WhenToBird

Spinus pinus · Fringillidae

When Do Pine Siskins Arrive in New Hampshire?

Adult Pine Siskin
Photo: Dominique Bérubé, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Pine Siskins are winter birds in New Hampshire: the first arrive in late September, they are common by the second week of October, peak in early March (8.8% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 22-30late September
Common byOct 8-14the second week of October
PeakMar 1-7early March
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: early March. First arrivals late September; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 8.8% of New Hampshire checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 3.3% of 8253 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.9% of 5998 checklistsJan 15-21: 4.1% of 5734 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.0% of 7776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.5% of 5253 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.0% of 6802 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.4% of 8852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.5% of 5792 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.9% of 6187 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.0% of 6977 checklistsMar 15-21: 6.9% of 7863 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.9% of 11746 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.8% of 9329 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.8% of 10499 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.5% of 10376 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.2% of 13086 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.2% of 13198 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.7% of 14980 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.4% of 12487 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.9% of 14294 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.3% of 8974 checklistsJun 8-14: 2.1% of 8395 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.5% of 7670 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.8% of 9188 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.6% of 7707 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.7% of 6554 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 6636 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 9599 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 6436 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.5% of 6477 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 6510 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 9762 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 6700 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 6012 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 6238 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.2% of 7619 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.8% of 6702 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.6% of 6863 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.8% of 6284 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.2% of 8287 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.0% of 7584 checklistsNov 8-14: 6.3% of 6056 checklistsNov 15-21: 6.0% of 5597 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.8% of 7140 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.3% of 4623 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.9% of 4920 checklistsDec 15-21: 6.3% of 6416 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.2% 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. Coos CountyBest the second week of March · 267 checklists that week, 27,719 in all29%
  2. Grafton CountyBest early March · 496 checklists that week, 45,699 in all20%
  3. Carroll CountyBest mid April · 709 checklists that week, 30,580 in all18%
  4. Belknap CountyBest mid April · 406 checklists that week, 13,295 in all11%
  5. Merrimack CountyBest early March · 602 checklists that week, 36,980 in all9.8%
  6. Cheshire CountyBest late February · 668 checklists that week, 39,834 in all9.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Contoocook River Reservoir (MacDowell Colony)Hillsborough County, best mid January · 22 checklists that week, 107 in all50%
  2. Sucker Brook CoveCheshire County, best mid April · 21 checklists that week, 481 in all39%
  3. Upper Baker PondGrafton County, best late October · 34 checklists that week, 710 in all37%
  4. White Mountain National ForestGrafton County, best mid May · 21 checklists that week, 667 in all36%

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

Best time of day

In New Hampshire, the Pine Siskin is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (5.7% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 5.2% of 23140 checklists7 am: 6.0% of 43401 checklists8 am: 5.3% of 48039 checklists9 am: 5.2% of 43328 checklists10 am: 4.5% of 37073 checklists11 am: 4.1% of 32028 checklists12 pm: 4.0% of 27396 checklists1 pm: 3.7% of 25182 checklists2 pm: 3.3% of 24318 checklists3 pm: 2.8% of 21974 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 17958 checklists5 pm: 2.4% of 14528 checklists6 pm: 1.4% 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
January3.3%2.9%4.1%5.0%
February7.5%7.0%7.4%8.5%
March8.9%9.0%6.9%6.9%
April7.8%7.8%7.5%7.2%
May6.2%4.7%3.4%2.9%
June2.3%2.1%1.5%0.8%
July0.6%0.7%0.5%0.5%
August0.5%0.5%0.3%0.2%
September0.2%0.3%0.3%1.2%
October2.8%4.6%5.8%8.2%
November6.0%6.3%6.0%4.8%
December4.3%3.9%6.3%4.2%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: arrives early October, 1 week later than New Hampshire
  • Vermont: arrives early October, 1 week later than New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island: arrives the second week of October, 2 weeks later than New Hampshire
  • Maine: arrives late September, in the same week than New Hampshire

Common questions

When do Pine Siskins arrive in New Hampshire?
Pine Siskins are winter birds in New Hampshire: the first arrive in late September, they are common by the second week of October, peak in early March (8.8% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Pine Siskins leave New Hampshire?
Most Pine Siskins have left New Hampshire by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid June.
When is the best time to see a Pine Siskin in New Hampshire?
The Pine Siskin is reported most often in early March, on about 8.8% of New Hampshire checklists.
Where in New Hampshire are Pine Siskins seen most often?
By county, Coos County, Grafton County, and Carroll County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Pine Siskin (counties with at least 200 checklists).