Royal Tern

Where to see

Royal Tern

Thalasseus maximus

Padre Island National Seashore leads · 23 parks ranked by real sighting rates

Parks Ranked

Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Royal Tern during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)

#ParkCountrySighting
1 Padre Island National Seashore 🇺🇸 United States
~80%
2 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~80%
3 Jaragua National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~50%
4 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
5 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
6 Ciénaga de Zapata 🇨🇺 Cuba
~40%
7 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
~40%
8 Ostional Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
9 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
10 Los Haitises National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~30%
11 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
12 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
13 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
14 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
15 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~30%
16 Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
17 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
18 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
19 Utría National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~20%
20 Coiba National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
21 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
22 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
23 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%

Before you go

Which is the best park to see a Royal Tern?

Padre Island National Seashore

In Padre Island National Seashore, United States, about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Royal Tern sighting on a given day, the highest of the 23 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see a Royal Tern?

It depends on the park

In the top parks, the best months are June and August in Padre Island National Seashore (over 90%), August and December in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (about 90%) and January in Jaragua National Park (about 70%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Royal Tern on a given day. Each park's Royal Tern page has the full month-by-month chart.