WhenToBird

Sternula antillarum · Laridae

When Do Least Terns Arrive in Nebraska?

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

Least Terns arrive in Nebraska in mid May, peak in mid July (2.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 15-21mid May
Common byMay 15-21mid May
PeakJul 15-21mid July
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: mid July. First arrivals mid May; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 2.5% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seprare
  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 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 0% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.3% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.3% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.1% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.9% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.4% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.3% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.2% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.5% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 2.1% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.7% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.8% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.7% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.4% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 0% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Dixon CountyBest late June · 38 checklists that week, 1,619 in all40%
  2. Cedar CountyBest the second week of June · 33 checklists that week, 1,691 in all24%
  3. Madison CountyBest late June · 40 checklists that week, 1,920 in all22%
  4. Boyd CountyBest early July · 10 checklists that week, 299 in all21%
  5. Platte CountyBest early August · 22 checklists that week, 1,287 in all18%
  6. Nance CountyBest mid August · 18 checklists that week, 356 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ponca State Park (north)Dixon County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 142 in all86%
  2. Rowe SanctuaryBuffalo County, best late July · 29 checklists that week, 1,627 in all37%
  3. Medelmans LakeMadison County, best late May · 26 checklists that week, 367 in all33%
  4. Ponca State ParkDixon County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 290 in all28%
  5. Walnut Creek Recreation AreaSarpy County, best late May · 33 checklists that week, 1,124 in all20%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Least Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (0.9% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 1.1% of 6945 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 19066 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 24661 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 23438 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 20424 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 1.0% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 0.9% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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%0%0%
May0.1%0.4%1.3%2.3%
June2.1%1.9%2.4%2.3%
July2.2%2.5%2.1%2.7%
August1.8%1.7%0.7%0.4%
September0.1%0%0%0%
October0%0%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • South Dakota: arrives mid May, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Missouri: arrives mid May, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of May, 1 week earlier than Nebraska
  • North Dakota: arrives late May, 1 week later than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Least Terns arrive in Nebraska?
Least Terns arrive in Nebraska in mid May, peak in mid July (2.5% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Least Terns leave Nebraska?
Most Least Terns have left Nebraska by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Least Tern in Nebraska?
The Least Tern is reported most often in mid July, on about 2.5% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Least Terns seen most often?
By county, Dixon County, Cedar County, and Madison County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Least Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).