WhenToBird

Chlidonias niger · Laridae

When Do Black Terns Arrive in Florida?

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

Black Terns mostly pass through Florida: the first show up in the second week of July, they are common by mid July, peak in late August (3.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 8-14the second week of July
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone bySep 8-14the second week of September

Best: late August. First arrivals the second week of July; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 3.2% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Mayrare
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  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%4%Jan 1-7: 0% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.2% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.9% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.4% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.7% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.5% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.6% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.7% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.1% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.7% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.0% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.9% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.6% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Escambia CountyBest late July · 393 checklists that week, 25,457 in all19%
  2. Okaloosa CountyBest late August · 325 checklists that week, 16,003 in all14%
  3. Walton CountyBest early September · 245 checklists that week, 9,530 in all12%
  4. Gulf CountyBest early September · 43 checklists that week, 5,038 in all11%
  5. Wakulla CountyBest late August · 301 checklists that week, 27,521 in all8.3%
  6. Bay CountyBest late August · 406 checklists that week, 19,554 in all7.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Tom Renick ParkVolusia County, best early September · 41 checklists that week, 1,941 in all62%
  2. Blue Cypress Conservation AreaIndian River County, best early July · 21 checklists that week, 372 in all55%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Black Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 0.5% of 94591 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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%0.1%0.1%
February0%0%0%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0.2%0.2%
June0.4%0.2%0.4%0.4%
July0.8%0.9%1.4%1.7%
August2.5%2.6%2.7%3.1%
September3.7%2.0%0.9%0.6%
October0.3%0.2%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
December0.1%0%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives early August, 3 weeks later than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives the second week of July, in the same week than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives mid June, 3 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives mid July, 1 week later than Florida

Common questions

When do Black Terns arrive in Florida?
Black Terns mostly pass through Florida: the first show up in the second week of July, they are common by mid July, peak in late August (3.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Black Terns leave Florida?
Most Black Terns have left Florida by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid September.
When is the best time to see a Black Tern in Florida?
The Black Tern is reported most often in late August, on about 3.2% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Black Terns seen most often?
By county, Escambia County, Okaloosa County, and Walton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).