The State We're In

Oct 2, 2026

Fall migration in New Jersey means skies filled with warblers, thrushes, raptors, and other birds heading south. Many are neotropical migrants, traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to Central and South America, where the end of the tropical wet season bursts forth with warm sun, insects, and flower nectar to sustain these feathered friends.

But New Jersey’s annual fall migration story is about more than just birds!

Every autumn, monarchs from eastern North America undertake one of the most remarkable migrations on Earth. Some travel more than 2,000 miles to the high-elevation oyamel fir forests of central Mexico. New Jersey has a front-row seat to this spectacle! These butterflies funnel toward the southern tip of the state before continuing south, making the dunes, fields, and forests of Cape May an important place to monitor their migration.

Common buckeyes, another striking butterfly, also head south before the weather grows too cold. You can find them sharing radiant goldenrod flowers with monarchs and other pollinators. Some of New Jersey’s dragonflies, including green darners, undertake fall migrations southward too. Others, such as wandering gliders, travel hundreds or even thousands of miles.

In New Jersey’s waterways, another migration story emerges.

Each spring, American shad, alewife, blueback herring, and striped bass move from the ocean into New Jersey’s rivers to reproduce. These are anadromous fish, meaning they spend most of their adult lives in saltwater but return to freshwater to spawn. In late summer and fall, their young head back downstream toward the ocean.

The American eel makes the opposite journey. Born in the Sargasso Sea – a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four major currents – young eels ride these currents toward North America and make their way into rivers and streams, where they can spend years growing. When mature, they transform into “silver eels” and undertake a remarkable return journey to the Sargasso Sea to reproduce.

Our region of the Atlantic Ocean is part of the seasonal range of whales, including humpback whales. Their movements are closely tied to those of their prey, and they may come in closer to the New Jersey coast when small fish concentrate in nearshore waters during the cold winter months.

Sea turtles like Loggerheads, leatherbacks, green turtles, and Kemp’s ridleys that moved into Mid-Atlantic waters during the warmer months to feed, are headed south as ocean temperatures fall.

And let’s not forget the seals! Beginning in late fall and into? winter, harbor and gray seals are seasonal visitors along the Jersey Shore, moving south from northern waters. Their presence is another reminder that New Jersey’s coastline is connected to a much larger ecosystem. Gateway National Recreation Area in Monmouth County, also known as Sandy Hook, offers a perfect viewing experience for seals throughout the winter.

This travel spree is actually a two-way street as many birds migrate here for the winter. Tundra swans, snow geese, various hawks and owls, loons, buffleheads, and finches and sparrows that breed in the far north move south, to take advantage of the relatively mild winters in our forests, meadows, wetlands, and coastal waters. In her 1969 hit “Snowbird”, Anne Murray sang “Spread your tiny wings and fly away and take the snow back with you where it came from on that day.” We can imagine she was referencing little dark-eyed juncos that are abundant in New Jersey from October through April.

Autumn migration is basically a massive seasonal reshuffling. Land and waterways that we preserve today offer a stopover or seasonal sanctuary for many species that travel great distances each year. Whether wildlife is passing through or putting down roots, these places are part of a larger network of habitat that sustains life across seasons and borders.

To learn more about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.