WhenToBird

Gallinago delicata · Scolopacidae

When Do Wilson's Snipe Arrive in New York?

Adult Wilson's Snipe
Photo: datadan, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Wilson's Snipe arrive in New York in the second week of March, peak in the second week of April (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of June.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 8-14the second week of March
Common byMar 8-14the second week of March
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Most gone byJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: the second week of April. First arrivals the second week of March; most are gone by the second week of June. Peak: on about 1.9% of New York checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% 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: 0.2% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.6% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.0% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.8% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.7% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.3% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.3% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.5% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.7% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.3% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% 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. Lewis CountyBest late April · 193 checklists that week, 5,920 in all15%
  2. Cattaraugus CountyBest mid April · 268 checklists that week, 12,342 in all11%
  3. St. Lawrence CountyBest mid April · 725 checklists that week, 32,234 in all8.9%
  4. Seneca CountyBest late September · 1121 checklists that week, 47,387 in all8.1%
  5. Genesee CountyBest mid August · 246 checklists that week, 17,726 in all7.1%
  6. Allegany CountyBest the second week of October · 247 checklists that week, 11,955 in all6.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. SheridanChautauqua County, best the second week of April · 20 checklists that week, 411 in all83%
  2. Belfast Town LandsAllegany County, best the second week of October · 21 checklists that week, 436 in all64%
  3. Georgica CoveSuffolk County, best mid February · 22 checklists that week, 346 in all60%
  4. Goetchius Wetland PreserveTompkins County, best mid April · 24 checklists that week, 494 in all60%
  5. Swan LakeSuffolk County, best mid January · 72 checklists that week, 779 in all59%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Wilson's Snipe is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (0.8% 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: 0.7% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.5% 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%0.2%0.1%0.2%
February0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.2%0.4%0.7%1.6%
April2.0%2.0%1.8%1.7%
May1.0%0.5%0.4%0.3%
June0.3%0.4%0.3%0.3%
July0.3%0.3%0.2%0.3%
August0.3%0.4%0.4%0.5%
September0.7%0.5%0.5%0.7%
October0.8%0.7%0.7%0.6%
November0.4%0.3%0.3%0.1%
December0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of March, in the same week than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives late February, 2 weeks earlier than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late February, 2 weeks earlier than New York
  • Vermont: arrives early April, 3 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Wilson's Snipe arrive in New York?
Wilson's Snipe arrive in New York in the second week of March, peak in the second week of April (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of June.
When do Wilson's Snipe leave New York?
Most Wilson's Snipe have left New York by the second week of June, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Wilson's Snipe in New York?
The Wilson's Snipe is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 1.9% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Wilson's Snipe seen most often?
By county, Lewis County, Cattaraugus County, and St. Lawrence County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Wilson's Snipe (counties with at least 200 checklists).