WhenToBird

Sterna hirundo · Laridae

When Do Common Terns Arrive in North Dakota?

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

Common Terns arrive in North Dakota in the second week of May, peak in early June (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 8-14the second week of May
Common byMay 8-14the second week of May
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: early June. First arrivals the second week of May; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 1.6% of North Dakota checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octrare
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 1694 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 1210 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 1263 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 1984 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 1209 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 1307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 1655 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 1619 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 1653 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 1818 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 2103 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 3714 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 2955 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 3550 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 4104 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 5712 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 5328 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 5885 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 5344 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.5% of 7512 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.1% of 4329 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.4% of 4287 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 3798 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.5% of 4361 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.3% of 2939 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.0% of 2407 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.6% of 2254 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.2% of 2852 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.7% of 2119 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 2044 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.5% of 2124 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.5% of 3168 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 2449 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 2310 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 2092 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.5% of 2565 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 2071 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 1918 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 1907 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 2589 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 1858 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 1753 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 1483 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 1928 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 1337 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 1309 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 1642 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 1830 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kidder CountyBest the second week of August · 37 checklists that week, 3,135 in all16%
  2. Mercer CountyBest early June · 58 checklists that week, 2,518 in all13%
  3. McLean CountyBest the second week of July · 30 checklists that week, 1,933 in all9.7%
  4. Ramsey CountyBest the second week of July · 22 checklists that week, 722 in all8.2%
  5. Logan CountyBest late May · 26 checklists that week, 443 in all6.8%
  6. Williams CountyBest mid May · 93 checklists that week, 5,446 in all6.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nd State Lands - Surface Ownership (northwest)Kidder County, best late June · 23 checklists that week, 154 in all47%
  2. Spring Lake ParkWilliams County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 767 in all31%
  3. Horsehead LakeKidder County, best early June · 22 checklists that week, 148 in all21%
  4. Nd State Lands - Surface OwnershipKidder County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 226 in all13%
  5. Burleigh County Waterfowl Production AreaBurleigh County, best late May · 43 checklists that week, 493 in all6.7%

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

Best time of day

In North Dakota, the Common Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (74) to judge1 am: too few checklists (45) to judge2 am: too few checklists (42) to judge3 am: too few checklists (68) to judge4 am: too few checklists (274) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1538) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 4242 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 9520 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 13065 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 13356 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 12128 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 10772 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 10316 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 9169 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 8880 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 8688 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 8201 checklists5 pm: 0.6% of 6687 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 5455 checklists7 pm: 0.7% of 3926 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2024) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (602) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (181) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (89) 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%0.1%0.1%
May0.7%0.9%1.5%1.5%
June2.1%1.4%1.2%1.5%
July1.3%2.0%1.6%1.2%
August1.7%0.7%0.5%0.5%
September0.2%0.3%0.2%0.5%
October0%0.2%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Minnesota: arrives early May, 1 week earlier than North Dakota
  • Wisconsin: arrives late April, 2 weeks earlier than North Dakota
  • Michigan: arrives early May, 1 week earlier than North Dakota
  • Idaho: arrives mid August, 13 weeks later than North Dakota

Common questions

When do Common Terns arrive in North Dakota?
Common Terns arrive in North Dakota in the second week of May, peak in early June (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Common Terns leave North Dakota?
Most Common Terns have left North Dakota by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Common Tern in North Dakota?
The Common Tern is reported most often in early June, on about 1.6% of North Dakota checklists.
Where in North Dakota are Common Terns seen most often?
By county, Kidder County, Mercer County, and McLean County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Common Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).