WhenToBird

Melanitta americana · Anatidae

When Do Black Scoters Arrive in New Hampshire?

Adult male Black Scoter
Photo: Kevin Krebs, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black Scoters are winter birds in New Hampshire: they arrive in mid October, peak in early January (2.8% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 15-21mid October
Common byOct 15-21mid October
PeakJan 1-7early January
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: early January. First arrivals mid October; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 2.8% of New Hampshire checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Seprare
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 3.0% of 8253 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.2% of 5998 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.1% of 5734 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.2% of 7776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.8% of 5253 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.8% of 6802 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.7% of 8852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.2% of 5792 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.1% of 6187 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.4% of 6977 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.1% of 7863 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 11746 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 9329 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 10499 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 10376 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 13086 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 13198 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 14980 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 12487 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 14294 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 8974 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 8395 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 7670 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 9188 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 7707 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 6554 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 6636 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 9599 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 6436 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 6477 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 6510 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 9762 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 6700 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 6012 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 6238 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 7619 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 6702 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.0% of 6863 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.4% of 6284 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.6% of 8287 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.1% of 7584 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.4% of 6056 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.3% of 5597 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.1% of 7140 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.7% of 4623 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.6% of 4920 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.8% of 6416 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.0% of 7659 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 New Hampshire 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in New Hampshire

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rockingham CountyBest mid December · 1367 checklists that week, 84,864 in all10%
  2. Coos CountyBest late October · 561 checklists that week, 27,719 in all4.5%
  3. Grafton CountyBest early November · 589 checklists that week, 45,699 in all2.1%
  4. Belknap CountyBest early November · 470 checklists that week, 13,295 in all1.7%
  5. Cheshire CountyBest late October · 913 checklists that week, 39,834 in all1.3%
  6. Sullivan CountyBest late October · 229 checklists that week, 13,105 in all0.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hampton Beach State Park (Plaice Cove)Rockingham County, best the second week of November · 42 checklists that week, 959 in all60%
  2. Fairhill SwampRockingham County, best early January · 42 checklists that week, 517 in all55%
  3. Seal RocksRockingham County, best mid February · 20 checklists that week, 483 in all53%
  4. Hampton Beach State Park (Great Boars Head)Rockingham County, best early November · 28 checklists that week, 159 in all45%
  5. Ragged Neck PointRockingham County, best early April · 33 checklists that week, 2,179 in all33%
  6. Odiornes PointRockingham County, best late March · 102 checklists that week, 5,375 in all30%

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

Best time of day

In New Hampshire, the Black Scoter is most often listed on checklists started between 11 am and 1 pm (1.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (219) to judge1 am: too few checklists (192) to judge2 am: too few checklists (176) to judge3 am: too few checklists (234) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1042) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6352) to judge6 am: 0.8% of 23140 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 43401 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 48039 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 43328 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 37073 checklists11 am: 1.5% of 32028 checklists12 pm: 1.5% of 27396 checklists1 pm: 1.4% of 25182 checklists2 pm: 1.5% of 24318 checklists3 pm: 1.2% of 21974 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 17958 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 14528 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 9144 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (5341) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (1845) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (578) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (346) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (256) 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
January3.0%2.2%2.1%2.2%
February1.8%1.8%1.7%2.2%
March2.1%1.4%1.1%1.0%
April1.1%0.9%0.7%0.4%
May0.7%0.5%0.5%0.5%
June0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0.3%1.0%1.4%2.6%
November3.1%2.4%2.3%2.1%
December2.7%2.6%1.8%3.0%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: arrives late September, 3 weeks earlier than New Hampshire
  • Vermont: arrives mid October, in the same week than New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island: arrives late September, 3 weeks earlier than New Hampshire
  • Maine: arrives late September, 3 weeks earlier than New Hampshire

Common questions

When do Black Scoters arrive in New Hampshire?
Black Scoters are winter birds in New Hampshire: they arrive in mid October, peak in early January (2.8% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Black Scoters leave New Hampshire?
Most Black Scoters have left New Hampshire by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early April.
When is the best time to see a Black Scoter in New Hampshire?
The Black Scoter is reported most often in early January, on about 2.8% of New Hampshire checklists.
Where in New Hampshire are Black Scoters seen most often?
By county, Rockingham County, Coos County, and Grafton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Scoter (counties with at least 200 checklists).