WhenToBird

Chlidonias niger · Laridae

When Do Black Terns Arrive in North Carolina?

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

Black Terns mostly pass through North Carolina: they arrive in mid July, peak in the second week of August (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

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

Best: the second week of August. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 2.3% of North Carolina 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. Sepcommon
  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 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.2% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.3% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.9% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.4% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.6% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.0% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.3% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 34796 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Dare CountyBest the second week of August · 1549 checklists that week, 83,121 in all17%
  2. Washington CountyBest late August · 18 checklists that week, 3,065 in all12%
  3. Hyde CountyBest mid August · 68 checklists that week, 8,350 in all11%
  4. Onslow CountyBest late August · 152 checklists that week, 8,231 in all7.9%
  5. Carteret CountyBest late August · 546 checklists that week, 27,746 in all7.4%
  6. New Hanover CountyBest the second week of August · 404 checklists that week, 33,362 in all6.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cape HatterasDare County, best late August · 43 checklists that week, 1,295 in all77%
  2. Cape Hatteras National SeashoreDare County, best mid August · 58 checklists that week, 1,306 in all57%
  3. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (northwest)Dare County, best late July · 38 checklists that week, 1,318 in all52%
  4. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (South Point)Dare County, best the second week of August · 26 checklists that week, 1,223 in all42%
  5. Wreck CreekDare County, best late July · 26 checklists that week, 914 in all42%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, 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 (520) to judge1 am: too few checklists (489) to judge2 am: too few checklists (442) to judge3 am: too few checklists (544) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1621) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9671) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 50335 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 150152 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 182902 checklists9 am: 0.2% of 158933 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 128398 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 0.2% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 33196 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19700) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6160) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1943) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1119) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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%
May0.1%0.1%0.2%0.2%
June0.1%0.1%0.2%0.4%
July0.5%0.6%0.9%1.3%
August1.9%2.4%2.6%2.0%
September1.3%1.0%0.5%0.2%
October0.1%0.1%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives the second week of July, 1 week earlier than North Carolina
  • Georgia: arrives early August, 2 weeks later than North Carolina
  • Tennessee: arrives the second week of August, 3 weeks later than North Carolina
  • New Jersey: arrives early August, 2 weeks later than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Black Terns arrive in North Carolina?
Black Terns mostly pass through North Carolina: they arrive in mid July, peak in the second week of August (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Black Terns leave North Carolina?
Most Black Terns have left North Carolina by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black Tern in North Carolina?
The Black Tern is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 2.3% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Black Terns seen most often?
By county, Dare County, Washington County, and Hyde County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).