WhenToBird

Pelecanus occidentalis · Pelecanidae

When Do Brown Pelicans Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult male Brown Pelican
Photo: Henrik Kibak, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Brown Pelicans arrive in New Jersey in the second week of June, peak in late July (3.2% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 8-14the second week of June
Common byJun 8-14the second week of June
PeakJul 22-31late July
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: late July. First arrivals the second week of June; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 3.2% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.7% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.3% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.4% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.9% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.3% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.8% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.2% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.2% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.0% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.0% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.8% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.4% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.1% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.2% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.1% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.1% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.3% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.0% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.6% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.4% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.4% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.9% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Ocean CountyBest mid July · 1233 checklists that week, 87,340 in all15%
  2. Cape May CountyBest late July · 2809 checklists that week, 189,832 in all10%
  3. Atlantic CountyBest mid August · 448 checklists that week, 28,208 in all3.2%
  4. Monmouth CountyBest mid July · 1033 checklists that week, 79,748 in all1.5%
  5. Cumberland CountyBest early April · 268 checklists that week, 13,927 in all1.4%
  6. Hudson CountyBest the second week of November · 338 checklists that week, 21,191 in all0.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Island Beach State Park (Sedge Islands)Ocean County, best the second week of August · 20 checklists that week, 211 in all83%
  2. Brigantine National Wilderness AreaOcean County, best the second week of September · 23 checklists that week, 903 in all82%
  3. Barnegat Lighthouse State ParkOcean County, best early October · 31 checklists that week, 6,257 in all82%
  4. Island Beach State Park (south)Ocean County, best late July · 21 checklists that week, 502 in all80%
  5. Island Beach State Park (south)Ocean County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 327 in all67%
  6. Cape May Point BeachCape May County, best mid July · 38 checklists that week, 5,796 in all58%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Brown Pelican is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.4% 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: 2.1% of 50447 checklists7 am: 1.1% of 118312 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 123273 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 107783 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 97537 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 0.8% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0%0%0.1%0%
March0.1%0%0%0.1%
April0.1%0.2%0.2%0.1%
May0.2%0.2%0.6%0.7%
June0.7%1.3%1.4%1.9%
July2.3%2.8%3.2%3.2%
August3.0%3.0%2.8%2.4%
September2.1%2.2%2.1%2.1%
October2.3%2.0%1.6%1.4%
November1.4%0.9%0.3%0.2%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives the second week of May, 4 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • Maryland: arrives mid May, 3 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • Virginia: arrives the second week of May, 4 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • North Carolina: arrives early October, 15 weeks later than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Brown Pelicans arrive in New Jersey?
Brown Pelicans arrive in New Jersey in the second week of June, peak in late July (3.2% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Brown Pelicans leave New Jersey?
Most Brown Pelicans have left New Jersey by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Brown Pelican in New Jersey?
The Brown Pelican is reported most often in late July, on about 3.2% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Brown Pelicans seen most often?
By county, Ocean County, Cape May County, and Atlantic County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Brown Pelican (counties with at least 200 checklists).