common questions

When do Snow Buntings arrive in Montana?
Snow Buntings are winter birds in Montana: they arrive in mid October, peak in the second week of November (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early March.
When do Snow Buntings leave Montana?
Most Snow Buntings have left Montana by early March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Snow Bunting in Montana?
The Snow Bunting is reported most often in the second week of November, on about 1.4% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Snow Buntings seen most often?
By county, Wheatland County, Toole County, and Glacier County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Snow Bunting (counties with at least 200 checklists).