Featured eBird checklist

Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus

Hammonasset Beach SP, Connecticut

September 27, 2026 · 4:57 PM local time · Reported by Stuart Winquist

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Species photo · Different report

© Stephen Spector · Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

Reference photograph from a different report at Silver Sands SP on September 26, 2026. It does not document this sighting.

No photos are attached to this species on the featured checklist.

Notes from this checklist

“Yellow/orange bills, black cap with white forehead. Large terns, deep wingbeats, heading east just off of the moraine trail. 2 together, 1 about 5 minutes…”

Historical context

0.68% of complete eBird checklists reported Royal Tern in New Haven County, Connecticut during September 22-30, 2016–2025.

Based on 3,374 complete checklists. County reporting frequency, not a rarity rating.

Reports in 5 of 10 years during September 22-30.

September (whole month): reports in 10 of 10 years.

Year-by-year evidence

Each year uses the same county and seasonal period. An exported zero does not prove absence. Unknown means the species row, frequency or checklist sample is unavailable. These records do not estimate your chance of finding the bird or establish rarity.

Annual eBird exports for September 22-30
Year / sourceResultComplete checklists
2016Reported204
2017Reported228
2018Exported zero231
2019Exported zero268
2020Exported zero447
2021Reported412
2022Exported zero484
2023Reported335
2024Exported zero390
2025Reported375
Source and limits

This county-wide sample pools the selected years. It does not establish how regularly the species returned each year, how likely you are to find it at this spot, or whether this flock size is unusual. Percentages can be unstable when few checklists are available. Habitat, observer effort and repeated visits affect reporting. A zero does not establish absence.

eBird and its contributors, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Downloaded 2026-10-14. eBird source chart · Method · Data terms

Royal Tern across Northeast · When featured

51 report groups

On 65 eBird checklists · 7-day window ending September 28, 2026

Counts reflect the available eBird notable feed, which may omit other reports.

View all 65 reporting checklists

Checklists with the same location and start time are grouped together. They may be copies from a shared outing, but this feed does not confirm that. These groups are not a count of independent sightings or distinct birds. The featured checklist is included in this total.

Checklist details
Survey type
Traveling
Time in the field
91 minutes
Distance covered
4.394 km
Birders on the outing
1 person
Species logged on this checklist
14 different species