WhenToBird

Chlidonias niger · Laridae

When Do Black Terns Arrive in Colorado?

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

Black Terns arrive in Colorado in late July, peak in early September (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakSep 1-7early September
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: early September. First arrivals late July; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 1.1% of Colorado checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  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%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0% of 32254 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 23278 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 22933 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 30856 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 21464 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 22910 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 28739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 21833 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 23066 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 23783 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 24797 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 38439 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 31676 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 35092 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 36778 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 50885 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 44186 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 49011 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 40784 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 53073 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.5% of 32432 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 29978 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 29457 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 36072 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 28857 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 27224 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 27629 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 37318 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 25893 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 24870 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 24035 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.0% of 35691 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 27068 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.3% of 26709 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.6% of 26098 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 31550 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 24110 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 23352 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 21895 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 28319 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 21698 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 21061 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 19855 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 25798 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 18626 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 19004 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 23103 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 30802 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 Colorado 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 Colorado

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest early August · 40 checklists that week, 2,511 in all45%
  2. Sedgwick CountyBest mid August · 25 checklists that week, 1,168 in all28%
  3. Kiowa CountyBest early August · 76 checklists that week, 3,854 in all25%
  4. Bent CountyBest mid August · 85 checklists that week, 5,275 in all16%
  5. Otero CountyBest late August · 79 checklists that week, 4,404 in all15%
  6. Logan CountyBest early August · 80 checklists that week, 4,117 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Prewitt Reservoir State Wildlife AreaWashington County, best early August · 30 checklists that week, 957 in all66%
  2. Swede LakeLarimer County, best the second week of August · 30 checklists that week, 238 in all44%
  3. Holbrook ReservoirOtero County, best the second week of August · 20 checklists that week, 771 in all43%
  4. Julesburg Reservoir (east)Sedgwick County, best late August · 27 checklists that week, 413 in all41%
  5. Julesburg ReservoirLogan County, best late August · 32 checklists that week, 460 in all37%
  6. John Martin Reservoir State ParkBent County, best late May · 48 checklists that week, 1,079 in all37%

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

Best time of day

In Colorado, the Black Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (0.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%12 am: too few checklists (512) to judge1 am: too few checklists (468) to judge2 am: too few checklists (513) to judge3 am: too few checklists (656) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1918) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16045) to judge6 am: 0.2% of 71991 checklists7 am: 0.2% of 159189 checklists8 am: 0.2% of 177206 checklists9 am: 0.2% of 165269 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 141029 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 115283 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 96068 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 89512 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 86319 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 82496 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 71648 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 52445 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 40199 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24246) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7986) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2004) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (888) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (450) 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%0%0.1%
May0.2%0.5%0.8%0.8%
June0.5%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.2%0.4%
August0.5%0.9%0.8%1.0%
September0.9%1.3%0.6%0.2%
October0.1%0%0.1%0.1%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives early May, 11 weeks earlier than Colorado
  • South Dakota: arrives early May, 11 weeks earlier than Colorado
  • Kansas: arrives the second week of July, 2 weeks earlier than Colorado
  • Oklahoma: arrives early May, 11 weeks earlier than Colorado

Common questions

When do Black Terns arrive in Colorado?
Black Terns arrive in Colorado in late July, peak in early September (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Black Terns leave Colorado?
Most Black Terns have left Colorado by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black Tern in Colorado?
The Black Tern is reported most often in early September, on about 1.1% of Colorado checklists.
Where in Colorado are Black Terns seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Sedgwick County, and Kiowa County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).