WhenToBird

Anas acuta · Anatidae

When Do Northern Pintails Arrive in New Hampshire?

Adult Northern Pintail
Photo: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Pintails are winter birds in New Hampshire: they arrive in early January, peak in mid March (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.

When to look

First arrivalsJan 1-7early January
Common byJan 1-7early January
PeakMar 15-21mid March
Most gone byApr 1-7early April

Best: mid March. First arrivals early January; most are gone by early April. Peak: on about 1.4% of New Hampshire checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.5% of 8253 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.7% of 5998 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.7% of 5734 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.0% of 7776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.5% of 5253 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 6802 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 8852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.9% of 5792 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.0% of 6187 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.4% of 6977 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.7% of 7863 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.3% of 11746 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 9329 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 10499 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 10376 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 13086 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 13198 checklistsMay 8-14: 0% of 14980 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 12487 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 14294 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 8974 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 8395 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 7670 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 9188 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 7707 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 6554 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 6636 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 9599 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 6436 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 6477 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 6510 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 9762 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 6700 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 6012 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.7% of 6238 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 7619 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.9% of 6702 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 6863 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 6284 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.9% of 8287 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 7584 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 6056 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 5597 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.7% of 7140 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 4623 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 4920 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 6416 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% 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. Sullivan CountyBest mid March · 373 checklists that week, 13,105 in all6.1%
  2. Strafford CountyBest early October · 552 checklists that week, 41,888 in all5.7%
  3. Merrimack CountyBest early March · 602 checklists that week, 36,980 in all2.7%
  4. Cheshire CountyBest mid March · 898 checklists that week, 39,834 in all2.4%
  5. Rockingham CountyBest the second week of March · 1759 checklists that week, 84,864 in all1.9%
  6. Belknap CountyBest late October · 286 checklists that week, 13,295 in all1.5%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cocheco River ReservoirStrafford County, best early October · 57 checklists that week, 2,281 in all43%
  2. Lover MeadowSullivan County, best late March · 27 checklists that week, 248 in all35%
  3. Horseshoe PondMerrimack County, best early February · 20 checklists that week, 2,088 in all30%
  4. Great MeadowSullivan County, best late March · 25 checklists that week, 160 in all25%
  5. Town of Exeter Sewerage Lagoons ReservoirRockingham County, best mid September · 35 checklists that week, 2,293 in all23%

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

Best time of day

In New Hampshire, the Northern Pintail is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.1% of 23140 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 43401 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 48039 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 43328 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 37073 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 32028 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 27396 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 25182 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 24318 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 21974 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 17958 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 14528 checklists6 pm: 0.1% 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
January0.5%0.7%0.7%1.0%
February0.5%0.7%0.5%0.9%
March1.0%1.4%1.7%1.3%
April0.4%0.4%0.2%0.1%
May0.1%0%0.1%0%
June0%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0%
August0%0.1%0%0.1%
September0.1%0.4%0.7%0.7%
October0.9%0.8%0.7%0.9%
November0.8%0.6%0.5%0.7%
December0.3%0.4%0.1%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: arrives the second week of October, 11 weeks earlier than New Hampshire
  • Vermont: arrives mid February, 6 weeks later than New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island: arrives early October, 12 weeks earlier than New Hampshire
  • Maine: arrives late September, 13 weeks earlier than New Hampshire

Common questions

When do Northern Pintails arrive in New Hampshire?
Northern Pintails are winter birds in New Hampshire: they arrive in early January, peak in mid March (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.
When do Northern Pintails leave New Hampshire?
Most Northern Pintails have left New Hampshire by early April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Northern Pintail in New Hampshire?
The Northern Pintail is reported most often in mid March, on about 1.4% of New Hampshire checklists.
Where in New Hampshire are Northern Pintails seen most often?
By county, Sullivan County, Strafford County, and Merrimack County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Pintail (counties with at least 200 checklists).