WhenToBird

Antigone canadensis · Gruidae

When Do Sandhill Cranes Arrive in New York?

Adult Sandhill crane
Photo: Cathy Perkins, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Sandhill Cranes arrive in New York in early March, peak in early September (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 1-7early March
PeakSep 1-7early September
Most gone byDec 1-7early December

Best: early September. First arrivals early March; most are gone by early December. Peak: on about 1.1% of New York checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.4% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.8% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.9% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.6% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.5% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.6% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.2% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.9% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.6% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.9% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.6% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.6% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 62470 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 York 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 York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Seneca CountyBest mid August · 812 checklists that week, 47,387 in all28%
  2. Genesee CountyBest early June · 574 checklists that week, 17,726 in all13%
  3. Wayne CountyBest mid March · 948 checklists that week, 37,738 in all10%
  4. Orleans CountyBest early September · 244 checklists that week, 16,706 in all6.3%
  5. Chenango CountyBest the second week of August · 123 checklists that week, 10,785 in all5.0%
  6. Schuyler CountyBest late March · 334 checklists that week, 12,381 in all4.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (northwest 2)Seneca County, best the second week of October · 38 checklists that week, 1,224 in all95%
  2. Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (northwest 4)Seneca County, best early September · 23 checklists that week, 177 in all86%
  3. Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (northwest)Seneca County, best the second week of October · 53 checklists that week, 2,374 in all84%
  4. Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (east)Genesee County, best the second week of June · 22 checklists that week, 1,599 in all67%
  5. Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (northwest 3)Seneca County, best early August · 35 checklists that week, 517 in all58%
  6. Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (northeast)Genesee County, best early June · 21 checklists that week, 644 in all57%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Sandhill Crane is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 0.5% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.4% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.4%0.8%1.0%0.9%
April1.0%0.9%0.6%0.7%
May0.5%0.5%0.5%0.7%
June0.6%0.5%0.5%0.4%
July0.4%0.5%0.5%0.6%
August0.7%0.9%0.8%1.2%
September1.2%0.9%0.6%0.7%
October0.9%0.7%0.6%0.6%
November0.6%0.6%0.6%0.6%
December0.4%0.2%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives mid June, 14 weeks later than New York
  • Ohio: arrives early July, 16 weeks later than New York
  • Michigan: arrives late February, 1 week earlier than New York
  • Indiana: arrives the second week of February, 3 weeks earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Sandhill Cranes arrive in New York?
Sandhill Cranes arrive in New York in early March, peak in early September (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.
When do Sandhill Cranes leave New York?
Most Sandhill Cranes have left New York by early December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Sandhill Crane in New York?
The Sandhill Crane is reported most often in early September, on about 1.1% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Sandhill Cranes seen most often?
By county, Seneca County, Genesee County, and Wayne County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sandhill Crane (counties with at least 200 checklists).