WhenToBird

Sterna forsteri · Laridae

When Do Forster's Terns Arrive in Georgia?

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

Forster's Terns are winter birds in Georgia: they arrive in the second week of September, peak in early March (3.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 8-14the second week of September
Common bySep 8-14the second week of September
PeakMar 1-7early March
Most gone byApr 22-30late April

Best: early March. First arrivals the second week of September; most are gone by late April. Peak: on about 3.2% of Georgia checklists.

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

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.9% of 22238 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.2% of 16390 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.2% of 16779 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.1% of 22964 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.8% of 16870 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.8% of 19486 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.5% of 28540 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.9% of 17005 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.5% of 15920 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.4% of 16274 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.6% of 16432 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.6% of 25318 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.2% of 19292 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.8% of 19742 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.5% of 21498 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.5% of 29736 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 20858 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 20346 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 15859 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 19867 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 13467 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 12812 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.7% of 11379 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 14121 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 11176 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 10695 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.6% of 10655 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 15106 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.8% of 10650 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.6% of 10247 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 10371 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.8% of 15203 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.2% of 13007 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 12541 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 12943 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.5% of 17655 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.5% of 14646 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.4% of 15836 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.7% of 13124 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.9% of 15859 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.8% of 11711 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.8% of 11587 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.1% of 12025 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.3% of 16431 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.2% of 11256 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.7% of 11967 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.8% of 15618 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.1% of 22453 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 Georgia 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 Georgia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Glynn CountyBest the second week of March · 1302 checklists that week, 48,828 in all25%
  2. Liberty CountyBest the second week of December · 89 checklists that week, 2,209 in all24%
  3. Troup CountyBest early March · 68 checklists that week, 3,539 in all23%
  4. Chatham CountyBest late February · 904 checklists that week, 37,460 in all18%
  5. Quitman CountyBest mid December · 28 checklists that week, 345 in all16%
  6. Bryan CountyBest the second week of December · 75 checklists that week, 3,585 in all15%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bloody MarshGlynn County, best the second week of March · 35 checklists that week, 1,916 in all86%
  2. Fort Pulaski National MonumentChatham County, best early October · 35 checklists that week, 1,669 in all85%
  3. Massengale ParkGlynn County, best mid March · 22 checklists that week, 753 in all81%
  4. BeachChatham County, best late February · 39 checklists that week, 2,031 in all78%

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

Best time of day

In Georgia, the Forster's Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (2.6% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (334) to judge1 am: too few checklists (277) to judge2 am: too few checklists (264) to judge3 am: too few checklists (282) to judge4 am: too few checklists (463) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1513) to judge6 am: 1.2% of 16790 checklists7 am: 1.6% of 73569 checklists8 am: 1.4% of 104956 checklists9 am: 1.8% of 96241 checklists10 am: 2.2% of 81903 checklists11 am: 2.0% of 66236 checklists12 pm: 2.1% of 56159 checklists1 pm: 2.4% of 48260 checklists2 pm: 2.7% of 46435 checklists3 pm: 2.5% of 46015 checklists4 pm: 1.9% of 47438 checklists5 pm: 1.3% of 38866 checklists6 pm: 1.1% of 26032 checklists7 pm: 0.7% of 16610 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5490) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (995) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (310) 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
January2.9%3.2%3.2%3.1%
February2.8%2.8%2.5%2.9%
March3.5%3.4%2.6%2.6%
April2.2%1.8%1.5%1.5%
May1.0%0.7%0.6%0.4%
June0.6%0.6%0.7%0.4%
July0.4%0.4%0.6%0.5%
August0.8%0.6%0.8%0.8%
September1.2%1.0%1.3%1.5%
October1.5%2.4%1.7%1.9%
November1.8%1.8%2.1%2.3%
December2.2%2.7%2.8%3.1%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives mid July, 7 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • Alabama: arrives late June, 10 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • Tennessee: arrives mid July, 7 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • North Carolina: arrives mid June, 11 weeks earlier than Georgia

Common questions

When do Forster's Terns arrive in Georgia?
Forster's Terns are winter birds in Georgia: they arrive in the second week of September, peak in early March (3.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late April.
When do Forster's Terns leave Georgia?
Most Forster's Terns have left Georgia by late 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 Georgia?
The Forster's Tern is reported most often in early March, on about 3.2% of Georgia checklists.
Where in Georgia are Forster's Terns seen most often?
By county, Glynn County, Liberty County, and Troup County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Forster's Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).