WhenToBird

Thalasseus sandvicensis · Laridae

When Do Sandwich Terns Arrive in Georgia?

Adult Sandwich Tern
Photo: Roy Lowry, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Sandwich Terns are winter birds in Georgia: they arrive in early April, peak in the second week of October (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakOct 8-14the second week of October
Most gone byNov 15-21mid November

Best: the second week of October. First arrivals early April; most are gone by mid November. Peak: on about 1.1% of Georgia checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  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%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 22238 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 16390 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 16779 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 22964 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 16870 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 19486 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 28540 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 17005 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 15920 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 16274 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 16432 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.5% of 25318 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 19292 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 19742 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 21498 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.5% of 29736 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.6% of 20858 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 20346 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.7% of 15859 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 19867 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 13467 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.9% of 12812 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.0% of 11379 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.8% of 14121 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 11176 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 10695 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.1% of 10655 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 15106 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.0% of 10650 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.9% of 10247 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.0% of 10371 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.8% of 15203 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 13007 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.9% of 12541 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.9% of 12943 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.0% of 17655 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.0% of 14646 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.1% of 15836 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.1% of 13124 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.8% of 15859 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 11711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.7% of 11587 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 12025 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 16431 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 11256 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 11967 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 15618 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 22453 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 Georgia 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 Georgia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Chatham CountyBest the second week of August · 439 checklists that week, 37,460 in all12%
  2. Glynn CountyBest mid July · 581 checklists that week, 48,828 in all11%
  3. Liberty CountyBest late August · 20 checklists that week, 2,209 in all11%
  4. McIntosh CountyBest early October · 199 checklists that week, 10,475 in all6.5%
  5. Camden CountyBest late November · 240 checklists that week, 10,650 in all3.0%
  6. Troup CountyBest mid September · 41 checklists that week, 3,539 in all2.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. BeachChatham County, best mid September · 27 checklists that week, 2,031 in all93%
  2. Bloody MarshGlynn County, best early September · 28 checklists that week, 1,916 in all53%
  3. Beach (Horse Pen Hammock)Chatham County, best late March · 27 checklists that week, 440 in all46%
  4. Beach (Fort Screven)Chatham County, best late October · 20 checklists that week, 995 in all45%

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

Best time of day

In Georgia, the Sandwich Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (334) to judge1 am: too few checklists (277) to judge2 am: too few checklists (264) to judge3 am: too few checklists (282) to judge4 am: too few checklists (463) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1513) to judge6 am: 0.7% of 16790 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 73569 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 104956 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 96241 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 81903 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 66236 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 56159 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 48260 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 46435 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 46015 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 47438 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 38866 checklists6 pm: 0.7% of 26032 checklists7 pm: 0.7% of 16610 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5490) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (995) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (310) 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%0%
February0%0%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.5%
April0.5%0.5%0.4%0.5%
May0.6%0.6%0.7%0.6%
June0.8%0.9%1.0%0.8%
July0.8%1.0%1.1%1.0%
August1.0%0.9%1.0%0.8%
September0.9%0.9%0.9%1.0%
October1.0%1.1%1.1%0.8%
November0.8%0.7%0.5%0.3%
December0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives early April, in the same week than Georgia
  • Alabama: arrives late March, 1 week earlier than Georgia
  • North Carolina: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than Georgia
  • Mississippi: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than Georgia

Common questions

When do Sandwich Terns arrive in Georgia?
Sandwich Terns are winter birds in Georgia: they arrive in early April, peak in the second week of October (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid November.
When do Sandwich Terns leave Georgia?
Most Sandwich Terns have left Georgia by mid November, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Sandwich Tern in Georgia?
The Sandwich Tern is reported most often in the second week of October, on about 1.1% of Georgia checklists.
Where in Georgia are Sandwich Terns seen most often?
By county, Chatham County, Glynn County, and Liberty County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sandwich Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).