WhenToBird

Tringa melanoleuca · Scolopacidae

When Do Greater Yellowlegses Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult Greater Yellowlegs
Photo: Irina Mitine, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Greater Yellowlegses reach New Jersey in late June, are common by the second week of July, peak in late August (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 22-30late June
Common byJul 8-14the second week of July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone byNov 15-21mid November

Best: late August. First arrivals late June; most are gone by mid November. Peak: on about 10% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 1.6% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.3% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.3% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.1% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.1% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.0% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.3% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.1% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.5% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.4% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.8% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.8% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 10% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.8% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.4% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.1% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.6% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.2% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.8% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.0% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.3% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.8% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.1% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.0% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.0% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.0% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 11% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.8% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.5% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.5% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.2% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.8% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.3% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.2% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.6% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.6% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.2% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.3% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.5% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.9% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.4% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.0% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.7% 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.

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Where in New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cumberland CountyBest late April · 912 checklists that week, 13,927 in all43%
  2. Atlantic CountyBest early November · 405 checklists that week, 28,208 in all26%
  3. Hudson CountyBest mid August · 334 checklists that week, 21,191 in all25%
  4. Salem CountyBest mid April · 183 checklists that week, 9,658 in all20%
  5. Cape May CountyBest the second week of August · 2515 checklists that week, 189,832 in all19%
  6. Bergen CountyBest late September · 1745 checklists that week, 73,457 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Heislerville Wildlife Management AreaCumberland County, best late April · 198 checklists that week, 1,554 in all91%
  2. Raccoon Creek Conservation AreaGloucester County, best late April · 44 checklists that week, 1,309 in all90%
  3. Heislerville Wildlife Management Area (west)Cumberland County, best late April · 72 checklists that week, 627 in all89%
  4. Shore BeachOcean County, best late April · 25 checklists that week, 385 in all88%
  5. Mannington PreserveSalem County, best the second week of April · 34 checklists that week, 622 in all87%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Greater Yellowlegs is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (6.5% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 7.4% of 50447 checklists7 am: 5.6% of 118312 checklists8 am: 5.0% of 123273 checklists9 am: 5.0% of 107783 checklists10 am: 5.0% of 97537 checklists11 am: 4.6% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 4.6% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 4.8% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 4.9% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 5.0% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 5.7% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 6.8% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 6.1% 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
January1.6%1.3%1.3%1.1%
February0.9%1.0%0.7%1.1%
March1.0%1.3%2.1%3.5%
April5.4%7.8%8.8%10%
May9.8%8.4%6.1%3.6%
June2.2%0.8%0.6%1.0%
July2.3%3.8%5.1%7.0%
August9.0%9.0%11%9.8%
September9.5%8.5%8.2%8.8%
October9.3%8.2%8.6%8.6%
November7.2%5.3%4.5%2.9%
December2.4%2.0%1.7%1.4%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives late March, 12 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives late June, in the same week than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early April, 11 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives early July, 1 week later than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Greater Yellowlegses arrive in New Jersey?
Greater Yellowlegses reach New Jersey in late June, are common by the second week of July, peak in late August (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.
When do Greater Yellowlegses leave New Jersey?
Most Greater Yellowlegses have left New Jersey by mid November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late January.
When is the best time to see a Greater Yellowlegs in New Jersey?
The Greater Yellowlegs is reported most often in late August, on about 10% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Greater Yellowlegses seen most often?
By county, Cumberland County, Atlantic County, and Hudson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Greater Yellowlegs (counties with at least 200 checklists).