WhenToBird

Sternula antillarum · Laridae

When Do Least Terns Arrive in Florida?

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

Least Terns reach Florida in late March, are common by the second week of April, peak in mid June (9.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakJun 15-21mid June
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: mid June. First arrivals late March; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 9.4% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 0% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.4% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.7% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.6% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.9% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 8.5% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.2% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.0% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.6% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.9% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.6% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.4% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.3% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.8% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.5% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.1% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.5% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.3% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.8% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.3% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.1% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.2% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.1% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% 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.

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Where in Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Escambia CountyBest mid May · 403 checklists that week, 25,457 in all32%
  2. Santa Rosa CountyBest early May · 330 checklists that week, 15,001 in all29%
  3. Monroe CountyBest late June · 806 checklists that week, 62,908 in all28%
  4. St. Johns CountyBest late June · 815 checklists that week, 51,026 in all27%
  5. Okaloosa CountyBest early May · 326 checklists that week, 16,003 in all24%
  6. Franklin CountyBest mid June · 128 checklists that week, 20,336 in all24%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Boot Key HarborMonroe County, best early July · 26 checklists that week, 521 in all100%
  2. Fort Matanzas National MonumentSt. Johns County, best mid June · 25 checklists that week, 872 in all98%
  3. Anastasia State Park (Conch Island)St. Johns County, best early July · 20 checklists that week, 267 in all97%
  4. Stump Pass Beach State ParkCharlotte County, best late May · 36 checklists that week, 1,177 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Least Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.6% 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: 4.9% of 94591 checklists7 am: 3.2% of 296183 checklists8 am: 2.7% of 319987 checklists9 am: 2.4% of 254830 checklists10 am: 2.2% of 209480 checklists11 am: 2.0% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 2.0% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 2.0% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 2.0% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 1.9% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 2.0% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 2.5% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 3.6% 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%1.0%
April3.4%5.7%7.6%8.9%
May8.5%8.2%9.0%8.6%
June8.9%9.6%9.4%9.3%
July8.8%8.5%8.1%7.5%
August7.3%5.8%4.3%3.1%
September2.2%1.1%0.4%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0%0%
November0%0.1%0.1%0%
December0%0%0%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives mid April, 3 weeks later than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives early April, 1 week later than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives early April, 1 week later than Florida
  • Mississippi: arrives late March, in the same week than Florida

Common questions

When do Least Terns arrive in Florida?
Least Terns reach Florida in late March, are common by the second week of April, peak in mid June (9.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Least Terns leave Florida?
Most Least Terns have left Florida by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of September.
When is the best time to see a Least Tern in Florida?
The Least Tern is reported most often in mid June, on about 9.4% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Least Terns seen most often?
By county, Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, and Monroe County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Least Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).