WhenToBird

Sterna forsteri · Laridae

When Do Forster's Terns Arrive in Ohio?

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

Forster's Terns arrive in Ohio in mid April, peak in early May (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakMay 1-7early May
Most gone byMay 22-31late May

Best: early May. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by late May. Peak: on about 2.0% of Ohio checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 46637 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 31056 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 30129 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 38665 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 27203 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 30626 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 40705 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 31391 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 32914 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 33973 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 33678 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 49889 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 41225 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 47174 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 47017 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 73055 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.2% of 80637 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.3% of 102552 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 64582 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 52766 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 29279 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.3% of 25773 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 23163 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 27794 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 23334 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.9% of 22147 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 20998 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 29749 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.2% of 22899 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.6% of 21972 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.7% of 22215 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.6% of 35087 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.4% of 29148 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.3% of 28042 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 26751 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.9% of 32398 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.5% of 26209 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.4% of 26809 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 23504 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 33269 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.3% of 25563 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 23810 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 22127 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 29449 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 22370 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 21581 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 24232 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 36084 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 Ohio 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 Ohio

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lucas CountyBest mid August · 1426 checklists that week, 152,906 in all9.8%
  2. Ashtabula CountyBest mid August · 230 checklists that week, 12,390 in all9.7%
  3. Erie CountyBest the second week of July · 426 checklists that week, 30,456 in all9.0%
  4. Pickaway CountyBest late July · 120 checklists that week, 6,348 in all8.3%
  5. Auglaize CountyBest early September · 32 checklists that week, 2,068 in all7.7%
  6. Mercer CountyBest the second week of October · 49 checklists that week, 2,091 in all6.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Huron RangeErie County, best late April · 35 checklists that week, 944 in all68%
  2. Maumee Bay State Park (west)Lucas County, best mid August · 24 checklists that week, 2,364 in all67%
  3. Maumee Bay State Park (west 2)Lucas County, best late August · 33 checklists that week, 1,241 in all59%
  4. Maumee Bay State Park (Erie Beach)Lucas County, best mid August · 43 checklists that week, 1,537 in all57%
  5. Howard Farms Land Acquisition (west)Lucas County, best the second week of August · 99 checklists that week, 3,485 in all50%
  6. Cullen ParkLucas County, best early September · 31 checklists that week, 1,040 in all49%

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

Best time of day

In Ohio, the Forster's Tern is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (574) to judge1 am: too few checklists (609) to judge2 am: too few checklists (466) to judge3 am: too few checklists (478) to judge4 am: too few checklists (662) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4366) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 43093 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 142017 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 205296 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 196322 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 170882 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 144567 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 126551 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 117855 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 112869 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 109786 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 103116 checklists5 pm: 0.8% of 78409 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 56785 checklists7 pm: 0.6% of 37923 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (14954) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2710) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (854) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (486) 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%0.1%
April0.3%0.4%0.7%1.1%
May2.2%2.3%1.0%0.3%
June0.2%0.3%0.3%0.5%
July0.8%0.9%0.9%1.0%
August1.2%1.6%1.7%1.6%
September1.4%1.3%0.8%0.9%
October0.5%0.4%0.5%0.5%
November0.3%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Indiana: arrives mid July, 12 weeks later than Ohio
  • Michigan: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than Ohio
  • Kentucky: arrives early August, 14 weeks later than Ohio
  • Illinois: arrives mid April, in the same week than Ohio

Common questions

When do Forster's Terns arrive in Ohio?
Forster's Terns arrive in Ohio in mid April, peak in early May (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.
When do Forster's Terns leave Ohio?
Most Forster's Terns have left Ohio by late May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Forster's Tern in Ohio?
The Forster's Tern is reported most often in early May, on about 2.0% of Ohio checklists.
Where in Ohio are Forster's Terns seen most often?
By county, Lucas County, Ashtabula County, and Erie County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Forster's Tern (counties with at least 200 checklists).