WhenToBird

Sterna hirundo · Laridae

When Do Common Terns Arrive in Michigan?

Adult Common Tern
Photo: Сергей Неклюдов, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Common Terns arrive in Michigan in early May, peak in late May (2.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakMay 22-31late May
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: late May. First arrivals early May; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 2.5% of Michigan checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0% of 38160 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 24696 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 23771 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 31347 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 23225 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 27398 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 36606 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 27127 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 29700 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 31587 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 32118 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 47777 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 38557 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 42207 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 42759 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 64458 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 60998 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.8% of 72091 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.4% of 59058 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.4% of 64724 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.4% of 35990 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 32595 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.1% of 30017 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.3% of 33988 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.3% of 28708 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.5% of 25175 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.5% of 24084 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.4% of 33522 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 25098 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.3% of 24353 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.2% of 25059 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.0% of 37489 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.1% of 28410 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.2% of 27887 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.9% of 26614 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.9% of 32557 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.5% of 25844 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 27741 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.3% of 24693 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 32460 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 23660 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 21542 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 19922 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 25069 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 18272 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 18961 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 24171 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 30908 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 Michigan 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 Michigan

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mackinac CountyBest mid May · 305 checklists that week, 7,988 in all25%
  2. Iosco CountyBest late May · 2195 checklists that week, 31,409 in all21%
  3. Delta CountyBest mid May · 374 checklists that week, 6,537 in all16%
  4. Bay CountyBest late May · 788 checklists that week, 16,522 in all16%
  5. Monroe CountyBest the second week of July · 369 checklists that week, 22,078 in all14%
  6. Alpena CountyBest late July · 126 checklists that week, 3,793 in all13%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Tawas Point State ParkIosco County, best late July · 83 checklists that week, 8,006 in all70%
  2. Point la BarbeMackinac County, best mid June · 28 checklists that week, 1,413 in all66%
  3. French Farm CreekEmmet County, best late May · 24 checklists that week, 237 in all66%
  4. Gull Harbor PreserveCharlevoix County, best late May · 71 checklists that week, 286 in all63%
  5. Overlook ParkMidland County, best mid July · 25 checklists that week, 2,020 in all61%

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

Best time of day

In Michigan, the Common Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (712) to judge1 am: too few checklists (592) to judge2 am: too few checklists (532) to judge3 am: too few checklists (516) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1592) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6849) to judge6 am: 1.6% of 39298 checklists7 am: 1.1% of 120344 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 180109 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 171966 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 156332 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 134964 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 120967 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 113852 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 110773 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 105530 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 100958 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 80085 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 62883 checklists7 pm: 1.0% of 44912 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (21062) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5920) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1629) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (775) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0%
April0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
May0.8%1.8%3.4%2.4%
June1.4%1.2%1.1%1.3%
July1.3%1.5%1.5%1.4%
August1.4%1.3%1.2%1.0%
September1.1%1.2%0.9%0.9%
October0.5%0.3%0.3%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Ohio: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Michigan
  • Wisconsin: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Michigan
  • Minnesota: arrives early May, in the same week than Michigan
  • Maryland: arrives early May, in the same week than Michigan

Common questions

When do Common Terns arrive in Michigan?
Common Terns arrive in Michigan in early May, peak in late May (2.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Common Terns leave Michigan?
Most Common Terns have left Michigan by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Tern in Michigan?
The Common Tern is reported most often in late May, on about 2.5% of Michigan checklists.
Where in Michigan are Common Terns seen most often?
By county, Mackinac County, Iosco County, and Delta County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).