What to look for in nature in New York this April

When is the big hawk flight along Lake Ontario in April?

• Derby Hill Bird Observatory

  The count runs March 1 through May 31; Onondaga Audubon calls April the best month, with broad-winged hawks peaking in late April · Mexico, Oswego County, on the southeast corner of Lake Ontario

  Onondaga Audubon, which manages the site, reports that on single days in late April as many as 20,000 broad-winged hawks have been seen. DEC describes the observatory as a 90-acre sanctuary with a boardwalk, overlooks and marsh edges, where about 40,000 raptors of 15 species pass in a typical spring, along with golden and bald eagles and rough-legged hawks. Counters use a north or south lookout depending on the wind, so find out where they are standing.

• Braddock Bay and the wind rule

  Counting continues through May 31 · Braddock Bay Park, west of Rochester

  Braddock Bay Raptor Research lists 15 raptors it regularly counts, from turkey vultures and ospreys to goshawks, golden eagles, peregrines and merlins. Its best flights come with strong south winds of 10 miles an hour or more and rising temperatures.

• Bald eagle chicks at Montezuma

  Hatching begins around mid-April, according to the refuge · Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Seneca Falls

  The refuge says eagle chicks often appear on muskrat houses in the Main Pool and Tschache Pool, and great blue herons nest in the woods beside the Main Pool. Its Wildlife Drive and visitor center open daily April 1 through November 30 (weather permitting, with the visitor center staffed by volunteers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.). The Seneca Trail stays closed through August 31 to protect nesting eagles. Warblers peak around mid-May.

When do warblers, hummingbirds and ospreys return to New York?

• Warblers in Central Park and other city oases

  Audubon places the warbler peak in May and early June, so April is the early part of the season · The Ramble, Summit Rock and the Reservoir in Central Park

  Audubon’s guide to Central Park says the Ramble is the most popular wooded area for birders, that Summit Rock can offer as many as ten warbler species at once in spring, and that the Reservoir’s trees can be dripping with warblers. Its advice is to be there by 8 a.m.

• A radar forecast for birds

  BirdCast tools run March 1 to June 15 and August 1 to November 15 · Statewide, by county

  Cornell’s BirdCast turns weather radar into live maps, forecast maps and a county dashboard of birds flying at night. Email alerts for 216 U.S. cities say when heavy migration is expected. Warm southerly winds and a clear sky overnight are a good omen for the next morning’s walk.

• Ruby-throated hummingbirds

  Reports vary from year to year; Journey North logged a sighting at Honeoye Falls on April 9, 2023, and its notes show arrivals building through April · Feeders and flower beds statewide

  Journey North, which maps hummingbird sightings with the help of volunteers, recommends having a feeder up during migration and keeping red dye out of the nectar. Add your own first sighting to its map.

• Ospreys on their nests

  DEC says ospreys are in the state from April to September · Long Island, the Adirondack lakes, Jamaica Bay, Montezuma and other watery places

  DEC notes that these fish-eating raptors reuse their large stick nests year after year, on dead trees and on man-made platforms, and typically lay one to four eggs. Watch quietly from a distance.

Which frogs and toads are calling in New York in April?

• Wood frogs, chorus frogs and spring peepers

  Wood frogs breed over three or four nights after the first hard rain of March or April; chorus frogs mid-March to early May; peepers March to May · Temporary woodland pools, flooded fields, alder swamps and gravel pits

  DEC describes the wood frog’s call as short, hoarse quacks that carry only a short distance, the western chorus frog’s as a fingernail run along a comb, and the spring peeper’s as the loud chorus of high peeps. The guide adds that the chorus frog is declining in places for reasons not fully understood.

• Leopard frogs, pickerel frogs and toads

  Northern leopard frog breeding peaks April and May; pickerel frogs and American and Fowler’s toads breed April to May · Grassy marsh edges, slow weedy streams, ponds and ditches

  The leopard frog’s voice is a three-second snore followed by nasal clucks, the pickerel frog’s a low rolling snore, and the American toad’s a sustained, high trilling whir. Gray treefrogs follow, breeding from late April into July in beaver ponds and red maple swamps.

• Egg masses in the pool

  Late March into April, depending on the weather · Woodland pools of the Hudson Valley and elsewhere

  DEC’s photo guide to woodland pool wildlife shows how to read a pool. Spotted salamander egg masses are very firm and attached to twigs, wood frog eggs sit in large communal rafts of more than a thousand, and orange or green fairy shrimp swim upside down from late winter to early spring. Watch from the bank, keep your hands dry and leave every mass in place.

What fish are running in New York rivers in April?

• Shad and river herring in the Hudson

  American shad spawn April through June; river herring are surveyed April through early June · The tidal Hudson and its tributary creeks

  Scenic Hudson writes that shad wait for water temperatures of 50 to 55 °F before they begin the run, and that the shadbush (serviceberry) blossoms in mid-April, the signal Lenape fishermen used to prepare their weirs. DEC states that recreational and commercial fishing for American shad is prohibited in the Hudson, closed since 2010, and that fish caught by accident must be released at once. River herring are different: DEC says there is no moratorium, because New York manages the fishery under a sustainable fishery management plan; check the current plan and rules. Check the current regulations before you fish for either one.

• What a good April week looks like on the river

  Notes for April 19 to 25, 2013, in DEC’s Hudson River Almanac · Black Creek, Hannacroix Creek and other Hudson tributaries

  Naturalists’ entries for that single week include 5,176 glass eels in one overnight net on Black Creek on April 20, 8,067 at Hannacroix Creek on April 24, and 115 herring counted in 15 minutes by high school students at Black Creek. The same entries note shadbush in bloom at Milan on April 23 and three bald eagle nests with eaglets in the Ulster and Dutchess area. One week in one year is not a forecast.

• Steelhead and trout

  The Lake Erie steelhead run covers mid-October through April; the trout season opens April 1 in a normal year · Cattaraugus, Canadaway, Chautauqua and Eighteen Mile Creeks; trout streams statewide

  DEC says the bulk of the Lake Erie tributary steelhead run falls between mid-October and April, with March and April the best months to fish the harbors, and that about 230,000 yearling steelhead are stocked yearly in nine tributaries. For trout, DEC announced in March 2026 that the April 1 opener would come with more than 1.7 million catchable brook, brown and rainbow trout stocked from mid-March through early June. Confirm 2027 size and creel limits in DEC’s current guide.

Which wildflowers and blossoms peak in New York in April?

• Bloodroot, trout lily, spring beauty and Dutchman’s breeches

  NYC Natural Areas gives bloodroot mid-March to mid-April, trout lily late March to mid-May, spring beauty mid-March to late May, and Dutchman’s breeches late March to early May · Van Cortlandt, Inwood Hill, Pelham Bay and Prospect Parks, and woodlands upstate (later toward the north)

  Bloodroot flowers last only a day or two, and trout lilies close their yellow petals at night. A Hudson Valley guide adds hepatica and wood anemone and notes that these plants are protected under New York law, so photograph them and leave them in place.

• Cherries, magnolias and the Sakura Matsuri

  Brooklyn Botanic Garden says cherry season lasts about a month, and individual trees bloom for a week or two; Sakura Matsuri 2027 dates were not posted · Cherry Esplanade and the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, Brooklyn; Prospect Park

  The garden writes that its Cherry Esplanade now more often than not blooms in April, rather than in early May as in the past, and its CherryWatch map follows each tree through prebloom, first bloom, peak bloom and post-peak. Prospect Park’s bloom guide places cherries and daffodils at Grand Army Plaza in early April, magnolias and dogwoods along the Long Meadow in mid-April, and spicebush with its small yellow flowers in the Ravine. The festival is annual, and the garden sets its dates around bloom, so check the garden’s calendar in March.

• Fiddleheads and other spring greens

  Spring, when ostrich ferns unroll · Wet floodplain woods

  A local news report from June 2026 quoted DEC as calling the ostrich fern a vulnerable, protected plant in New York, and said officers ticketed three people in late April for harvesting its fiddleheads without the required permission. Ask before you pick on private land and check the rules on state land first.

When is the last spring freeze, and how do you track leaf-out?

• The plants that keep the calendar

  Lilac and honeysuckle first leaf are the standard markers; the timing swings by weeks from year to year · Your own yard

  The USA National Phenology Network tracks spring using first leaf and first bloom of lilacs and honeysuckles and compares each year with the 1991–2020 average. You can contribute by logging buds and flowers on those shrubs in its Nature’s Notebook app.

• Arbor Day and tree planting

  Last Friday in April, April 30, 2027; DEC says communities may celebrate on any day · Community plantings; the Hudson Estuary Trees for Tribs program plants spring seedlings along streams

  DEC’s Arbor Day page suggests planting a tree or joining a community planting. Trees for Tribs gives free native trees and shrubs for stream-buffer projects and works on a spring and fall planting cycle, with volunteer events listed on its page. In 2026 the program held a potting-up event in New Paltz on April 24 and 25 (volunteers 16 or older, registration required); 2027 dates were not yet posted.

• April snow is still possible in western New York

  NWS Buffalo history shows April snowstorms in 1975, 1990 and 2004 · Western New York and the Southern Tier hills

  The Buffalo office’s weather history records more than 12 inches of snow at the airport from April 3 to 5, 1975, with gusts to 70 miles per hour; a record 5.8 inches on April 4, 1990; and 8 to 12 inches reported on April 4 to 5, 2004. Such storms are rare, since Buffalo’s normal April snowfall is 2.5 inches.

When do Adirondack lakes thaw, loons return and turkeys gobble?

• Ice-out on Adirondack lakes

  Ice-out at Lake Placid ranged from March 26 (2012) to May 2 (2014) in the Adirondack Council’s 2009 to 2016 record · Lake Placid, Upper Saranac Lake and other High Peaks lakes

  The same article cites EPA figures showing that freeze dates have come later and thaw dates earlier by 0.8 to 1 day per decade since the mid-1800s. A cold spring can keep a lake frozen into May.

• Common loons

  DEC says loons arrive on breeding lakes in late March and April, with nesting in mid-May to June · Adirondack lakes with clear water and small islands or quiet coves

  Eggs hatch after 26 to 31 days. DEC asks boaters to stay away from nests and from chicks, since a loon’s legs sit far back on its body and it cannot walk well on land. DEC also names lead fishing tackle, which loons can swallow, as a hazard.

• Wild turkeys

  DEC says the breeding season runs from early April to early June · Woodland edges and fields statewide

  Males strut with fluffed feathers, drag their wings and gobble to attract hens. Each hen then nests alone and lays 10 to 12 cream-colored eggs, which hatch after 28 days, usually in late May or early June. The poults fly at two to three weeks and begin to roost in trees. The spring hunting season is timed so that most hens have already mated.

How warm, snowy and stormy is April in New York?

• Thunderstorms and tornado warnings

  Severe weather risk rises through April and May; Severe Weather Awareness Week in 2026 ran April 19 to 25 · Statewide

  The National Weather Service in Buffalo says an average of six tornadoes occur each year across New York, with roughly 17 tornado warnings issued statewide per year. It defines a severe thunderstorm as one with winds of 58 mph or more, hail an inch across or larger, or a tornado. The 2027 awareness week had not been announced; watch your local NWS office’s page.

• Wildfire season

  The residential burn ban runs March 16 through May 14 · Statewide

  DEC says the ban covers the peak of wildfire season, when dead grass and leaves lie exposed before the green-up. Open burning is the largest cause of spring fires in the state, and DEC posts a Fire Danger Map when moderate risk appears anywhere in the state. Small recreational fires in pits no larger than three by four feet are still permitted.

How much daylight does New York gain in April?

What can you see in the New York night sky in April 2027?

• The Pink Moon

  Full at 6:27 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 20; best evening April 20 · Rising in the east about 7:50 p.m. in New York City

  Sea and Sky ties the name to wild ground phlox, called moss pink, which blooms at this time of year; the same source lists the Sprouting Grass Moon and Fish Moon among other names. The Moon comes up in the east soon after sunset, which makes this a good night for children to watch it clear the trees.

• The Lyrids, a poor year

  Peak the night of April 22 to 23, with maximum expected near 9:40 p.m. EDT on the 22nd (one calculation puts it closer to 10 p.m.) · Look toward Lyra, low in the northeast, in the early evening

  Sea and Sky puts a typical peak near 20 meteors an hour, but in 2027 a Moon nearly 95 percent lit, three days past full, washes out the fainter ones. With moonrise near 10 p.m. in New York City, the dark window is the early evening, when the radiant is still low. Expect only a few meteors an hour.

• Moon, Jupiter and Mars in the evening, Venus before dawn

  The Moon passes Jupiter on the evenings of April 14 and 15; it is near Mars on the 15th; Venus is in the east before sunrise all month · Jupiter and Mars in the evening sky; Venus low in the east

  Jupiter, in the Leo and Cancer region, is the bright evening planet, where the waxing Moon (68 percent lit) passes close on April 14 and 15, with reddish Mars in the same part of the sky on the 15th. Before sunrise, look low in the east for blazing Venus, with a slim crescent Moon beside it at the start of the month.

• The Milky Way returns before dawn

  Best around the April 6 new moon: roughly April 1 to 14 and April 28 to 30 at 40 degrees north · Low in the southeast to south before dawn, from a dark site

  The galaxy’s brightest region comes up in the small hours this month. Our own calculation for 40 degrees north, about New York City’s latitude, gives as much as two hours of dark sky with the core at least 10 degrees up. Go to a dark site, not a city.

What can New York families do outdoors in April 2027?

Safety notes for April in New York