WhenToBird

Sterna hirundo · Laridae

When Do Common Terns Arrive in New York?

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

Common Terns reach New York in late April, are common by the second week of May, peak in late July (8.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byMay 8-14the second week of May
PeakJul 22-31late July
Most gone bySep 1-7early September

Best: late July. First arrivals late April; most are gone by early September. Peak: on about 8.3% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  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%5%10%Jan 1-7: 0% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.2% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.3% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.8% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.9% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.8% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.0% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.7% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.1% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.5% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.2% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.4% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 7.9% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.5% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.3% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.6% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.8% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.1% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.6% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.4% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.4% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.2% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.6% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.5% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.4% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 62470 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 York 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 York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nassau CountyBest mid July · 1073 checklists that week, 95,019 in all40%
  2. Kings CountyBest late July · 1921 checklists that week, 134,897 in all35%
  3. Queens CountyBest mid July · 1071 checklists that week, 76,201 in all35%
  4. Suffolk CountyBest late July · 4465 checklists that week, 208,865 in all32%
  5. Richmond CountyBest mid July · 826 checklists that week, 55,926 in all22%
  6. Bronx CountyBest early August · 322 checklists that week, 24,489 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nassau Beach County ParkNassau County, best early July · 83 checklists that week, 3,307 in all100%
  2. Squaw IslandErie County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 667 in all98%
  3. Gateway National Recreation AreaQueens County, best late June · 37 checklists that week, 1,841 in all98%
  4. Sunset BayOswego County, best late May · 64 checklists that week, 308 in all98%
  5. Cupsoque County ParkSuffolk County, best early August · 109 checklists that week, 1,837 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Common Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.8% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 3.9% of 124869 checklists7 am: 2.3% of 298506 checklists8 am: 2.0% of 337334 checklists9 am: 2.2% of 307787 checklists10 am: 2.1% of 270801 checklists11 am: 2.0% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 1.8% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 1.8% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 1.7% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 2.1% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 2.2% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 2.5% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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%0.1%0%0.1%
April0.1%0.4%0.7%1.2%
May2.3%2.8%3.9%4.8%
June5.0%4.7%5.1%5.5%
July6.2%7.4%7.9%8.5%
August8.3%7.6%6.8%5.1%
September3.6%2.4%1.4%1.2%
October0.6%0.5%0.4%0.3%
November0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives early May, 1 week later than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives early May, 1 week later than New York
  • Vermont: arrives early May, 1 week later than New York
  • Delaware: arrives the second week of May, 2 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Common Terns arrive in New York?
Common Terns reach New York in late April, are common by the second week of May, peak in late July (8.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.
When do Common Terns leave New York?
Most Common Terns have left New York by early September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late September.
When is the best time to see a Common Tern in New York?
The Common Tern is reported most often in late July, on about 8.3% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Common Terns seen most often?
By county, Nassau County, Kings County, and Queens County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).