WhenToBird

Leiothlypis peregrina · Parulidae

When Do Tennessee Warblers Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult Tennessee Warbler
Photo: kcthetc1, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Tennessee Warblers arrive in New Jersey in mid August, peak in mid September (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakSep 15-21mid September
Most gone byOct 22-31late October

Best: mid September. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by late October. Peak: on about 3.3% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.8% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.6% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 0% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.0% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.3% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.0% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.5% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.6% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.6% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.2% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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. Warren CountyBest mid September · 305 checklists that week, 20,077 in all9.2%
  2. Passaic CountyBest the second week of May · 1413 checklists that week, 24,933 in all9.1%
  3. Burlington CountyBest early October · 922 checklists that week, 52,358 in all8.7%
  4. Somerset CountyBest mid September · 1149 checklists that week, 58,057 in all6.4%
  5. Union CountyBest mid May · 729 checklists that week, 23,647 in all5.4%
  6. Salem CountyBest late September · 150 checklists that week, 9,658 in all5.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cape May County Park SouthCape May County, best the second week of October · 30 checklists that week, 337 in all39%
  2. Watchung Reservation (west)Union County, best mid May · 48 checklists that week, 253 in all37%
  3. Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area (north)Cape May County, best mid September · 118 checklists that week, 1,492 in all31%
  4. Palmyra Cove Nature ParkBurlington County, best early October · 221 checklists that week, 6,056 in all27%
  5. Paulina LakeWarren County, best early October · 20 checklists that week, 405 in all26%
  6. Youngs PondWarren County, best late September · 24 checklists that week, 418 in all23%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Tennessee Warbler is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.9% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%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: 3.1% of 50447 checklists7 am: 1.5% of 118312 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 123273 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 107783 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 97537 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 0.1% 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%0%0.1%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0%0.1%0.1%
May0.7%1.8%2.6%0.4%
June0.1%0%0%0%
July0%0%0%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.2%1.2%
September2.0%3.3%3.0%3.5%
October2.6%2.6%1.2%0.5%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives late August, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late August, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives early May, 14 weeks earlier than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Tennessee Warblers arrive in New Jersey?
Tennessee Warblers arrive in New Jersey in mid August, peak in mid September (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.
When do Tennessee Warblers leave New Jersey?
Most Tennessee Warblers have left New Jersey by late October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Tennessee Warbler in New Jersey?
The Tennessee Warbler is reported most often in mid September, on about 3.3% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Tennessee Warblers seen most often?
By county, Warren County, Passaic County, and Burlington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Tennessee Warbler (counties with at least 200 checklists).