 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
Click for a larger version or to add map overlays |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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-2.77 (-4.32 - -1.1)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Atlas results coming soon
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
Described as a "restless waif of the air, flitting about hither and thither ... buoyant as a butterfly? (Bent 1921) or "dark fairies that float like feathers in the wind? (Wapple and Renaud 2008), the Black Tern resonates with and excites most people who observe this elegant wetland species. The Black Tern has a wide breeding range across the middle latitudes of North America and western Eurasia; our birds winter along the coasts of western Central America and northern South America.
Typical habitats include marshes and other water bodies with a good cover of emergent vegetation including cattails, bulrush, and sedges. Most colonies are in large marshes, but 2 occupied marshes near Edenwold are only 1 ha in size. During migration it occurs in all types of water bodies, including those lacking in emergent vegetation.
The Black Tern is a common summer resident of the marshes of southeastern and central Saskatchewan, but uncommon in the southwest and in the northern boreal region (Smith 1996). It is a straggler to the subarctic region (e.g., 11 Jul 1964 Milton Lake). Numbers have declined in many areas of southern Saskatchewan.
Original text by Jared B. Clarke and Kristen Martin. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Black Tern in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Black Tern in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=BLTE&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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