WhenToBird

Buteo platypterus · Accipitridae

When Do Broad-winged Hawks Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult Broad-winged Hawk
Photo: Donald Davesne, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Broad-winged Hawks arrive in New Jersey in early August, peak in late September (5.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 1-7early August
Common byAug 1-7early August
PeakSep 22-30late September
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: late September. First arrivals early August; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 5.6% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.3% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.6% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.2% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.1% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.6% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.3% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.0% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.8% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.6% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.0% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.6% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.0% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.8% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.3% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.9% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.7% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.8% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.3% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.7% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 26651 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 Jersey 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 New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Passaic CountyBest late April · 1220 checklists that week, 24,933 in all10%
  2. Cape May CountyBest late September · 9174 checklists that week, 189,832 in all9.9%
  3. Warren CountyBest mid September · 305 checklists that week, 20,077 in all9.8%
  4. Somerset CountyBest mid September · 1149 checklists that week, 58,057 in all9.0%
  5. Bergen CountyBest mid September · 1538 checklists that week, 73,457 in all7.5%
  6. Essex CountyBest mid September · 696 checklists that week, 28,396 in all6.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Palisades ParkBergen County, best mid September · 222 checklists that week, 2,765 in all45%
  2. Montclair SanctuaryEssex County, best mid September · 55 checklists that week, 401 in all41%
  3. Washington Valley ParkSomerset County, best late September · 109 checklists that week, 1,255 in all40%
  4. Miquin WoodsHunterdon County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 159 in all33%
  5. Fairview Farm Wildlife PreserveSomerset County, best late April · 57 checklists that week, 1,451 in all29%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Broad-winged Hawk is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (2.0% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (746) to judge1 am: too few checklists (640) to judge2 am: too few checklists (606) to judge3 am: too few checklists (755) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1681) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11258) to judge6 am: 1.7% of 50447 checklists7 am: 1.5% of 118312 checklists8 am: 1.6% of 123273 checklists9 am: 2.0% of 107783 checklists10 am: 2.1% of 97537 checklists11 am: 1.8% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 1.4% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 1.2% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 28122 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14727) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4257) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1273) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (920) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (693) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0.1%1.3%3.6%3.2%
May2.1%1.6%1.5%1.3%
June1.3%1.2%1.0%0.8%
July0.7%0.6%0.6%0.7%
August0.7%1.0%1.1%1.6%
September2.0%2.8%6.3%5.9%
October4.7%3.8%3.3%1.7%
November0.8%0.5%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives mid August, 2 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of April, 15 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives the second week of April, 15 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives the second week of April, 15 weeks earlier than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Broad-winged Hawks arrive in New Jersey?
Broad-winged Hawks arrive in New Jersey in early August, peak in late September (5.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Broad-winged Hawks leave New Jersey?
Most Broad-winged Hawks have left New Jersey by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Broad-winged Hawk in New Jersey?
The Broad-winged Hawk is reported most often in late September, on about 5.6% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Broad-winged Hawks seen most often?
By county, Passaic County, Cape May County, and Warren County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Broad-winged Hawk (counties with at least 200 checklists).