WhenToBird

Sayornis phoebe · Tyrannidae

When Do Eastern Phoebes Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult Eastern Phoebe
Photo: Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Eastern Phoebes reach New Jersey in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in early April (25% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 8-14the second week of March
PeakApr 1-7early April
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: early April. First arrivals early March; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 25% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.5% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.4% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.7% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.8% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.0% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 12% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 26% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 29% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 22% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 15% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 11% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 10% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.8% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.7% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.3% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.9% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.5% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.5% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.6% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.0% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.8% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.8% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 8.8% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.6% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 14% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 25% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 26% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 22% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 5.1% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.4% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.5% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.9% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.5% 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. Sussex CountyBest late September · 542 checklists that week, 30,305 in all47%
  2. Warren CountyBest late September · 348 checklists that week, 20,077 in all45%
  3. Hunterdon CountyBest early April · 1356 checklists that week, 57,610 in all45%
  4. Passaic CountyBest early April · 684 checklists that week, 24,933 in all43%
  5. Burlington CountyBest early October · 922 checklists that week, 52,358 in all39%
  6. Morris CountyBest early April · 1537 checklists that week, 59,212 in all37%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ringwood Mill PondPassaic County, best the second week of April · 34 checklists that week, 737 in all87%
  2. Double Trouble State ParkOcean County, best late March · 25 checklists that week, 572 in all85%
  3. Memorial Park (Pine Grove)Burlington County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 487 in all85%
  4. Jackson WoodsMonmouth County, best early April · 21 checklists that week, 249 in all83%
  5. Deep Hollow BranchOcean County, best early April · 54 checklists that week, 1,613 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Eastern Phoebe is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (15% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%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: 16% of 50447 checklists7 am: 14% of 118312 checklists8 am: 12% of 123273 checklists9 am: 11% of 107783 checklists10 am: 9.2% of 97537 checklists11 am: 7.8% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 7.1% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 6.5% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 6.6% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 6.8% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 7.6% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 8.3% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 6.7% 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
January0.5%0.4%0.3%0.4%
February0.7%0.3%0.2%0.3%
March0.8%4.0%12%26%
April29%22%15%13%
May12%11%11%11%
June10%9.8%10%9.7%
July9.3%7.9%7.5%6.5%
August6.6%7.0%6.8%7.8%
September8.8%9.6%14%21%
October25%26%22%13%
November5.1%1.4%1.5%0.9%
December0.9%0.6%0.7%0.5%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives early March, in the same week than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of March, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives the second week of March, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives the second week of March, 1 week later than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Eastern Phoebes arrive in New Jersey?
Eastern Phoebes reach New Jersey in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in early April (25% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Eastern Phoebes leave New Jersey?
Most Eastern Phoebes have left New Jersey by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late November.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Phoebe in New Jersey?
The Eastern Phoebe is reported most often in early April, on about 25% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Eastern Phoebes seen most often?
By county, Sussex County, Warren County, and Hunterdon County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Phoebe (counties with at least 200 checklists).