WhenToBird

Sternula antillarum · Laridae

When Do Least Terns Arrive in Arkansas?

Adult Least Tern
Photo: datadan, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Least Terns arrive in Arkansas in mid May, peak in the second week of August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 15-21mid May
Common byMay 15-21mid May
PeakAug 8-14the second week of August
Most gone bySep 1-7early September

Best: the second week of August. First arrivals mid May; most are gone by early September. Peak: on about 2.4% of Arkansas checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 5292 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 4085 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 4531 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 6500 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 4752 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 5385 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 7219 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 4163 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 3952 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 4067 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 4446 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 6911 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 5422 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 6043 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 6759 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 10236 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 8243 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 7467 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.4% of 6160 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.5% of 7287 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.0% of 4884 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 4444 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.0% of 3579 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.0% of 3858 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.9% of 3042 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.1% of 2889 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.7% of 2599 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.6% of 3825 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.9% of 2951 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.8% of 2765 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.5% of 2838 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 4360 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.0% of 3573 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 3314 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 3118 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 4381 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 3640 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 4119 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 3810 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 4956 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 3704 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 3678 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 3457 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 4648 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 3390 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 3510 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 4540 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 6404 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Desha CountyBest late June · 11 checklists that week, 756 in all63%
  2. Chicot CountyBest mid August · 13 checklists that week, 348 in all58%
  3. Hempstead CountyBest early June · 11 checklists that week, 827 in all17%
  4. Greene CountyBest mid August · 20 checklists that week, 1,025 in all16%
  5. Mississippi CountyBest late August · 15 checklists that week, 726 in all15%
  6. Johnson CountyBest the second week of August · 11 checklists that week, 1,679 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Beaver Fork LakeFaulkner County, best mid May · 21 checklists that week, 1,008 in all52%
  2. Bois d'Arc LakeHempstead County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 301 in all25%
  3. Bald Knob National Wildlife RefugeWhite County, best the second week of August · 76 checklists that week, 1,945 in all17%
  4. David D Terry LakePulaski County, best mid May · 21 checklists that week, 298 in all16%

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

Best time of day

In Arkansas, the Least Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (98) to judge1 am: too few checklists (88) to judge2 am: too few checklists (95) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (145) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1455) to judge6 am: 0.5% of 10807 checklists7 am: 0.2% of 27761 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 30943 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 26975 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 21989 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 16828 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 14069 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 13145 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 12780 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 12723 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 12500 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 9576 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 7182 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (4187) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (1314) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (245) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (122) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (75) 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%0%0%
April0%0.1%0%0.1%
May0.2%0.5%1.4%1.5%
June1.0%0.9%1.0%1.0%
July0.9%2.1%1.7%1.6%
August1.9%2.8%2.5%1.2%
September1.0%0.2%0.3%0.1%
October0%0%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Missouri: arrives mid May, in the same week than Arkansas
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of May, 1 week earlier than Arkansas
  • Mississippi: arrives late March, 7 weeks earlier than Arkansas
  • Louisiana: arrives early April, 6 weeks earlier than Arkansas

Common questions

When do Least Terns arrive in Arkansas?
Least Terns arrive in Arkansas in mid May, peak in the second week of August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.
When do Least Terns leave Arkansas?
Most Least Terns have left Arkansas by early September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Least Tern in Arkansas?
The Least Tern is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 2.4% of Arkansas checklists.
Where in Arkansas are Least Terns seen most often?
By county, Desha County, Chicot County, and Hempstead County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Least Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).