WhenToBird

Sitta canadensis · Sittidae

When Do Red-breasted Nuthatches Arrive in New Hampshire?

Adult Red-breasted Nuthatch
Photo: Joshua Liverman, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in New Hampshire all year. It turns up on about 22% of checklists at its peak (the second week of September) and on 11% in its quietest week (late March).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 8-14the second week of September
Quietest weekMar 22-31late March

Best: the second week of September. Here all year. Peak: on about 22% of New Hampshire checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 12% of 8253 checklistsJan 8-14: 13% of 5998 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 5734 checklistsJan 22-31: 14% of 7776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 5253 checklistsFeb 8-14: 20% of 6802 checklistsFeb 15-21: 15% of 8852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 15% of 5792 checklistsMar 1-7: 13% of 6187 checklistsMar 8-14: 13% of 6977 checklistsMar 15-21: 11% of 7863 checklistsMar 22-31: 11% of 11746 checklistsApr 1-7: 11% of 9329 checklistsApr 8-14: 12% of 10499 checklistsApr 15-21: 12% of 10376 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 13086 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 13198 checklistsMay 8-14: 14% of 14980 checklistsMay 15-21: 13% of 12487 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 14294 checklistsJun 1-7: 11% of 8974 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 8395 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 7670 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 9188 checklistsJul 1-7: 14% of 7707 checklistsJul 8-14: 13% of 6554 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 6636 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 9599 checklistsAug 1-7: 14% of 6436 checklistsAug 8-14: 17% of 6477 checklistsAug 15-21: 18% of 6510 checklistsAug 22-31: 18% of 9762 checklistsSep 1-7: 23% of 6700 checklistsSep 8-14: 21% of 6012 checklistsSep 15-21: 20% of 6238 checklistsSep 22-30: 19% of 7619 checklistsOct 1-7: 20% of 6702 checklistsOct 8-14: 19% of 6863 checklistsOct 15-21: 16% of 6284 checklistsOct 22-31: 15% of 8287 checklistsNov 1-7: 15% of 7584 checklistsNov 8-14: 16% of 6056 checklistsNov 15-21: 17% of 5597 checklistsNov 22-30: 16% of 7140 checklistsDec 1-7: 16% of 4623 checklistsDec 8-14: 15% of 4920 checklistsDec 15-21: 18% of 6416 checklistsDec 22-31: 15% 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 mid December · 452 checklists that week, 27,719 in all43%
  2. Carroll CountyBest early September · 733 checklists that week, 30,580 in all41%
  3. Sullivan CountyBest late August · 342 checklists that week, 13,105 in all30%
  4. Grafton CountyBest the second week of September · 827 checklists that week, 45,699 in all28%
  5. Belknap CountyBest the second week of December · 161 checklists that week, 13,295 in all23%
  6. Cheshire CountyBest late November · 834 checklists that week, 39,834 in all20%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. White Mountain National ForestGrafton County, best mid May · 21 checklists that week, 667 in all86%
  2. Shaw PondCarroll County, best early September · 22 checklists that week, 190 in all84%
  3. Connecticut River WetlandsCoos County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 984 in all83%
  4. Upper Baker PondGrafton County, best late August · 27 checklists that week, 710 in all82%
  5. Dana PastureGrafton County, best late August · 23 checklists that week, 386 in all82%
  6. Great Gulf Ext. Roadless AreaCoos County, best late July · 25 checklists that week, 257 in all79%

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

Best time of day

In New Hampshire, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (20% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%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: 21% of 23140 checklists7 am: 20% of 43401 checklists8 am: 18% of 48039 checklists9 am: 16% of 43328 checklists10 am: 14% of 37073 checklists11 am: 14% of 32028 checklists12 pm: 12% of 27396 checklists1 pm: 12% of 25182 checklists2 pm: 12% of 24318 checklists3 pm: 11% of 21974 checklists4 pm: 10% of 17958 checklists5 pm: 8.8% of 14528 checklists6 pm: 8.3% 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
January12%13%14%14%
February15%20%15%15%
March13%13%11%11%
April11%12%12%13%
May13%14%13%11%
June11%12%14%14%
July14%13%12%12%
August14%17%18%18%
September23%21%20%19%
October20%19%16%15%
November15%16%17%16%
December16%15%18%15%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: all year, most in fall, peaks the second week of September
  • Vermont: year-round, peaks the second week of September
  • Rhode Island: winter visitor, peaks mid October
  • Maine: year-round, peaks the second week of September

Common questions

When do Red-breasted Nuthatches arrive in New Hampshire?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is in New Hampshire all year. It turns up on about 22% of checklists at its peak (the second week of September) and on 11% in its quietest week (late March).
When do Red-breasted Nuthatches leave New Hampshire?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch does not leave New Hampshire: it is reported all year, from 11% of checklists in late March to 22% in the second week of September.
When is the best time to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch in New Hampshire?
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is reported most often in the second week of September, on about 22% of New Hampshire checklists.
Where in New Hampshire are Red-breasted Nuthatches seen most often?
By county, Coos County, Carroll County, and Sullivan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-breasted Nuthatch (counties with at least 200 checklists).