WhenToBird

Chlidonias niger · Laridae

When Do Black Terns Arrive in Alabama?

Adult Black Tern
Photo: rober025, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Black Terns arrive in Alabama in mid June, peak in early August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 15-21mid June
Common byJun 15-21mid June
PeakAug 1-7early August
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: early August. First arrivals mid June; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 2.4% of Alabama checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 8642 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 6607 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 6680 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 9008 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 6642 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 7568 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 9929 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 6490 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 6458 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 6570 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 6773 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 10830 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 8995 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 10390 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 12700 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 14225 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 9140 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 8111 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 6353 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 8318 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.3% of 5231 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 4757 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.7% of 4646 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 5740 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 4694 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.9% of 4178 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.7% of 4109 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.6% of 6000 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.2% of 4666 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.1% of 4468 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.8% of 4474 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.4% of 6494 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.2% of 5434 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.3% of 5216 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 5162 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 7474 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 6916 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 7332 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 6038 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 7071 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 5207 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 4883 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 5122 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 7130 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 4897 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 4738 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 5321 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 9158 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 Alabama 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 Alabama

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lawrence CountyBest the second week of September · 30 checklists that week, 1,969 in all24%
  2. Mobile CountyBest early August · 248 checklists that week, 34,270 in all21%
  3. Henry CountyBest mid September · 16 checklists that week, 338 in all13%
  4. Chambers CountyBest early September · 54 checklists that week, 2,519 in all10%
  5. Lowndes CountyBest early September · 36 checklists that week, 1,094 in all8.2%
  6. Greene CountyBest early August · 13 checklists that week, 847 in all6.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Wheeler Reservoir Retained LandLawrence County, best the second week of September · 21 checklists that week, 841 in all33%
  2. Dauphin Island Public BeachMobile County, best late May · 22 checklists that week, 1,054 in all20%
  3. State Cattle Ranch LakesHale County, best early August · 20 checklists that week, 154 in all15%

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

Best time of day

In Alabama, the Black Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (109) to judge1 am: too few checklists (111) to judge2 am: too few checklists (112) to judge3 am: too few checklists (143) to judge4 am: too few checklists (303) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4125) to judge6 am: 0.8% of 26677 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 42599 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 39919 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 34699 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 28551 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 23505 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 20345 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 18964 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 20110 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 20685 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 19041 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 13807 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 8507 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3367) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (637) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (295) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (233) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (141) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
May0.2%0.4%0.8%0.7%
June0.3%0.6%0.7%0.9%
July0.7%0.9%1.7%2.6%
August2.2%2.1%1.8%2.4%
September2.2%1.3%0.5%0.3%
October0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Mississippi: arrives mid July, 4 weeks later than Alabama
  • Georgia: arrives early August, 6 weeks later than Alabama
  • Tennessee: arrives the second week of August, 7 weeks later than Alabama
  • Louisiana: arrives late April, 7 weeks earlier than Alabama

Common questions

When do Black Terns arrive in Alabama?
Black Terns arrive in Alabama in mid June, peak in early August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Black Terns leave Alabama?
Most Black Terns have left Alabama by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black Tern in Alabama?
The Black Tern is reported most often in early August, on about 2.4% of Alabama checklists.
Where in Alabama are Black Terns seen most often?
By county, Lawrence County, Mobile County, and Henry County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).