WhenToBird

Thalasseus maximus · Laridae

When Do Royal Terns Arrive in South Carolina?

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

Royal Terns reach South Carolina in early March, are common by early April, peak in the second week of August (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakAug 8-14the second week of August
Most gone byNov 15-21mid November

Best: the second week of August. First arrivals early March; most are gone by mid November. Peak: on about 10% of South Carolina checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 2.6% of 15487 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.3% of 11691 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.4% of 11994 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.7% of 16225 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.5% of 12192 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.5% of 14044 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.1% of 18483 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.7% of 12045 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.8% of 11511 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.7% of 11704 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.0% of 11526 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.0% of 17386 checklistsApr 1-7: 4.7% of 13148 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.2% of 13193 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.4% of 13936 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.8% of 19002 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.3% of 14133 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.2% of 13668 checklistsMay 15-21: 6.1% of 11064 checklistsMay 22-31: 6.5% of 14461 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.9% of 10231 checklistsJun 8-14: 7.6% of 9417 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.9% of 8012 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.8% of 9720 checklistsJul 1-7: 7.3% of 7907 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.4% of 7338 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.5% of 7312 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 10877 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 7816 checklistsAug 8-14: 10% of 7655 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 7797 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.4% of 11246 checklistsSep 1-7: 8.5% of 8956 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.4% of 8929 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.0% of 9389 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.1% of 13028 checklistsOct 1-7: 8.1% of 11063 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.4% of 10968 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.6% of 10264 checklistsOct 22-31: 8.9% of 12917 checklistsNov 1-7: 6.5% of 8802 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.7% of 8339 checklistsNov 15-21: 4.6% of 8798 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.7% of 12925 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.9% of 8541 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.5% of 8609 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.2% of 9961 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.5% of 17541 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Colleton CountyBest early August · 53 checklists that week, 8,909 in all34%
  2. Beaufort CountyBest late August · 1081 checklists that week, 60,298 in all26%
  3. Georgetown CountyBest early August · 505 checklists that week, 32,234 in all26%
  4. Charleston CountyBest early August · 1505 checklists that week, 102,218 in all24%
  5. Jasper CountyBest mid August · 216 checklists that week, 12,443 in all20%
  6. Horry CountyBest mid August · 381 checklists that week, 27,518 in all15%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Breach InletCharleston County, best the second week of August · 20 checklists that week, 838 in all96%
  2. Lighthouse Inlet Heritage PreserveCharleston County, best mid August · 20 checklists that week, 1,859 in all94%
  3. Litchfield SpitGeorgetown County, best the second week of July · 22 checklists that week, 227 in all93%
  4. Captain Sams InletCharleston County, best late November · 20 checklists that week, 424 in all86%

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

Best time of day

In South Carolina, the Royal Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (6.7% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (222) to judge1 am: too few checklists (160) to judge2 am: too few checklists (132) to judge3 am: too few checklists (212) to judge4 am: too few checklists (267) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1898) to judge6 am: 7.5% of 19280 checklists7 am: 6.5% of 66492 checklists8 am: 5.5% of 73941 checklists9 am: 5.4% of 63039 checklists10 am: 5.4% of 52652 checklists11 am: 4.9% of 41908 checklists12 pm: 4.4% of 36782 checklists1 pm: 5.2% of 33300 checklists2 pm: 5.0% of 32248 checklists3 pm: 4.4% of 35451 checklists4 pm: 4.4% of 34410 checklists5 pm: 4.9% of 27073 checklists6 pm: 6.2% of 17375 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (10313) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2756) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (672) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (412) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (256) 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
January2.6%2.3%2.4%1.7%
February1.5%1.5%1.1%1.7%
March1.8%2.7%3.0%4.0%
April4.7%5.2%5.4%4.8%
May5.3%5.2%6.1%6.5%
June6.9%7.6%7.9%7.8%
July7.3%8.4%8.5%10%
August11%10%10%9.4%
September8.5%9.4%8.0%9.1%
October8.1%7.4%8.6%8.9%
November6.5%5.7%4.6%4.7%
December2.9%2.5%2.2%3.5%

Neighboring states

  • North Carolina: arrives mid March, 2 weeks later than South Carolina
  • Georgia: year-round, peaks the second week of July
  • Virginia: arrives late March, 3 weeks later than South Carolina
  • Alabama: arrives mid August, 22 weeks later than South Carolina

Common questions

When do Royal Terns arrive in South Carolina?
Royal Terns reach South Carolina in early March, are common by early April, peak in the second week of August (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.
When do Royal Terns leave South Carolina?
Most Royal Terns have left South Carolina by mid November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid January.
When is the best time to see a Royal Tern in South Carolina?
The Royal Tern is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 10% of South Carolina checklists.
Where in South Carolina are Royal Terns seen most often?
By county, Colleton County, Beaufort County, and Georgetown County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Royal Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).