WhenToBird

Loxia leucoptera · Fringillidae

When Do White-winged Crossbills Arrive in Alaska?

Adult White-winged Crossbill
Photo: Christoph Moning, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

White-winged Crossbills are in Alaska all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in the second week of March (8.2% of checklists), and fall back by early April. In the quietest week (late May) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 15-21mid October
PeakMar 8-14the second week of March
Fall back byApr 1-7early April
FewestMay 22-31late May

Best: the second week of March. Here all year; numbers build from mid October and fall back by early April. Peak: on about 8.2% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 7.0% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 6.6% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 6.9% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.8% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.9% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.2% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.9% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 7.6% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.1% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.4% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.0% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.5% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.2% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.6% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.3% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.9% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.3% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.4% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.2% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.9% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.8% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.4% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.1% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.2% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.1% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.6% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.3% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.1% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.2% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.0% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.1% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.4% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.1% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.6% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.5% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.9% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.8% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.1% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.0% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.0% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.1% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.0% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 6.2% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 7.5% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 6.6% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 6.6% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 7.3% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.1% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hoonah-Angoon Census AreaBest early December · 56 checklists that week, 8,159 in all29%
  2. Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaBest mid January · 11 checklists that week, 2,835 in all26%
  3. Dillingham Census AreaBest late August · 33 checklists that week, 1,426 in all22%
  4. Copper River Census AreaBest early April · 23 checklists that week, 3,467 in all20%
  5. Northwest Arctic BoroughBest late August · 18 checklists that week, 1,386 in all19%
  6. Fairbanks North Star BoroughBest mid November · 120 checklists that week, 23,771 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Fort Abercrombie State Historical ParkKodiak Island Borough, best late February · 21 checklists that week, 709 in all46%
  2. Hillside ParkAnchorage Municipality, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 338 in all40%
  3. Mud BayKenai Peninsula Borough, best early July · 21 checklists that week, 1,013 in all35%
  4. Smith LakeFairbanks North Star Borough, best early September · 27 checklists that week, 412 in all35%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the White-winged Crossbill is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (6.2% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 6.6% of 9751 checklists7 am: 6.0% of 17236 checklists8 am: 5.9% of 24936 checklists9 am: 5.9% of 30139 checklists10 am: 5.6% of 30866 checklists11 am: 5.7% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 4.9% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 4.7% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 4.4% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 4.0% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 3.4% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 3.2% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 2.5% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 2.3% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 1.2% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January7.0%6.6%6.9%5.8%
February7.9%7.2%5.9%7.6%
March8.1%8.4%8.0%6.5%
April6.2%5.6%4.3%3.9%
May3.3%3.4%3.2%2.9%
June2.8%4.4%4.1%4.2%
July4.1%4.6%4.3%5.1%
August5.2%6.0%6.1%5.4%
September4.1%3.6%4.5%3.9%
October4.8%5.1%5.0%7.0%
November7.1%8.0%6.2%7.5%
December6.6%6.6%7.3%7.1%

Neighboring states

  • North Dakota: arrives early November, 2 weeks later than Alaska
  • South Dakota: arrives early December, 6 weeks later than Alaska
  • Minnesota: arrives late October, 1 week later than Alaska
  • Wisconsin: arrives late October, 1 week later than Alaska

Common questions

When do White-winged Crossbills arrive in Alaska?
White-winged Crossbills are in Alaska all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in the second week of March (8.2% of checklists), and fall back by early April. In the quietest week (late May) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.
When do White-winged Crossbills leave Alaska?
White-winged Crossbills never fully leave Alaska: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early April, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a White-winged Crossbill in Alaska?
The White-winged Crossbill is reported most often in the second week of March, on about 8.2% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are White-winged Crossbills seen most often?
By county, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, and Dillingham Census Area have the highest peak reporting rates for the White-winged Crossbill (counties with at least 200 checklists).