WhenToBird

Sterna hirundo · Laridae

When Do Common Terns Arrive in Minnesota?

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

Common Terns arrive in Minnesota in early May, peak in late May (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 1-7early May
PeakMay 22-31late May
Most gone byAug 15-21mid August

Best: late May. First arrivals early May; most are gone by mid August. Peak: on about 1.5% of Minnesota checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0% of 20628 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 14594 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 14238 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 20725 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 14484 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 15988 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 20718 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 15754 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 16125 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 19035 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 19586 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 30192 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 24262 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 30223 checklistsApr 15-21: 0% of 29085 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 43574 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 39300 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.0% of 45927 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.6% of 36632 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.6% of 43809 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.9% of 23418 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 20450 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 19470 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 23418 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 19104 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 16927 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 15635 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 22073 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 16255 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 16840 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 17475 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 26545 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 20750 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 18494 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 18215 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 24463 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 18252 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 19527 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 17098 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 24570 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 16744 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 13483 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 12525 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 17023 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 11645 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 11567 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 13343 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 19759 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake of the Woods CountyBest the second week of August · 19 checklists that week, 1,280 in all19%
  2. St. Louis CountyBest mid May · 3285 checklists that week, 121,793 in all12%
  3. Roseau CountyBest mid September · 12 checklists that week, 1,453 in all7.5%
  4. Cass CountyBest early September · 217 checklists that week, 10,555 in all6.4%
  5. Mille Lacs CountyBest mid May · 76 checklists that week, 1,955 in all6.0%
  6. Hubbard CountyBest mid August · 126 checklists that week, 5,131 in all3.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Interstate Island State Wildlife Management AreaSt. Louis County, best late May · 26 checklists that week, 376 in all91%
  2. White Bear Lake County ParkRamsey County, best the second week of October · 168 checklists that week, 456 in all61%
  3. Minnesota Point (Park Point)St. Louis County, best the second week of May · 20 checklists that week, 336 in all61%
  4. Park PointSt. Louis County, best mid May · 189 checklists that week, 2,812 in all60%
  5. Minnesota PointSt. Louis County, best mid May · 92 checklists that week, 1,182 in all59%
  6. Lafayette ParkSt. Louis County, best late May · 44 checklists that week, 418 in all58%

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

Best time of day

In Minnesota, the Common Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (349) to judge1 am: too few checklists (331) to judge2 am: too few checklists (286) to judge3 am: too few checklists (364) to judge4 am: too few checklists (863) to judge5 am: too few checklists (7598) to judge6 am: 0.7% of 35775 checklists7 am: 0.4% of 90565 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 110612 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 106128 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 96131 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 83750 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 76254 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 73480 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 73703 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 75249 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 68810 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 51899 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 38524 checklists7 pm: 0.3% of 25120 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (10568) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2420) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (748) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (420) 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%0%0.1%
May0.5%1.0%1.6%1.6%
June0.9%0.5%0.5%0.6%
July0.5%0.4%0.4%0.4%
August0.4%0.4%0.3%0.2%
September0.2%0.2%0.2%0.1%
October0.1%0.8%0.1%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Wisconsin: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Minnesota
  • North Dakota: arrives the second week of May, 1 week later than Minnesota
  • Michigan: arrives early May, in the same week than Minnesota
  • Ohio: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Minnesota

Common questions

When do Common Terns arrive in Minnesota?
Common Terns arrive in Minnesota in early May, peak in late May (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid August.
When do Common Terns leave Minnesota?
Most Common Terns have left Minnesota by mid August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Tern in Minnesota?
The Common Tern is reported most often in late May, on about 1.5% of Minnesota checklists.
Where in Minnesota are Common Terns seen most often?
By county, Lake of the Woods County, St. Louis County, and Roseau County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).