WhenToBird

Thalasseus maximus · Laridae

When Do Royal Terns Arrive in Mississippi?

Adult Royal Tern
Photo: Ricard Busquets Reverte, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Royal Tern is in Mississippi all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 5.2% in its quietest week (mid December).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 1-7early September
Quietest weekDec 15-21mid December

Best: early September. Here all year. Peak: on about 11% of Mississippi checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 5.9% of 4836 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.5% of 3323 checklistsJan 15-21: 6.6% of 3400 checklistsJan 22-31: 7.1% of 4705 checklistsFeb 1-7: 6.2% of 3387 checklistsFeb 8-14: 6.4% of 3911 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.9% of 4691 checklistsFeb 22-28: 5.8% of 3409 checklistsMar 1-7: 5.0% of 3276 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.1% of 3273 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.8% of 3552 checklistsMar 22-31: 6.8% of 5618 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.3% of 4432 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.4% of 4907 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.3% of 5239 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.8% of 7043 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.2% of 4597 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.8% of 4383 checklistsMay 15-21: 7.3% of 3088 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.4% of 3805 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.6% of 2658 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.9% of 2469 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.0% of 2112 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.5% of 2534 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.9% of 2099 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.1% of 1885 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.6% of 1811 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.1% of 2793 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.2% of 2045 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.6% of 2210 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.8% of 2437 checklistsAug 22-31: 11% of 3415 checklistsSep 1-7: 11% of 2837 checklistsSep 8-14: 10% of 2585 checklistsSep 15-21: 11% of 2870 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.2% of 3610 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.5% of 2938 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.3% of 3457 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.0% of 3168 checklistsOct 22-31: 10% of 3752 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.6% of 2847 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.3% of 2648 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.2% of 2599 checklistsNov 22-30: 6.1% of 3389 checklistsDec 1-7: 5.6% of 2419 checklistsDec 8-14: 6.3% of 2526 checklistsDec 15-21: 5.1% of 2966 checklistsDec 22-31: 4.7% of 4466 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Harrison CountyBest late August · 378 checklists that week, 22,824 in all44%
  2. Hancock CountyBest the second week of September · 100 checklists that week, 7,194 in all29%
  3. Jackson CountyBest early September · 581 checklists that week, 36,440 in all20%
  4. Lowndes CountyBest the second week of July · 94 checklists that week, 7,795 in all1.4%
  5. Madison CountyBest mid August · 55 checklists that week, 6,285 in all1.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bellefontaine Point Coastal Reserve (northwest)Jackson County, best early January · 30 checklists that week, 404 in all91%
  2. West HeadHarrison County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 112 in all84%
  3. Rhodes PointHarrison County, best mid September · 23 checklists that week, 724 in all56%

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

Best time of day

In Mississippi, the Royal Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (9.6% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (54) to judge1 am: too few checklists (48) to judge2 am: too few checklists (28) to judge3 am: too few checklists (60) to judge4 am: too few checklists (114) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1139) to judge6 am: 8.4% of 9054 checklists7 am: 9.5% of 18481 checklists8 am: 9.7% of 17525 checklists9 am: 7.9% of 15482 checklists10 am: 8.1% of 14380 checklists11 am: 7.2% of 12728 checklists12 pm: 6.8% of 11009 checklists1 pm: 6.4% of 10651 checklists2 pm: 5.6% of 10787 checklists3 pm: 5.1% of 11221 checklists4 pm: 4.4% of 11861 checklists5 pm: 4.0% of 8854 checklists6 pm: 4.8% of 6018 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2387) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (314) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (114) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (63) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (48) 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
January5.9%7.5%6.6%7.1%
February6.2%6.4%5.9%5.8%
March5.0%7.1%5.8%6.8%
April6.3%6.4%5.3%6.8%
May5.2%5.8%7.3%6.4%
June5.6%5.9%7.0%6.5%
July5.9%8.1%8.6%8.1%
August8.2%8.6%9.8%11%
September11%10%11%9.2%
October7.5%9.3%9.0%10%
November7.6%7.3%7.2%6.1%
December5.6%6.3%5.1%4.7%

Neighboring states

  • Alabama: all year, most in fall, peaks the second week of October
  • Louisiana: all year, most in spring, peaks mid April
  • Georgia: year-round, peaks the second week of July
  • Texas: all year, most in spring, peaks mid April

Common questions

When do Royal Terns arrive in Mississippi?
The Royal Tern is in Mississippi all year. It turns up on about 11% of checklists at its peak (early September) and on 5.2% in its quietest week (mid December).
When do Royal Terns leave Mississippi?
The Royal Tern does not leave Mississippi: it is reported all year, from 5.2% of checklists in mid December to 11% in early September.
When is the best time to see a Royal Tern in Mississippi?
The Royal Tern is reported most often in early September, on about 11% of Mississippi checklists.
Where in Mississippi are Royal Terns seen most often?
By county, Harrison County, Hancock County, and Jackson County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Royal Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).