Snowy Owls in Montana
Snowy owl reports in Montana winter by winter, adjusted for the growth of iNaturalist, with this winter read live and the latest report date.
Snowy owl reports in Montana this winter
Winter 2026-27 so far
Reading this winter’s reports for Montana from iNaturalist.
Looking up the latest research grade snowy owl report for Montana.
Montana owls winter on the vast wheat and grassland country east of the mountains, where reports lag the birds because so few observers cover so much open ground.
Twelve winters of snowy owls in Montana
Measured against everything birders reported, the biggest winter in the Montana record is 2021-22: 34 research grade reports. Each winter runs November 1 to March 31, and its rate is snowy owl reports per 10,000 bird reports for the state, so the rising number of people on iNaturalist does not read as more owls.
When snowy owls are reported in Montana
Snowy owl
60 research grade snowy owl observations uploaded to iNaturalist for Montana since July 2014, by calendar month, with November to March shaded. Reports usually begin in December and peak in February; December to February holds 70 percent of them. Counts of what people reported, so they follow observers as well as owls.
Where snowy owls winter in Montana
Snowy owls look for country that resembles the tundra: flat, open and treeless, with a low perch to hunt from. In Montana that means:
- wheat fields
- shortgrass prairie
- open rangeland
“Snowy owls appear in Montana every several years when numbers of lemmings, their preferred prey, decline from natural population fluctuations.”
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Winter finches and northern raptors in Montana
The northern birds with at least 25 winter reports in the Montana record, and how each came in last winter against its own other winters. The Winter Finch Forecast from the Finch Research Network reads the northern crops each autumn.
| Species | Reports | Index | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evening grosbeak | 3 | 0.3x | quiet |
| Redpoll | 0 | 0.0x | quiet |
| Pine siskin | 44 | 5.0x | big irruption |
| Red crossbill | 47 | 3.1x | big irruption |
| Pine grosbeak | 4 | 0.2x | quiet |
| Bohemian waxwing | 18 | 0.6x | quiet |
| Rough-legged hawk | 108 | 1.8x | above normal |
| Snow bunting | 9 | 1.6x | above normal |
| Northern shrike | 16 | 0.6x | quiet |
Evening grosbeak
Large tree seeds, especially box elder and maple, and sunflower at feeders.
Flights south follow poor seed crops in the boreal forest, and spruce budworm outbreaks in the north have fed a recovery in numbers.
Redpoll
Birch and alder catkins, and nyjer at feeders.
When the northern birch seed crop fails, flocks come south, and big flights have tended to come every other winter.
Pine siskin
Small conifer seeds, alder and birch, and nyjer at feeders.
A nomad on conifer seed that settles wherever the cones are good, so it can be abundant one winter and scarce the next.
Red crossbill
Seeds prised from closed conifer cones with a crossed bill.
Several call types each specialise on different conifers and wander to wherever their cone crop is heavy.
Pine grosbeak
Mountain ash berries, crabapples and conifer buds.
Comes south when the northern fruit crop is poor, often tame and slow moving in ornamental fruit trees.
Bohemian waxwing
Fruit: mountain ash, crabapple, juniper and buckthorn.
Flocks roam in search of fruit and arrive wherever a heavy crop hangs on into winter.
Rough-legged hawk
Voles and other small rodents, hunted by hovering over open fields.
A regular winter visitor from the Arctic whose numbers rise and fall with the rodent cycles in its breeding range.
Snow bunting
Weed and grass seed on bare ground.
Flocks settle on windswept fields and shorelines where snow blows thin, and move on with each storm.
Northern shrike
Voles and small birds, sometimes cached on thorns.
A songbird that hunts like a small hawk, coming south in larger numbers when prey in the north is scarce.
How to watch a snowy owl in Montana
- Keep about 100 yards away. A snowy owl in winter is resting between hunts and every flush costs it energy it may not have. If it turns to stare, stands up or flies, back off. Binoculars, a scope or a long lens close the distance instead.
- Stay in the car. On farm roads and at airport edges the car works as a blind; an owl that ignores a parked vehicle will leave when a person steps out. Pull fully off the road and keep to public roads outside fences.
- Let the owl hunt its own food. Baited owls learn to fly low toward people and cars, which draws them onto roads and runways where collisions kill them.
- Leave the calls at home. Recorded calls and imitations pull owls off their hunting perches and add stress in the hardest season of the year.
- Share sightings at the state level. An owl that holds one field for weeks draws crowds once its spot is posted; the state and the date are plenty for the record.
Guidance from Project SNOWstorm and Audubon Great Lakes.
Wildlife in Montana is managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Snowy owl reports in other states
Questions about snowy owls in Montana
Compiled 2026-09-22 from research grade observation counts for Montana on iNaturalist, with the live winter and latest report date read from the same source. Counts are uploads by the public, adjusted by all bird uploads for the state in the same window. Agency text is quoted exactly from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.