WhenToBird

Chlidonias niger · Laridae

When Do Black Terns Arrive in Oklahoma?

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

Black Terns arrive in Oklahoma in early May, peak in mid May (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byJun 1-7early June

Best: mid May. First arrivals early May; most are gone by early June. Peak: on about 3.6% of Oklahoma checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  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%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0% of 6087 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 4350 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 4381 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 6165 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 4259 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 4589 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 7001 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 4482 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 4724 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 4571 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 4393 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 7544 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 5967 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 6543 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 7366 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 10618 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 8835 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.8% of 8247 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.3% of 6081 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.7% of 7283 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 4256 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 3774 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 3541 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 4159 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 3209 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.8% of 2916 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.3% of 2861 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.5% of 4146 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.7% of 3043 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.8% of 2839 checklistsAug 15-21: 3.0% of 3014 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.6% of 4759 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.8% of 3861 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.7% of 3748 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 3569 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.9% of 4830 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 3809 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 4142 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 3705 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 4738 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 3823 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 3849 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 3722 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 4795 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 3324 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 3574 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 3884 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 5774 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 Oklahoma 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Oklahoma

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Beaver CountyBest late July · 13 checklists that week, 838 in all15%
  2. Love CountyBest late September · 13 checklists that week, 490 in all15%
  3. Texas CountyBest late July · 49 checklists that week, 1,542 in all15%
  4. Alfalfa CountyBest mid May · 73 checklists that week, 3,843 in all14%
  5. Tillman CountyBest late July · 34 checklists that week, 1,199 in all14%
  6. Canadian CountyBest mid May · 136 checklists that week, 4,307 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake Hefner (Lansbrook Lake)Oklahoma County, best early August · 27 checklists that week, 743 in all48%
  2. Lake YaholaTulsa County, best mid May · 32 checklists that week, 1,291 in all47%
  3. Lake Thunderbird State ParkCleveland County, best mid August · 29 checklists that week, 824 in all43%
  4. CLO LandsPayne County, best late August · 30 checklists that week, 1,208 in all35%
  5. Lake HefnerOklahoma County, best the second week of August · 36 checklists that week, 2,749 in all33%

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

Best time of day

In Oklahoma, the Black Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (1.0% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (91) to judge1 am: too few checklists (65) to judge2 am: too few checklists (73) to judge3 am: too few checklists (73) to judge4 am: too few checklists (100) to judge5 am: too few checklists (647) to judge6 am: 1.0% of 8353 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 24509 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 27848 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 25316 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 21161 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 18730 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 16097 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 14028 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 13599 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 14228 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 14597 checklists5 pm: 1.0% of 12125 checklists6 pm: 1.0% of 9337 checklists7 pm: 1.0% of 6944 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2403) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (459) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (226) 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%0%0.1%
May0.7%3.8%4.3%2.7%
June0.8%0.1%0.3%0.2%
July0.2%0.8%1.3%2.5%
August2.7%3.8%3.0%2.6%
September1.8%1.7%1.2%0.9%
October0.2%0.1%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives the second week of July, 9 weeks later than Oklahoma
  • Arkansas: arrives early July, 8 weeks later than Oklahoma
  • Missouri: arrives the second week of May, 1 week later than Oklahoma
  • Nebraska: arrives early May, in the same week than Oklahoma

Common questions

When do Black Terns arrive in Oklahoma?
Black Terns arrive in Oklahoma in early May, peak in mid May (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early June.
When do Black Terns leave Oklahoma?
Most Black Terns have left Oklahoma by early June, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black Tern in Oklahoma?
The Black Tern is reported most often in mid May, on about 3.6% of Oklahoma checklists.
Where in Oklahoma are Black Terns seen most often?
By county, Beaver County, Love County, and Texas County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).