WhenToBird

Sterna forsteri · Laridae

When Do Forster's Terns Arrive in Idaho?

Adult Forster's Tern
Photo: Aitor, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Forster's Terns arrive in Idaho in late April, peak in the second week of May (2.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 22-30late April
Common byApr 22-30late April
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals late April; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 2.2% of Idaho checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augpeak season
  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%Jan 1-7: 0% of 9357 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 6408 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 6358 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 8601 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 5611 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 6090 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 7973 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 5866 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 6144 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 6456 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 6786 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 9539 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 7202 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 7608 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.2% of 8069 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 10973 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.3% of 9481 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.1% of 11318 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.1% of 9141 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.1% of 13984 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.8% of 8897 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.5% of 8504 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 8078 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.8% of 9665 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.0% of 7144 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.7% of 6557 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 6430 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 8696 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.0% of 5896 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.2% of 5643 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.9% of 6151 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.6% of 7863 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.5% of 5769 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.5% of 5646 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 5460 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 6363 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 4980 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 5096 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 4878 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 6426 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 4822 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 4999 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 4601 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 6027 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 4180 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 4775 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 6522 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 7792 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 Idaho 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 Idaho

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Power CountyBest early September · 72 checklists that week, 2,278 in all36%
  2. Bear Lake CountyBest mid June · 77 checklists that week, 1,581 in all25%
  3. Bingham CountyBest late July · 34 checklists that week, 1,427 in all21%
  4. Minidoka CountyBest early September · 52 checklists that week, 1,365 in all21%
  5. Owyhee CountyBest mid August · 95 checklists that week, 7,837 in all16%
  6. Jefferson CountyBest early June · 164 checklists that week, 5,319 in all15%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Market Lake Wildlife Management AreaJefferson County, best early June · 22 checklists that week, 697 in all44%
  2. Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation AreaElmore County, best mid May · 23 checklists that week, 1,056 in all34%

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

Best time of day

In Idaho, the Forster's 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 (180) to judge1 am: too few checklists (176) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (164) to judge4 am: too few checklists (450) to judge5 am: too few checklists (2270) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 9122 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 22204 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 38672 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 38930 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 37338 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 33508 checklists12 pm: 0.8% of 28544 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 25774 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 24296 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 21784 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 19051 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 14150 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 10014 checklists7 pm: 0.6% of 7495 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1449) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (525) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (208) 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%0.2%1.1%
May2.3%2.1%2.1%2.1%
June1.8%1.5%1.2%0.8%
July1.0%0.7%0.9%0.7%
August1.0%1.2%1.9%1.6%
September1.5%1.5%1.2%0.7%
October0.3%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Montana: arrives late April, in the same week than Idaho
  • Utah: arrives mid April, 1 week earlier than Idaho
  • Oregon: arrives late April, in the same week than Idaho
  • Wyoming: arrives late April, in the same week than Idaho

Common questions

When do Forster's Terns arrive in Idaho?
Forster's Terns arrive in Idaho in late April, peak in the second week of May (2.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Forster's Terns leave Idaho?
Most Forster's Terns have left Idaho by late September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Forster's Tern in Idaho?
The Forster's Tern is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 2.2% of Idaho checklists.
Where in Idaho are Forster's Terns seen most often?
By county, Power County, Bear Lake County, and Bingham County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Forster's Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).