WhenToBird

Thalasseus maximus · Laridae

When Do Royal Terns Arrive in New Jersey?

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

Royal Terns are winter birds in New Jersey: the first arrive in early June, they are common by mid July, peak in early October (9.2% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 1-7early June
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: early October. First arrivals early June; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 9.2% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Mayrare
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.9% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.1% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.9% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.5% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.5% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.5% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.1% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.9% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.6% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.0% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.3% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 7.8% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.7% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.6% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.9% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.8% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.6% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.3% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.7% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.6% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 6.9% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.8% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 3.3% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.6% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 26651 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cape May CountyBest the second week of August · 2515 checklists that week, 189,832 in all29%
  2. Ocean CountyBest mid August · 1045 checklists that week, 87,340 in all16%
  3. Monmouth CountyBest the second week of August · 1148 checklists that week, 79,748 in all13%
  4. Atlantic CountyBest late August · 733 checklists that week, 28,208 in all11%
  5. Cumberland CountyBest mid September · 162 checklists that week, 13,927 in all8.5%
  6. Middlesex CountyBest early July · 608 checklists that week, 46,761 in all2.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Island Beach State Park (Sedge Islands)Ocean County, best late August · 34 checklists that week, 211 in all98%
  2. Norburys LandingCape May County, best late July · 20 checklists that week, 667 in all94%
  3. Cape May Point BeachCape May County, best late August · 69 checklists that week, 5,796 in all91%
  4. Cape May County Park SouthCape May County, best late August · 21 checklists that week, 337 in all89%
  5. North Wildwood BeachCape May County, best late September · 22 checklists that week, 899 in all87%
  6. Island Beach State Park (south)Ocean County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 327 in all85%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Royal Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (4.0% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (746) to judge1 am: too few checklists (640) to judge2 am: too few checklists (606) to judge3 am: too few checklists (755) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1681) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11258) to judge6 am: 5.1% of 50447 checklists7 am: 3.5% of 118312 checklists8 am: 2.4% of 123273 checklists9 am: 2.3% of 107783 checklists10 am: 2.4% of 97537 checklists11 am: 2.1% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 1.9% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 2.1% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 2.3% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 2.2% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 3.2% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 3.2% of 28122 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14727) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4257) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1273) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (920) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (693) 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
January0.1%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0.1%
March0%0%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
May0.3%0.6%0.9%1.0%
June1.1%1.9%2.5%2.5%
July2.5%3.1%3.9%5.6%
August7.0%8.3%7.8%7.7%
September7.6%7.9%7.8%9.6%
October9.3%8.7%8.6%6.9%
November4.8%3.3%1.6%0.6%
December0.2%0.1%0.1%0%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives mid April, 6 weeks earlier than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives late July, 7 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Maryland: arrives late June, 3 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Virginia: arrives late March, 9 weeks earlier than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Royal Terns arrive in New Jersey?
Royal Terns are winter birds in New Jersey: the first arrive in early June, they are common by mid July, peak in early October (9.2% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Royal Terns leave New Jersey?
Most Royal Terns have left New Jersey by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid November.
When is the best time to see a Royal Tern in New Jersey?
The Royal Tern is reported most often in early October, on about 9.2% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Royal Terns seen most often?
By county, Cape May County, Ocean County, and Monmouth County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Royal Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).