WhenToBird

Sterna forsteri · Laridae

When Do Forster's Terns Arrive in Tennessee?

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

Forster's Terns arrive in Tennessee in mid July, peak in late August (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid December.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Most gone byDec 15-21mid December

Best: late August. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by mid December. Peak: on about 1.1% of Tennessee checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junrare
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 16696 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 13056 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 13646 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 18071 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 13342 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 14316 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 20395 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 13129 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 12701 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 12789 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 13599 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 20293 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 15779 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 16646 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.6% of 18625 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 26689 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.1% of 21054 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 19954 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 14494 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 17790 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 11344 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 11049 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 9625 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 11522 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 9208 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 8814 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 8887 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 12739 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 9632 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.8% of 9514 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.0% of 9619 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.4% of 14227 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.0% of 11988 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.8% of 11660 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 11774 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.1% of 15658 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.4% of 12641 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.6% of 12389 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 10249 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 14085 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 10700 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.3% of 10709 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 9955 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 13423 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 10106 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 10478 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 12177 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 17397 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake CountyBest the second week of October · 66 checklists that week, 5,235 in all17%
  2. Henry CountyBest mid October · 104 checklists that week, 5,668 in all15%
  3. Humphreys CountyBest late April · 155 checklists that week, 5,858 in all15%
  4. Hardin CountyBest mid April · 61 checklists that week, 2,710 in all15%
  5. Benton CountyBest late August · 47 checklists that week, 2,202 in all13%
  6. Cocke CountyBest the second week of September · 99 checklists that week, 2,051 in all11%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Chester Frost ParkHamilton County, best late April · 88 checklists that week, 2,470 in all34%
  2. Old Cathole (historical)Humphreys County, best late August · 41 checklists that week, 343 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In Tennessee, the Forster's Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (224) to judge1 am: too few checklists (253) to judge2 am: too few checklists (245) to judge3 am: too few checklists (267) to judge4 am: too few checklists (582) to judge5 am: too few checklists (5688) to judge6 am: 0.5% of 36828 checklists7 am: 0.2% of 72816 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 76910 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 69071 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 60943 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 52311 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 46524 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 41133 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 40305 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 41013 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 40029 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 29775 checklists6 pm: 0.5% of 20977 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (12529) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4456) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1056) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (445) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (252) 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%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.3%0.2%
April0.3%0.4%0.6%1.1%
May1.1%0.7%0.4%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.3%0.4%
August0.4%0.8%1.0%1.4%
September1.0%0.8%0.8%1.1%
October0.4%0.6%0.8%0.6%
November0.5%0.3%0.3%0.3%
December0.2%0.2%0.3%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Kentucky: arrives early August, 2 weeks later than Tennessee
  • Georgia: arrives the second week of September, 7 weeks later than Tennessee
  • Alabama: arrives late June, 3 weeks earlier than Tennessee
  • Indiana: arrives mid July, in the same week than Tennessee

Common questions

When do Forster's Terns arrive in Tennessee?
Forster's Terns arrive in Tennessee in mid July, peak in late August (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid December.
When do Forster's Terns leave Tennessee?
Most Forster's Terns have left Tennessee by mid December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Forster's Tern in Tennessee?
The Forster's Tern is reported most often in late August, on about 1.1% of Tennessee checklists.
Where in Tennessee are Forster's Terns seen most often?
By county, Lake County, Henry County, and Humphreys County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Forster's Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).