WhenToBird

Aythya valisineria · Anatidae

When Do Canvasbacks Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult male Canvasback
Photo: datadan, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Canvasbacks are winter birds in New Jersey: they arrive in early December, peak in early February (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.

When to look

First arrivalsDec 1-7early December
Common byDec 1-7early December
PeakFeb 1-7early February
Most gone byMar 15-21mid March

Best: early February. First arrivals early December; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 2.4% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 1.9% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.0% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.0% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.4% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.6% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.1% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.9% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.1% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.2% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.7% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.3% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.6% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 0% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 0% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 0% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 0% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.1% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.1% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.9% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.4% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bergen CountyBest mid February · 1910 checklists that week, 73,457 in all10%
  2. Hudson CountyBest early February · 348 checklists that week, 21,191 in all10%
  3. Union CountyBest mid January · 390 checklists that week, 23,647 in all4.8%
  4. Gloucester CountyBest late January · 1061 checklists that week, 36,378 in all3.7%
  5. Hunterdon CountyBest late February · 1254 checklists that week, 57,610 in all3.3%
  6. Burlington CountyBest early March · 1010 checklists that week, 52,358 in all3.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kilpatrick Point (Cedar Point)Ocean County, best mid January · 30 checklists that week, 213 in all79%
  2. Kilpatrick PointOcean County, best late January · 20 checklists that week, 240 in all74%
  3. Richard W de Korte ParkBergen County, best mid February · 222 checklists that week, 10,095 in all72%
  4. SlaterUnion County, best the second week of January · 37 checklists that week, 995 in all57%
  5. DelancoBurlington County, best early March · 23 checklists that week, 295 in all50%
  6. Richard A Rutkowski ParkHudson County, best late December · 24 checklists that week, 870 in all49%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Canvasback is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.2% of 50447 checklists7 am: 0.4% of 118312 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 123273 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 107783 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 97537 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 0.9% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 0.9% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 0.1% 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
January1.9%2.0%2.0%2.4%
February2.6%2.1%1.9%2.1%
March2.2%1.7%1.3%0.6%
April0.4%0.2%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
June0%0%0%0%
July0.1%0%0.1%0%
August0%0%0%0%
September0%0%0%0%
October0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0.2%0.2%0.4%0.9%
December1.1%1.1%0.9%1.4%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives mid December, 2 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives mid December, 2 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late December, 3 weeks later than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives early December, in the same week than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Canvasbacks arrive in New Jersey?
Canvasbacks are winter birds in New Jersey: they arrive in early December, peak in early February (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Canvasbacks leave New Jersey?
Most Canvasbacks have left New Jersey by mid March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Canvasback in New Jersey?
The Canvasback is reported most often in early February, on about 2.4% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Canvasbacks seen most often?
By county, Bergen County, Hudson County, and Union County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Canvasback (counties with at least 200 checklists).