WhenToBird

Sterna forsteri · Laridae

When Do Forster's Terns Arrive in Florida?

Adult Forster's Tern
Photo: Aitor, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Forster's Terns are winter birds in Florida: the first arrive in late July, they are common by late August, peak in mid January (9.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byAug 22-31late August
PeakJan 15-21mid January
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: mid January. First arrivals late July; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 9.1% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 7.8% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 8.7% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.6% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.7% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.1% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.1% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.9% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.3% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 5.6% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 5.3% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.7% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.5% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 4.2% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.8% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.1% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.5% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.8% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.4% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.4% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.3% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.4% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.4% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.3% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.2% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.3% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.1% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.3% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.5% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.1% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.4% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.7% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.9% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.7% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.5% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.4% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.9% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.4% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.0% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.2% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.7% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.1% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.0% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 5.3% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 5.7% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 5.5% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 6.0% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 6.5% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 8.0% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Franklin CountyBest mid January · 469 checklists that week, 20,336 in all30%
  2. Gulf CountyBest the second week of January · 131 checklists that week, 5,038 in all30%
  3. Dixie CountyBest mid August · 79 checklists that week, 2,113 in all30%
  4. Nassau CountyBest late January · 408 checklists that week, 10,618 in all28%
  5. Wakulla CountyBest the second week of January · 1241 checklists that week, 27,521 in all26%
  6. Taylor CountyBest late November · 32 checklists that week, 1,937 in all22%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Tom Renick ParkVolusia County, best late January · 49 checklists that week, 1,941 in all95%
  2. Orchid LakeLake County, best late January · 20 checklists that week, 231 in all89%
  3. Waterfront ParkPinellas County, best mid February · 29 checklists that week, 942 in all85%
  4. Fort Matanzas National MonumentSt. Johns County, best the second week of February · 29 checklists that week, 872 in all84%
  5. Fort Island BeachCitrus County, best the second week of October · 22 checklists that week, 1,372 in all84%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Forster's Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (5.4% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 3.5% of 94591 checklists7 am: 5.0% of 296183 checklists8 am: 5.1% of 319987 checklists9 am: 5.1% of 254830 checklists10 am: 5.3% of 209480 checklists11 am: 5.4% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 5.3% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 5.4% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 5.5% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 5.0% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 4.2% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 2.7% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 1.7% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January7.8%8.7%8.6%9.7%
February8.1%7.1%5.9%6.3%
March5.6%5.3%4.7%4.5%
April4.2%3.8%3.1%2.5%
May1.8%1.4%1.4%1.3%
June1.4%1.4%1.3%1.2%
July1.3%1.1%1.3%1.5%
August2.1%2.4%2.7%2.9%
September3.7%3.5%3.4%2.9%
October3.4%3.0%3.2%3.7%
November4.1%5.0%5.3%5.7%
December5.5%6.0%6.5%8.0%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives the second week of September, 6 weeks later than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives late June, 4 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives mid August, 3 weeks later than Florida

Common questions

When do Forster's Terns arrive in Florida?
Forster's Terns are winter birds in Florida: the first arrive in late July, they are common by late August, peak in mid January (9.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Forster's Terns leave Florida?
Most Forster's Terns have left Florida by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early May.
When is the best time to see a Forster's Tern in Florida?
The Forster's Tern is reported most often in mid January, on about 9.1% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Forster's Terns seen most often?
By county, Franklin County, Gulf County, and Dixie County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Forster's Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).