WhenToBird

Sterna hirundo · Laridae

When Do Common Terns Arrive in New Jersey?

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

Common Terns reach New Jersey in early May, are common by mid May, peak in early August (13% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 15-21mid May
PeakAug 1-7early August
Most gone bySep 8-14the second week of September

Best: early August. First arrivals early May; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 13% of New Jersey checklists.

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

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.5% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.0% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.2% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.4% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.6% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.6% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.3% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.4% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.8% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.7% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 10% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 13% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 13% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.5% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.0% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.8% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.3% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.1% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.6% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.0% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 26651 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cape May CountyBest early August · 2249 checklists that week, 189,832 in all34%
  2. Ocean CountyBest mid July · 1233 checklists that week, 87,340 in all31%
  3. Hudson CountyBest early July · 274 checklists that week, 21,191 in all30%
  4. Monmouth CountyBest early August · 1053 checklists that week, 79,748 in all27%
  5. Atlantic CountyBest early August · 376 checklists that week, 28,208 in all18%
  6. Middlesex CountyBest early August · 620 checklists that week, 46,761 in all13%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Island Beach State Park (south)Ocean County, best late July · 21 checklists that week, 502 in all98%
  2. Cheesequake State Park (Conaskonk Point)Monmouth County, best the second week of July · 22 checklists that week, 718 in all97%
  3. Cape May Point BeachCape May County, best the second week of August · 33 checklists that week, 5,796 in all94%
  4. Gateway National Recreation Area (Sandy Hook Channel)Monmouth County, best early August · 28 checklists that week, 1,406 in all92%
  5. Pauls BeachMiddlesex County, best late July · 30 checklists that week, 897 in all91%
  6. Cliffwood BeachMiddlesex County, best late June · 43 checklists that week, 472 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Common Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (3.6% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (746) to judge1 am: too few checklists (640) to judge2 am: too few checklists (606) to judge3 am: too few checklists (755) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1681) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11258) to judge6 am: 4.9% of 50447 checklists7 am: 2.7% of 118312 checklists8 am: 2.4% of 123273 checklists9 am: 2.4% of 107783 checklists10 am: 2.7% of 97537 checklists11 am: 2.3% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 2.1% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 2.2% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 2.2% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 2.1% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 3.4% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 3.9% of 28122 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14727) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4257) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1273) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (920) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (693) 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%
April0.1%0.1%0.1%0.5%
May2.0%3.2%4.4%5.6%
June4.6%5.3%6.4%7.8%
July8.7%10%12%13%
August12%13%10%7.5%
September6.0%4.8%3.3%3.1%
October1.6%1.0%0.7%0.5%
November0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives the second week of May, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives early May, in the same week than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than New Jersey
  • Maryland: arrives early May, in the same week than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Common Terns arrive in New Jersey?
Common Terns reach New Jersey in early May, are common by mid May, peak in early August (13% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Common Terns leave New Jersey?
Most Common Terns have left New Jersey by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Common Tern in New Jersey?
The Common Tern is reported most often in early August, on about 13% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Common Terns seen most often?
By county, Cape May County, Ocean County, and Hudson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).