Timing derived from eBird data, 2016–2025 (sourced July 2026)

New Jersey runs on one dependable breeding season and a genuinely interesting rare-visitor subplot — and the two don't follow the same map. Here's how the year actually unfolds, county by county.

The short answer: Cape May and Atlantic County are reliably busy by the last week of April; Essex and Sussex wait until the second week of May. Most Ruby-throateds have gone by late September — and that's when the rare visitors start turning up.

New to feeding hummingbirds? Start with our guide to attracting hummingbirds in New Jersey for species, feeders, nectar, and native plants. This page is the timing deep dive.

New Jersey's Hummingbird Season at a Glance

Before the county-by-county detail below, here's the whole season in one picture — one overwhelmingly dominant breeder, and the rare visitors that show up on a very different scale, so note the right-hand axis.

How often each species turns up on eBird checklists, week by week — statewide, 2016–2025. Calliope and Rufous sit on the right-hand scale for a reason: both are genuine rarities, not a real second population, so their specific percentages are closer to "has been recorded" than a measurable rate. The county-by-county breakdown below shows how the spring wave itself moves from the coast inland.

That statewide curve is really two very different counties averaged into one line — where you land inside it depends on whether you're on the coast or inland. Here's the region-by-region detail, so you can see exactly where you fall.

Regional Arrival Snapshot

Windows derived from eBird bar chart data (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), 2016–2025, for Cape May, Atlantic, Essex, and Sussex counties. "Reliably common" is defined as the first week each county's Ruby-throated reports reach 25% of that county's seasonal peak. The roughly two-to-three-week coastal-to-inland gap is consistent with the general principle that spring migration advances northward tracking flower bloom and lags at higher latitude and elevation. No single authority publishes this exact county-level breakdown for New Jersey; this is our own analysis.

Mid-April: The Coast Gets There First

The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds of spring reach Cape May and Atlantic County by mid-April, with feeders reliably busy by the last week of the month. This is the point to have your feeder up if you're anywhere in southern New Jersey.

Late April – Mid-May: The Rest of the State Catches Up

Ruby-throateds continue moving north and inland, reaching Essex County and the NYC metro corridor, and finally the higher, cooler Sussex County Highlands, by the second week of May — a real two-to-three-week lag behind the coast. Peak spring migration and territory-settling happens statewide during this window.

Late May – Late July: Nesting Season

New Jersey's breeding Ruby-throateds settle in statewide, favoring yards with oak, maple, beech, birch, hornbeam, poplar, hackberry, pine, or spruce nearby. Feeder activity can taper off somewhat as females become secretive around the nest.

Late July – August: Southbound Migration Begins

Breeding Ruby-throateds start moving south. This is also when the Cape May Bird Observatory's Cape May Songbird Stopover Project ramps up, banding thousands of songbirds each fall — Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are a genuine, documented part of the catch, with 7 banded in a single week during the 2025 season alone.

September: Most Ruby-throateds Depart

New Jersey's breeding population declines fast through September — still well over half its peak in the first half of the month, then dropping sharply from the last week of September into early October. This is also the turning point of the calendar: from here on, any hummingbird you see is increasingly likely to be a rare visitor rather than a lingering local bird.

What to do: Take your feeder down about two weeks after your last sighting, not by a fixed date — that accounts for your own yard and this year's weather better than any calendar date can. If you're on the southern coast, consider leaving at least one feeder up and monitored into fall regardless, since that's when New Jersey's rare visitors tend to show up.

Fall – Winter: New Jersey's Rare Visitors Show Up

This is where New Jersey's hummingbird story gets genuinely interesting. Rufous Hummingbird is the most frequent rare visitor, and along with Allen's Hummingbird, its records concentrate almost entirely on the southern coast — Cape May and Atlantic counties — consistent with Cape May's well-known role as a migrant funnel, where the peninsula's shape and the wide crossing over Delaware Bay concentrate birds before they continue south.

Calliope Hummingbird breaks that pattern: New Jersey's most notable recent record was a bird that set up at a Point Pleasant feeder in Ocean County and stayed the entire winter, from November 2020 to April 2021. And the state's rarest hummingbird ever recorded, a single Broad-billed Hummingbird, turned up at Heislerville in Cumberland County in November 2022 — its only confirmed New Jersey appearance to date.

Pop's tip: If you keep a feeder up through fall and winter, you're playing two different odds at once: a real, decent chance at Rufous or Allen's if you're on the southern coast, and a true lottery-ticket chance at something like New Jersey's one-and-only Broad-billed anywhere else in the state.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do hummingbirds come back to New Jersey?

Cape May and Atlantic County see their first Ruby-throateds by mid-April, and are reliably busy by the last week of the month. Essex County and the NYC metro corridor follow, with the Sussex County Highlands last, in the second week of May.

When do hummingbirds leave New Jersey?

Southbound movement starts in late July, and the breeding population declines fast through September, with most gone by the end of the month. After that, any hummingbird you see is increasingly likely to be a rare western visitor rather than a local bird.

How long do hummingbirds stay in New Jersey?

About five months on the southern coast — mid-April through late September — and closer to four in the northern Highlands, where they arrive two to three weeks later.

Why does my North Jersey feeder stay quiet in April?

Because the wave hasn't reached you. Essex and Sussex counties don't see reliable Ruby-throated activity until the second week of May, a genuine two-to-three-week lag behind Cape May and Atlantic County. A quiet feeder in April is normal in the north.

Should I keep a feeder up through a New Jersey winter?

It's worth it if you're on the southern coast, where Rufous and Allen's records concentrate. Elsewhere it's a longer shot — but New Jersey's only-ever Broad-billed Hummingbird turned up at a Cumberland County feeder in November 2022, so the lottery does occasionally pay.

Sources

We pulled eBird bar chart data for New Jersey statewide and for four counties — Cape May, Atlantic, Essex, and Sussex — covering 2016 through 2025, and read the seasonal shape and regional pattern directly off the reporting rates ourselves. Percentages describe how often a species appears on birdwatchers' submitted checklists — a measure of how likely you are to encounter one, not a population count.

• eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — New Jersey statewide and county-level (Cape May, Atlantic, Essex, Sussex), 2016–2025. Source for all month-by-month seasonal figures and the coastal-to-inland regional arrival pattern.
• Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Fact Sheet FS1316, "Attracting Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to Your Yard." Source for statewide feeder timing and nesting-tree corroboration.
• New Jersey Bird Records Committee, Accepted Records List (New Jersey Audubon). Source for the Allen's, Calliope, and Broad-billed Hummingbird records, including the Point Pleasant (Ocean County) overwintering Calliope and the Heislerville (Cumberland County) Broad-billed record.
• New Jersey Audubon / U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Cape May National Wildlife Refuge). Source for the Cape May migrant-funnel effect.
• Cape May Bird Observatory (New Jersey Audubon). Source for the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project banding figures.
• des Lauriers, J. R. (1994). Hummingbirds eating ashes. The Auk, 111(3), 755–756. doi:10.1093/auk/111.3.755 — source for the ash-eating observations and calcium interpretation in the nesting section.

Event dates and formats change from year to year. Check organizer websites before making plans.

Want feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plant picks for your part of the state? See our full guide to attracting hummingbirds in New Jersey.