WhenToBird

Corvus ossifragus · Corvidae

When Do Fish Crows Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult Fish Crow
Photo: Laura Mae, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Fish Crows are in New Jersey all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from mid March, peak in the second week of April (30% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of August. In the quietest week (late December) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Fall back byAug 8-14the second week of August
FewestDec 22-31late December

Best: the second week of April. Here all year; numbers build from mid March and fall back by the second week of August. Peak: on about 30% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 3.5% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.1% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.8% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 4.4% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 4.5% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.9% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.4% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.9% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 16% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 21% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 26% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 29% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 31% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 30% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 27% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 24% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 21% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 22% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 21% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 22% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 22% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 23% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 24% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 24% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 24% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 21% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 19% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 18% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 15% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.3% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.6% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 7.2% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.5% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 6.8% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 6.7% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 6.3% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 5.7% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 4.7% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.2% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.2% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.7% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.6% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 4.0% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.7% 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. Cape May CountyBest the second week of April · 2958 checklists that week, 189,832 in all46%
  2. Burlington CountyBest the second week of April · 1171 checklists that week, 52,358 in all41%
  3. Atlantic CountyBest the second week of April · 673 checklists that week, 28,208 in all39%
  4. Camden CountyBest the second week of April · 673 checklists that week, 25,931 in all39%
  5. Hunterdon CountyBest the second week of April · 1392 checklists that week, 57,610 in all37%
  6. Salem CountyBest mid April · 183 checklists that week, 9,658 in all36%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bulls IslandHunterdon County, best mid April · 23 checklists that week, 342 in all90%
  2. Majors PondMiddlesex County, best late April · 24 checklists that week, 482 in all82%
  3. Spruce Run Recreation AreaHunterdon County, best mid April · 193 checklists that week, 7,795 in all79%
  4. Lake CarasaljoOcean County, best late March · 28 checklists that week, 1,087 in all78%
  5. Lake Lily (Cape May Point)Cape May County, best the second week of April · 22 checklists that week, 1,952 in all77%
  6. Westville Borough ParkGloucester County, best late May · 42 checklists that week, 1,265 in all77%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Fish Crow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (21% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 25% of 50447 checklists7 am: 20% of 118312 checklists8 am: 16% of 123273 checklists9 am: 15% of 107783 checklists10 am: 14% of 97537 checklists11 am: 12% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 11% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 11% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 11% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 10% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 11% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 12% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 12% 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
January3.5%4.1%3.8%4.4%
February4.5%4.9%5.4%8.9%
March11%16%21%26%
April29%31%30%27%
May24%21%22%21%
June22%22%23%24%
July24%24%23%21%
August19%18%15%12%
September11%9.3%7.6%7.2%
October7.5%6.8%6.7%6.3%
November5.7%4.7%4.2%4.2%
December3.7%3.6%4.0%3.7%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives mid March, in the same week than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives early November, 18 weeks earlier than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Fish Crows arrive in New Jersey?
Fish Crows are in New Jersey all year, but most are here in summer: numbers build from mid March, peak in the second week of April (30% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of August. In the quietest week (late December) they are still on about 3.7% of checklists.
When do Fish Crows leave New Jersey?
Fish Crows never fully leave New Jersey: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of August, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.7% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Fish Crow in New Jersey?
The Fish Crow is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 30% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Fish Crows seen most often?
By county, Cape May County, Burlington County, and Atlantic County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Fish Crow (counties with at least 200 checklists).