WhenToBird

Sterna hirundo · Laridae

When Do Common Terns Arrive in Mississippi?

Adult Common Tern
Photo: Сергей Неклюдов, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Common Terns arrive in Mississippi in the second week of May, peak in late July (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 8-14the second week of May
Common byMay 8-14the second week of May
PeakJul 22-31late July
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: late July. First arrivals the second week of May; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 1.4% of Mississippi checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0% of 4836 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 3323 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 3400 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 4705 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 3387 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 3911 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 4691 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 3409 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 3276 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 3273 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 3552 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 5618 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 4432 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 4907 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 5239 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 7043 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 4597 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 4383 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 3088 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 3805 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.7% of 2658 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 2469 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.1% of 2112 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 2534 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 2099 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 1885 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.3% of 1811 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.5% of 2793 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 2045 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.8% of 2210 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.3% of 2437 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.7% of 3415 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.1% of 2837 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.2% of 2585 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 2870 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 3610 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 2938 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 3457 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 3168 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 3752 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 2847 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 2648 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 2599 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 3389 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 2419 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 2526 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 2966 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% 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. Harrison CountyBest late July · 398 checklists that week, 22,824 in all7.8%
  2. Hancock CountyBest mid August · 88 checklists that week, 7,194 in all2.6%
  3. Jackson CountyBest the second week of September · 530 checklists that week, 36,440 in all2.3%
  4. Lee CountyBest early October · 25 checklists that week, 2,179 in all1.8%
  5. Madison CountyBest the second week of July · 49 checklists that week, 6,285 in all1.3%
  6. Lowndes CountyBest late September · 218 checklists that week, 7,795 in all0.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. West HeadHarrison County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 112 in all22%
  2. Oktibbeha County LakeOktibbeha County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 427 in all12%

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

Best time of day

In Mississippi, the Common Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.5% of 9054 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 18481 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 17525 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 15482 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 14380 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 12728 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 11009 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 10651 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 10787 checklists3 pm: 0.1% of 11221 checklists4 pm: 0.1% of 11861 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 8854 checklists6 pm: 0.3% 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0.1%0%
March0%0%0%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
May0.3%0.7%1.0%0.8%
June0.7%1.1%1.1%0.6%
July0.5%1.0%1.3%1.5%
August1.4%0.8%1.3%1.7%
September1.1%1.2%1.3%0.7%
October0.2%0.1%0.2%0.1%
November0.1%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Alabama: arrives late April, 2 weeks earlier than Mississippi
  • Louisiana: arrives late March, 6 weeks earlier than Mississippi
  • Texas: arrives early March, 9 weeks earlier than Mississippi
  • South Carolina: arrives late March, 6 weeks earlier than Mississippi

Common questions

When do Common Terns arrive in Mississippi?
Common Terns arrive in Mississippi in the second week of May, peak in late July (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Common Terns leave Mississippi?
Most Common Terns have left Mississippi by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Tern in Mississippi?
The Common Tern is reported most often in late July, on about 1.4% of Mississippi checklists.
Where in Mississippi are Common Terns seen most often?
By county, Harrison County, Hancock County, and Jackson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).