WhenToBird

Sterna forsteri · Laridae

When Do Forster's Terns Arrive in Montana?

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

Forster's Terns arrive in Montana in late April, peak in the second week of May (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

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

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals late April; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 1.7% of Montana checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octrare
  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 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 0% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 0% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 0% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.0% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.8% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.8% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.3% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.0% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.9% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.0% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.7% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.3% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.3% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.3% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.4% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.0% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.7% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.5% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 0% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 0% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 6672 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 Montana 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Montana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Teton CountyBest the second week of May · 102 checklists that week, 2,579 in all21%
  2. Sheridan CountyBest mid June · 49 checklists that week, 2,316 in all17%
  3. Fallon CountyBest mid May · 24 checklists that week, 542 in all8.5%
  4. Blaine CountyBest the second week of May · 24 checklists that week, 702 in all7.6%
  5. Cascade CountyBest the second week of July · 332 checklists that week, 16,190 in all7.5%
  6. Broadwater CountyBest the second week of August · 42 checklists that week, 2,470 in all7.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ninepipe ReservoirLake County, best the second week of June · 30 checklists that week, 1,128 in all55%
  2. Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge_Wilderness AreaSheridan County, best late May · 29 checklists that week, 147 in all53%
  3. Freezout Lake Wildlife Management AreaTeton County, best late May · 24 checklists that week, 503 in all52%
  4. Lake Helena Wildlife Management AreaLewis and Clark County, best mid May · 32 checklists that week, 1,103 in all49%
  5. Benton Lake National Wildlife RefugeCascade County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 332 in all49%
  6. Starter Pond (Black Coulee)Phillips County, best late May · 31 checklists that week, 141 in all35%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Forster's Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (1.0% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (183) to judge1 am: too few checklists (169) to judge2 am: too few checklists (163) to judge3 am: too few checklists (212) to judge4 am: too few checklists (503) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4022) to judge6 am: 1.0% of 12719 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 31202 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 47646 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 44624 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 40704 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 1.2% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 0.8% of 9926 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5765) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2099) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (595) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (230) 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%1.0%
May1.8%1.8%1.5%1.3%
June1.3%1.0%0.9%0.9%
July1.0%0.7%1.0%1.3%
August1.3%1.3%1.4%1.0%
September0.7%0.5%0.5%0.2%
October0.2%0%0%0%
November0%0%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

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

Common questions

When do Forster's Terns arrive in Montana?
Forster's Terns arrive in Montana in late April, peak in the second week of May (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Forster's Terns leave Montana?
Most Forster's Terns have left Montana by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Forster's Tern in Montana?
The Forster's Tern is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 1.7% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Forster's Terns seen most often?
By county, Teton County, Sheridan County, and Fallon County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Forster's Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).