 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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-2.5 (-4.17 - -0.612)|
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:
The Common Tern is the most widespread and familiar North American tern. In summer, the Common Tern, either resident or transient, ranges across Canada from Great Slave Lake to Newfoundland, 95% of the inland breeding area in North America being within Canada (Nisbet 2002). Saskatchewan terns migrate long distances along the Pacific Coast of Mexico to winter as far south as Ecuador and the Cook Islands.
Since the diet of the Common Tern is almost exclusively small fish (Symons 1967), the species is generally restricted to the vicinity of freshwater lakes and rivers, where it nests on rocky, gravelly, or sandy islands with little vegetation. Elsewhere, and perhaps in Saskatchewan, it will occasionally nest on a muskrat house in a marshy area. Tern colonies, to their detriment, are often close to or on the margins of gull colonies.
In Saskatchewan's subarctic and boreal forest, the Common Tern is a common summer resident at most lakes with islets. Farther south it becomes much more local, generally restricted to larger water bodies such as Redberry, Last Mountain, Good Spirit, and Old Wives Lakes. Burgeoning gull populations fuelled by refuse from landfills may be increasing pressure on Common Tern populations, especially at nesting sites shared with or near gull colonies.
Original text by Mary I. Houston. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Common Tern in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Common 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=COTE&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]
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