WhenToBird

Sternula antillarum · Laridae

When Do Least Terns Arrive in Georgia?

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

Least Terns arrive in Georgia in mid April, peak in late July (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakJul 22-31late July
Most gone byAug 15-21mid August

Best: late July. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by mid August. Peak: on about 1.4% of Georgia checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  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%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0% of 22238 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 16390 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 16779 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 22964 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 16870 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19486 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 28540 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 17005 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 15920 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 16274 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 16432 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 25318 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.2% of 19292 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 19742 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.8% of 21498 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.3% of 29736 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 20858 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 20346 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.2% of 15859 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 19867 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 13467 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 12812 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 11379 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.2% of 14121 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.1% of 11176 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.2% of 10695 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.4% of 10655 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.3% of 15106 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 10650 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.0% of 10247 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 10371 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.6% of 15203 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 13007 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 12541 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 12943 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 17655 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 14646 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 15836 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 13124 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 15859 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 11711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 11587 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 12025 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 16431 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 11256 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 11967 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 15618 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% 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 late July · 628 checklists that week, 48,828 in all17%
  2. Liberty CountyBest late June · 19 checklists that week, 2,209 in all15%
  3. Camden CountyBest mid July · 135 checklists that week, 10,650 in all13%
  4. Long CountyBest the second week of June · 13 checklists that week, 481 in all11%
  5. Chatham CountyBest late July · 653 checklists that week, 37,460 in all11%
  6. Grady CountyBest mid May · 20 checklists that week, 921 in all6.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bloody MarshGlynn County, best early May · 42 checklists that week, 1,916 in all85%
  2. Massengale ParkGlynn County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 753 in all71%
  3. BeachChatham County, best early August · 39 checklists that week, 2,031 in all52%

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

Best time of day

In Georgia, the Least Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%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: 1.6% of 16790 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 73569 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 104956 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 96241 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 81903 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 66236 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 56159 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 48260 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 46435 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 46015 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 47438 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 38866 checklists6 pm: 0.5% 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
January0%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0.1%0.1%
April0.2%0.5%0.8%1.3%
May1.2%0.9%1.2%1.0%
June1.3%1.1%1.2%1.2%
July1.1%1.2%1.4%1.3%
August1.4%1.0%0.8%0.6%
September0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0%0%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives early April, 2 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • Alabama: arrives early April, 2 weeks earlier than Georgia
  • North Carolina: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than Georgia
  • Mississippi: arrives late March, 3 weeks earlier than Georgia

Common questions

When do Least Terns arrive in Georgia?
Least Terns arrive in Georgia in mid April, peak in late July (1.4% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.
When do Least Terns leave Georgia?
Most Least Terns have left Georgia by mid August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Least Tern in Georgia?
The Least Tern is reported most often in late July, on about 1.4% of Georgia checklists.
Where in Georgia are Least Terns seen most often?
By county, Glynn County, Liberty County, and Camden County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Least Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).