WhenToBird

Columba livia · Columbidae

When Do Rock Pigeons Arrive in New Hampshire?

Adult Rock Pigeon
Photo: Paul Braun, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

The Rock Pigeon is in New Hampshire all year. It turns up on about 9.4% of checklists at its peak (the second week of January) and on 4.3% in its quietest week (mid June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekJan 8-14the second week of January
Quietest weekJun 15-21mid June

Best: the second week of January. Here all year. Peak: on about 9.4% of New Hampshire checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  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%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 9.5% of 8253 checklistsJan 8-14: 9.3% of 5998 checklistsJan 15-21: 9.5% of 5734 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.4% of 7776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.3% of 5253 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.9% of 6802 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.2% of 8852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.2% of 5792 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.3% of 6187 checklistsMar 8-14: 8.5% of 6977 checklistsMar 15-21: 7.4% of 7863 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.4% of 11746 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.6% of 9329 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.4% of 10499 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.7% of 10376 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.3% of 13086 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.4% of 13198 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.6% of 14980 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.6% of 12487 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.7% of 14294 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.4% of 8974 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.2% of 8395 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.2% of 7670 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.4% of 9188 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.3% of 7707 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.3% of 6554 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.8% of 6636 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.8% of 9599 checklistsAug 1-7: 6.5% of 6436 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.7% of 6477 checklistsAug 15-21: 7.8% of 6510 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.4% of 9762 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.0% of 6700 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.2% of 6012 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.4% of 6238 checklistsSep 22-30: 6.8% of 7619 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.6% of 6702 checklistsOct 8-14: 5.9% of 6863 checklistsOct 15-21: 7.0% of 6284 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.0% of 8287 checklistsNov 1-7: 8.5% of 7584 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.2% of 6056 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.5% of 5597 checklistsNov 22-30: 8.2% of 7140 checklistsDec 1-7: 8.7% of 4623 checklistsDec 8-14: 10% of 4920 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.4% of 6416 checklistsDec 22-31: 8.4% 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. Merrimack CountyBest late August · 898 checklists that week, 36,980 in all20%
  2. Rockingham CountyBest the second week of December · 1293 checklists that week, 84,864 in all16%
  3. Sullivan CountyBest early January · 174 checklists that week, 13,105 in all15%
  4. Strafford CountyBest late November · 777 checklists that week, 41,888 in all12%
  5. Hillsborough CountyBest late January · 1059 checklists that week, 50,125 in all9.4%
  6. Belknap CountyBest early March · 182 checklists that week, 13,295 in all8.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Reeds MarshGrafton County, best late August · 21 checklists that week, 209 in all95%
  2. Chapman's Landing - Stratham Boat LaunchRockingham County, best the second week of June · 40 checklists that week, 1,876 in all65%
  3. Town of Exeter Sewerage Lagoons ReservoirRockingham County, best late July · 37 checklists that week, 2,293 in all64%

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

Best time of day

In New Hampshire, the Rock Pigeon is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (7.8% 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: 5.9% of 23140 checklists7 am: 6.5% of 43401 checklists8 am: 8.0% of 48039 checklists9 am: 7.6% of 43328 checklists10 am: 7.6% of 37073 checklists11 am: 7.1% of 32028 checklists12 pm: 7.3% of 27396 checklists1 pm: 7.2% of 25182 checklists2 pm: 7.2% of 24318 checklists3 pm: 5.9% of 21974 checklists4 pm: 4.9% of 17958 checklists5 pm: 5.5% of 14528 checklists6 pm: 3.7% 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
January9.5%9.3%9.5%9.4%
February9.3%7.9%7.2%9.2%
March9.3%8.5%7.4%7.4%
April6.6%6.4%5.7%5.3%
May5.4%4.6%4.6%4.7%
June5.4%4.2%4.2%4.4%
July4.3%5.3%4.8%5.8%
August6.5%6.7%7.8%8.4%
September7.0%7.2%6.4%6.8%
October6.6%5.9%7.0%7.0%
November8.5%7.2%7.5%8.2%
December8.7%10%8.4%8.4%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: year-round, peaks late January
  • Vermont: year-round, peaks the second week of January
  • Rhode Island: year-round, peaks late August
  • Maine: year-round, peaks the second week of January

Common questions

When do Rock Pigeons arrive in New Hampshire?
The Rock Pigeon is in New Hampshire all year. It turns up on about 9.4% of checklists at its peak (the second week of January) and on 4.3% in its quietest week (mid June).
When do Rock Pigeons leave New Hampshire?
The Rock Pigeon does not leave New Hampshire: it is reported all year, from 4.3% of checklists in mid June to 9.4% in the second week of January.
When is the best time to see a Rock Pigeon in New Hampshire?
The Rock Pigeon is reported most often in the second week of January, on about 9.4% of New Hampshire checklists.
Where in New Hampshire are Rock Pigeons seen most often?
By county, Merrimack County, Rockingham County, and Sullivan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Rock Pigeon (counties with at least 200 checklists).