WhenToBird

Setophaga pinus · Parulidae

When Do Pine Warblers Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult male Pine Warbler
Photo: northerly, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Pine Warblers reach New Jersey in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in the second week of April (15% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 8-14the second week of March
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: the second week of April. First arrivals early March; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 15% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decrare

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.6% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.7% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.7% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.6% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.4% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.0% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.7% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.9% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 10% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 16% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 14% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.5% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.1% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 7.8% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.2% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.7% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.2% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.4% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.3% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.5% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.3% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.2% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.3% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.1% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.5% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.7% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.4% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.1% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.6% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.1% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 5.4% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.8% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.2% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.8% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.1% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.6% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% 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. Atlantic CountyBest mid April · 827 checklists that week, 28,208 in all41%
  2. Ocean CountyBest the second week of April · 2022 checklists that week, 87,340 in all30%
  3. Burlington CountyBest mid April · 1201 checklists that week, 52,358 in all25%
  4. Passaic CountyBest the second week of April · 778 checklists that week, 24,933 in all21%
  5. Cumberland CountyBest early April · 268 checklists that week, 13,927 in all21%
  6. Cape May CountyBest early April · 2543 checklists that week, 189,832 in all20%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Piney Hollow ParkGloucester County, best early April · 20 checklists that week, 366 in all97%
  2. Michael Huber Prairie Warbler PreserveBurlington County, best mid April · 36 checklists that week, 508 in all97%
  3. Franklin Parker PreserveBurlington County, best the second week of April · 21 checklists that week, 1,063 in all96%
  4. Estell Manor ParkAtlantic County, best late March · 28 checklists that week, 664 in all90%
  5. Deep Hollow BranchOcean County, best the second week of April · 83 checklists that week, 1,613 in all88%
  6. Belleplain State Forest (southeast)Cape May County, best early April · 25 checklists that week, 838 in all86%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Pine Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (7.0% of those checklists).

0%5%10%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: 8.3% of 50447 checklists7 am: 6.4% of 118312 checklists8 am: 5.5% of 123273 checklists9 am: 5.0% of 107783 checklists10 am: 4.5% of 97537 checklists11 am: 4.5% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 3.7% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 3.4% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 3.4% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 3.2% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 3.4% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 3.6% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 2.8% 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
January0.6%0.7%0.7%0.8%
February0.9%0.6%0.5%0.4%
March1.0%2.7%5.9%10%
April14%16%14%12%
May9.5%8.1%7.8%7.2%
June6.7%6.2%6.4%5.3%
July4.5%3.3%2.2%1.3%
August1.1%1.5%1.7%2.4%
September3.1%4.6%5.1%5.4%
October5.8%5.2%2.8%1.1%
November0.7%0.5%0.4%0.5%
December0.6%0.6%0.6%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives late November, 13 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives late March, 3 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives mid March, 2 weeks later than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives mid March, 2 weeks later than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Pine Warblers arrive in New Jersey?
Pine Warblers reach New Jersey in early March, are common by the second week of March, peak in the second week of April (15% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Pine Warblers leave New Jersey?
Most Pine Warblers have left New Jersey by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late October.
When is the best time to see a Pine Warbler in New Jersey?
The Pine Warbler is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 15% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Pine Warblers seen most often?
By county, Atlantic County, Ocean County, and Burlington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Pine Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).