WhenToBird

Eudocimus albus · Threskiornithidae

When Do White Ibises Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult White Ibis
Photo: xanderferret, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

White Ibises are winter birds in New Jersey: they arrive in early May, peak in the second week of October (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakOct 8-14the second week of October
Most gone byOct 22-31late October

Best: the second week of October. First arrivals early May; most are gone by late October. Peak: on about 2.7% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.2% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.9% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.9% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.3% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.7% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.4% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.7% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.8% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.7% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.6% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.8% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.6% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.3% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.3% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.6% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.5% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.3% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.8% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.0% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.3% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.3% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.2% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.7% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.1% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.5% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% 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. Cape May CountyBest mid July · 1905 checklists that week, 189,832 in all12%
  2. Atlantic CountyBest late September · 560 checklists that week, 28,208 in all7.6%
  3. Ocean CountyBest mid August · 1045 checklists that week, 87,340 in all3.4%
  4. Sussex CountyBest early September · 530 checklists that week, 30,305 in all3.2%
  5. Essex CountyBest the second week of August · 445 checklists that week, 28,396 in all2.3%
  6. Somerset CountyBest the second week of July · 755 checklists that week, 58,057 in all1.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ocean City Estuary or MarshCape May County, best late September · 20 checklists that week, 3,666 in all88%
  2. South HarborCape May County, best the second week of May · 40 checklists that week, 860 in all61%
  3. Speedwell Lake ParkMorris County, best late October · 37 checklists that week, 387 in all60%
  4. The Wetlands Institute PreserveCape May County, best mid August · 109 checklists that week, 3,679 in all50%
  5. Avalon Borough Beach or BoardwalkCape May County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 427 in all44%
  6. Island Beach State Park (Johnny Allens Cove)Ocean County, best late August · 23 checklists that week, 895 in all35%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the White Ibis is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%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: 1.3% of 50447 checklists7 am: 1.2% of 118312 checklists8 am: 1.0% of 123273 checklists9 am: 1.2% of 107783 checklists10 am: 1.4% of 97537 checklists11 am: 1.2% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 0.8% 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
April0.2%0.5%0.9%0.9%
May0.9%1.3%1.7%1.4%
June1.3%1.7%1.8%1.7%
July1.6%1.8%2.6%2.3%
August2.3%2.6%2.5%2.3%
September1.8%2.0%2.3%2.3%
October2.2%2.7%3.1%1.5%
November0.5%0.4%0.5%0.2%
December0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives the second week of June, 5 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Virginia: arrives late March, 5 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • North Carolina: arrives the second week of May, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • South Carolina: arrives late June, 7 weeks later than New Jersey

Common questions

When do White Ibises arrive in New Jersey?
White Ibises are winter birds in New Jersey: they arrive in early May, peak in the second week of October (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late October.
When do White Ibises leave New Jersey?
Most White Ibises have left New Jersey by late October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a White Ibis in New Jersey?
The White Ibis is reported most often in the second week of October, on about 2.7% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are White Ibises seen most often?
By county, Cape May County, Atlantic County, and Ocean County have the highest peak reporting rates for the White Ibis (counties with at least 200 checklists).