WhenToBird

Sturnus vulgaris · Sturnidae

When Do European Starlings Arrive in New Hampshire?

Adult female European Starling
Photo: egorbirder, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The European Starling is in New Hampshire all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (early March) and on 7.9% in its quietest week (early August).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 1-7early March
Quietest weekAug 1-7early August

Best: early March. Here all year. Peak: on about 17% of New Hampshire checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 15% of 8253 checklistsJan 8-14: 14% of 5998 checklistsJan 15-21: 16% of 5734 checklistsJan 22-31: 17% of 7776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 17% of 5253 checklistsFeb 8-14: 16% of 6802 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 8852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 17% of 5792 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 6187 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 6977 checklistsMar 15-21: 17% of 7863 checklistsMar 22-31: 16% of 11746 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 9329 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 10499 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 10376 checklistsApr 22-30: 15% of 13086 checklistsMay 1-7: 15% of 13198 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 14980 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 12487 checklistsMay 22-31: 17% of 14294 checklistsJun 1-7: 17% of 8974 checklistsJun 8-14: 16% of 8395 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 7670 checklistsJun 22-30: 13% of 9188 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 7707 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 6554 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.3% of 6636 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.5% of 9599 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.7% of 6436 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.4% of 6477 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.8% of 6510 checklistsAug 22-31: 10% of 9762 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.7% of 6700 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.4% of 6012 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.6% of 6238 checklistsSep 22-30: 12% of 7619 checklistsOct 1-7: 12% of 6702 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 6863 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 6284 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 8287 checklistsNov 1-7: 15% of 7584 checklistsNov 8-14: 12% of 6056 checklistsNov 15-21: 13% of 5597 checklistsNov 22-30: 13% of 7140 checklistsDec 1-7: 13% of 4623 checklistsDec 8-14: 15% of 4920 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 6416 checklistsDec 22-31: 14% 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.

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Where in New Hampshire

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rockingham CountyBest the second week of June · 1476 checklists that week, 84,864 in all28%
  2. Sullivan CountyBest mid April · 304 checklists that week, 13,105 in all23%
  3. Cheshire CountyBest early March · 667 checklists that week, 39,834 in all21%
  4. Merrimack CountyBest early March · 602 checklists that week, 36,980 in all21%
  5. Hillsborough CountyBest the second week of March · 1102 checklists that week, 50,125 in all20%
  6. Belknap CountyBest late May · 424 checklists that week, 13,295 in all19%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Reeds MarshGrafton County, best late August · 21 checklists that week, 209 in all85%
  2. Cocheco River ReservoirStrafford County, best mid June · 21 checklists that week, 2,281 in all82%

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

Best time of day

In New Hampshire, the European Starling is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (19% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%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: 19% of 23140 checklists7 am: 19% of 43401 checklists8 am: 17% of 48039 checklists9 am: 15% of 43328 checklists10 am: 12% of 37073 checklists11 am: 11% of 32028 checklists12 pm: 11% of 27396 checklists1 pm: 10% of 25182 checklists2 pm: 11% of 24318 checklists3 pm: 11% of 21974 checklists4 pm: 10% of 17958 checklists5 pm: 12% of 14528 checklists6 pm: 11% 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
January15%14%16%17%
February17%16%16%17%
March17%18%17%16%
April14%14%14%15%
May15%16%16%17%
June17%16%14%13%
July11%12%9.3%8.5%
August7.7%7.4%8.8%10%
September7.7%8.4%9.6%12%
October12%11%13%13%
November15%12%13%13%
December13%15%14%14%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do European Starlings arrive in New Hampshire?
The European Starling is in New Hampshire all year. It turns up on about 17% of checklists at its peak (early March) and on 7.9% in its quietest week (early August).
When do European Starlings leave New Hampshire?
The European Starling does not leave New Hampshire: it is reported all year, from 7.9% of checklists in early August to 17% in early March.
When is the best time to see a European Starling in New Hampshire?
The European Starling is reported most often in early March, on about 17% of New Hampshire checklists.
Where in New Hampshire are European Starlings seen most often?
By county, Rockingham County, Sullivan County, and Cheshire County have the highest peak reporting rates for the European Starling (counties with at least 200 checklists).