WhenToBird

Hydroprogne caspia · Laridae

When Do Caspian Terns Arrive in Mississippi?

Adult Caspian Tern
Photo: Daughter Dad, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Caspian Terns arrive in Mississippi in mid March, peak in early September (6.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakSep 1-7early September
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: early September. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 6.3% of Mississippi checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 4836 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.5% of 3323 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.1% of 3400 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 4705 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.2% of 3387 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.9% of 3911 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.0% of 4691 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.1% of 3409 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.5% of 3276 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.9% of 3273 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.4% of 3552 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.3% of 5618 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.7% of 4432 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.3% of 4907 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.1% of 5239 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.7% of 7043 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.9% of 4597 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.7% of 4383 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.3% of 3088 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.7% of 3805 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.0% of 2658 checklistsJun 8-14: 2.3% of 2469 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.7% of 2112 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.4% of 2534 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.3% of 2099 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.3% of 1885 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.4% of 1811 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.5% of 2793 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.4% of 2045 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.8% of 2210 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.4% of 2437 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.6% of 3415 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.8% of 2837 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.5% of 2585 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.9% of 2870 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.3% of 3610 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.3% of 2938 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.9% of 3457 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.8% of 3168 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.9% of 3752 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.3% of 2847 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 2648 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.2% of 2599 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 3389 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 2419 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 2526 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 2966 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% of 4466 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clay CountyBest early September · 13 checklists that week, 531 in all39%
  2. Panola CountyBest late August · 23 checklists that week, 1,311 in all37%
  3. Harrison CountyBest late August · 378 checklists that week, 22,824 in all22%
  4. Yazoo CountyBest early September · 14 checklists that week, 440 in all12%
  5. Prentiss CountyBest the second week of April · 11 checklists that week, 252 in all12%
  6. Jackson CountyBest early September · 581 checklists that week, 36,440 in all10%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. West HeadHarrison County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 112 in all41%
  2. Blue LakeJackson County, best mid September · 21 checklists that week, 1,885 in all17%

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

Best time of day

In Mississippi, the Caspian Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.8% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (54) to judge1 am: too few checklists (48) to judge2 am: too few checklists (28) to judge3 am: too few checklists (60) to judge4 am: too few checklists (114) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1139) to judge6 am: 3.9% of 9054 checklists7 am: 3.7% of 18481 checklists8 am: 3.6% of 17525 checklists9 am: 2.8% of 15482 checklists10 am: 2.4% of 14380 checklists11 am: 2.2% of 12728 checklists12 pm: 1.7% of 11009 checklists1 pm: 1.8% of 10651 checklists2 pm: 1.8% of 10787 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 11221 checklists4 pm: 1.3% of 11861 checklists5 pm: 1.4% of 8854 checklists6 pm: 2.2% of 6018 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2387) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (314) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (114) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (63) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (48) 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
January0.8%1.5%1.1%0.9%
February1.2%0.9%1.0%1.1%
March0.5%0.9%1.4%2.3%
April2.7%3.3%3.1%3.7%
May2.9%2.7%3.3%2.7%
June2.0%2.3%2.7%2.4%
July2.3%3.3%3.4%2.5%
August2.4%2.8%5.4%6.6%
September6.8%5.5%4.9%4.3%
October3.3%3.9%3.8%3.9%
November1.3%1.2%1.2%0.3%
December0.4%0.4%0.3%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Alabama: arrives early March, 2 weeks earlier than Mississippi
  • Louisiana: arrives early August, 18 weeks later than Mississippi
  • Georgia: arrives the second week of August, 19 weeks later than Mississippi
  • Tennessee: arrives mid July, 16 weeks later than Mississippi

Common questions

When do Caspian Terns arrive in Mississippi?
Caspian Terns arrive in Mississippi in mid March, peak in early September (6.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Caspian Terns leave Mississippi?
Most Caspian Terns have left Mississippi by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of November.
When is the best time to see a Caspian Tern in Mississippi?
The Caspian Tern is reported most often in early September, on about 6.3% of Mississippi checklists.
Where in Mississippi are Caspian Terns seen most often?
By county, Clay County, Panola County, and Harrison County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Caspian Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).