WhenToBird

Thalasseus maximus · Laridae

When Do Royal Terns Arrive in Virginia?

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

Royal Terns reach Virginia in late March, are common by early April, peak in the second week of August (5.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late 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 late March; most are gone by mid November. Peak: on about 5.5% of Virginia checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 32817 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 25111 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 25510 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 34492 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 24950 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 28224 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 43578 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 26467 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 25851 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 25901 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.5% of 26747 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.3% of 40819 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.2% of 31351 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.5% of 33239 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.5% of 37284 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.1% of 54364 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.1% of 47698 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.0% of 46174 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.5% of 36444 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.5% of 43203 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.9% of 28503 checklistsJun 8-14: 3.0% of 25485 checklistsJun 15-21: 3.1% of 23728 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.3% of 28785 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.4% of 22294 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.6% of 20481 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.9% of 18914 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.1% of 26976 checklistsAug 1-7: 5.7% of 19555 checklistsAug 8-14: 5.5% of 18744 checklistsAug 15-21: 5.4% of 18721 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.9% of 28763 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.4% of 23594 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.2% of 22581 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.1% of 23036 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.4% of 29687 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.5% of 24321 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.5% of 23946 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.3% of 22191 checklistsOct 22-31: 3.1% of 30161 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.2% of 21431 checklistsNov 8-14: 3.0% of 22758 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.6% of 19988 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 27665 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 19324 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 20316 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 25675 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 38677 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 Virginia 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Virginia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Poquoson CountyBest late August · 54 checklists that week, 2,669 in all59%
  2. Mathews CountyBest mid August · 65 checklists that week, 3,594 in all51%
  3. Norfolk CountyBest early July · 324 checklists that week, 21,204 in all48%
  4. Surry CountyBest early August · 69 checklists that week, 2,669 in all47%
  5. Hampton CountyBest mid August · 108 checklists that week, 9,881 in all40%
  6. Virginia Beach CountyBest mid August · 881 checklists that week, 70,485 in all37%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bethel Beach State Natural Area PreserveMathews County, best early August · 32 checklists that week, 931 in all92%
  2. Fort Monroe National MonumentHampton County, best the second week of June · 28 checklists that week, 1,551 in all91%
  3. Toms CoveAccomack County, best the second week of September · 43 checklists that week, 937 in all88%
  4. Bush Island Cove (east)Virginia Beach County, best early August · 21 checklists that week, 373 in all86%
  5. First Landing State ParkVirginia Beach County, best late August · 40 checklists that week, 1,768 in all86%
  6. Grandview Nature PreserveHampton County, best the second week of August · 32 checklists that week, 1,414 in all86%

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

Best time of day

In Virginia, the Royal Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.6% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (485) to judge1 am: too few checklists (488) to judge2 am: too few checklists (423) to judge3 am: too few checklists (565) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1410) to judge5 am: too few checklists (10265) to judge6 am: 6.3% of 64788 checklists7 am: 2.5% of 169128 checklists8 am: 2.0% of 180748 checklists9 am: 2.0% of 153462 checklists10 am: 1.9% of 128966 checklists11 am: 1.9% of 104204 checklists12 pm: 1.9% of 91604 checklists1 pm: 2.1% of 85547 checklists2 pm: 1.9% of 82355 checklists3 pm: 1.7% of 82265 checklists4 pm: 1.9% of 76714 checklists5 pm: 2.2% of 56782 checklists6 pm: 2.2% of 40131 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24290) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7744) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2383) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1122) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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%0.1%0.1%0%
February0.1%0%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.5%1.3%
April2.2%2.5%2.5%2.1%
May2.1%2.0%2.5%2.5%
June2.9%3.0%3.1%3.3%
July4.4%4.6%4.9%5.1%
August5.7%5.5%5.4%4.9%
September5.4%5.2%4.1%4.4%
October4.5%3.5%3.3%3.1%
November3.2%3.0%1.6%0.9%
December0.4%0.2%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives late June, 12 weeks later than Virginia
  • Delaware: arrives mid April, 3 weeks later than Virginia
  • North Carolina: arrives mid March, 1 week earlier than Virginia
  • New Jersey: arrives early June, 9 weeks later than Virginia

Common questions

When do Royal Terns arrive in Virginia?
Royal Terns reach Virginia in late March, are common by early April, peak in the second week of August (5.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.
When do Royal Terns leave Virginia?
Most Royal Terns have left Virginia by mid November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Royal Tern in Virginia?
The Royal Tern is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 5.5% of Virginia checklists.
Where in Virginia are Royal Terns seen most often?
By county, Poquoson County, Mathews County, and Norfolk County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Royal Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).