WhenToBird

Thalasseus elegans · Laridae

When Do Elegant Terns Arrive in California?

Adult Elegant Tern
Photo: Chris Spain, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Elegant Terns reach California in late March, are common by early April, peak in mid August (6.0% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byNov 8-14the second week of November

Best: mid August. First arrivals late March; most are gone by the second week of November. Peak: on about 6.0% of California checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.9% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.2% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.5% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.7% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.7% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.8% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.7% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.4% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.3% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.1% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.2% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.3% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.3% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.5% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.1% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.0% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.7% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.6% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.3% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.1% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.8% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 6.0% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.7% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.4% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.5% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.6% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.4% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.9% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.6% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.4% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.2% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.9% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 124993 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 California 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 California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Monterey CountyBest early September · 2950 checklists that week, 132,505 in all16%
  2. Santa Cruz CountyBest mid August · 2314 checklists that week, 140,819 in all15%
  3. San Mateo CountyBest late August · 3373 checklists that week, 148,781 in all14%
  4. Ventura CountyBest the second week of August · 1473 checklists that week, 94,391 in all14%
  5. San Francisco CountyBest early November · 2347 checklists that week, 130,018 in all13%
  6. San Luis Obispo CountyBest early September · 2272 checklists that week, 124,667 in all12%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. South Bay Marine Biological Study AreaSan Diego County, best early July · 28 checklists that week, 881 in all93%
  2. Crown Memorial Regional Shoreline (northwest)Alameda County, best late September · 20 checklists that week, 1,118 in all89%
  3. San Francisco ZooSan Francisco County, best early September · 21 checklists that week, 883 in all87%
  4. Crown Memorial Regional ShorelineAlameda County, best early September · 130 checklists that week, 3,508 in all85%
  5. McGrath State BeachVentura County, best late August · 95 checklists that week, 1,982 in all83%
  6. San Diego Bay National Wildlife RefugeSan Diego County, best mid July · 20 checklists that week, 1,550 in all83%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Elegant Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.2% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 2.5% of 186053 checklists7 am: 2.1% of 444086 checklists8 am: 1.8% of 535846 checklists9 am: 1.8% of 486061 checklists10 am: 1.7% of 411130 checklists11 am: 1.7% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 1.7% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 1.7% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 1.6% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 1.7% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 1.9% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 1.7% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.2%0.4%0.9%1.2%
April1.5%1.7%1.7%1.8%
May1.7%1.4%1.3%1.1%
June1.2%1.3%1.3%1.5%
July2.1%3.0%3.7%4.6%
August5.3%6.1%5.8%6.0%
September5.7%5.4%4.5%3.6%
October3.4%2.9%2.6%2.4%
November2.2%1.9%1.1%0.5%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Common questions

When do Elegant Terns arrive in California?
Elegant Terns reach California in late March, are common by early April, peak in mid August (6.0% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.
When do Elegant Terns leave California?
Most Elegant Terns have left California by the second week of November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid November.
When is the best time to see a Elegant Tern in California?
The Elegant Tern is reported most often in mid August, on about 6.0% of California checklists.
Where in California are Elegant Terns seen most often?
By county, Monterey County, Santa Cruz County, and San Mateo County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Elegant Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).