WhenToBird

Thalasseus maximus · Laridae

When Do Royal Terns Arrive in New York?

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

Royal Terns are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late July, peak in early October (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: early October. First arrivals late July; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 1.6% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprnot usually seen
  5. Maynot usually seen
  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%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.0% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.2% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.3% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.5% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.4% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.3% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.6% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.6% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.6% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.1% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.2% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 62470 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 York 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 York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Suffolk CountyBest early September · 3977 checklists that week, 208,865 in all11%
  2. Richmond CountyBest early October · 1023 checklists that week, 55,926 in all9.4%
  3. Queens CountyBest early October · 1513 checklists that week, 76,201 in all7.4%
  4. Kings CountyBest early October · 2948 checklists that week, 134,897 in all5.4%
  5. Nassau CountyBest early October · 1557 checklists that week, 95,019 in all4.0%
  6. Bronx CountyBest mid July · 336 checklists that week, 24,489 in all0.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Area (Pelican Island)Suffolk County, best late August · 57 checklists that week, 249 in all88%
  2. TOWN of BROOKHAVENC/O DEPT of FINANCE Land (Davis Park)Suffolk County, best early October · 34 checklists that week, 256 in all87%
  3. Cupsoque County ParkSuffolk County, best early September · 45 checklists that week, 1,837 in all84%
  4. Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and BeachRichmond County, best late October · 27 checklists that week, 485 in all76%
  5. W Scott Cameron Town BeachSuffolk County, best early October · 32 checklists that week, 1,158 in all76%
  6. Point BreezeKings County, best early October · 143 checklists that week, 5,118 in all75%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Royal Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 0.7% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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%0.1%0%0.1%
May0.1%0%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.2%0.2%0.2%
July0.4%0.2%0.5%0.7%
August1.0%1.2%1.3%1.5%
September1.4%1.3%1.2%1.6%
October1.6%1.6%1.1%1.2%
November0.8%0.6%0.2%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • New Jersey: arrives early June, 7 weeks earlier than New York
  • Delaware: arrives mid April, 13 weeks earlier than New York
  • Maryland: arrives late June, 4 weeks earlier than New York
  • Virginia: arrives late March, 16 weeks earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Royal Terns arrive in New York?
Royal Terns are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late July, peak in early October (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Royal Terns leave New York?
Most Royal Terns have left New York by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Royal Tern in New York?
The Royal Tern is reported most often in early October, on about 1.6% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Royal Terns seen most often?
By county, Suffolk County, Richmond County, and Queens County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Royal Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).