Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Breeding distribution change
Scarce on passage, breeds coasts of Britain/west Europe, winters West Africa
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Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2013
Atlas species lists
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
More Common Tern maps
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
Map explanation
This map shows where changes occurred in the breeding season distribution of the species in Wiltshire between 1995-2000 and 2007-2012, as revealed by the fieldwork for Birds of Wiltshire (Wiltshire Ornithological Society 2007) and the shared fieldwork for Bird Atlas 2007-2011 (BTO 2013) and for Wiltshire Tetrad Atlas 2007-2012.
Gains and improvements
Status
Nos tetrads
Absent to present
34
4%
Present to breeding
6
1%
Absent to breeding
7
1%
No change
Status
Nos tetrads
Present in both
1
<1%
Breeding in both
5
1%
Losses and declines
Status
Nos tetrads
Present to absent
2
<1%
Breeding to present
2
<1%
Breeding to absent
0
0%
Common Terns breed in much of Eurasia and North America, with isolated populations also on some north Atlantic islands and in the Caribbean and West Africa. They winter along coasts south of their breeding range.
In Britain a reduction in the the summer distribution range between the 1968-72 Breeding Atlas and Bird Atlas 2007-11 in Scotland (where they nest mostly along the coasts) was more than offset by a substantial increase in southern and eastern England, particularly at inland sites, resulting in a 13% increase overall. Those nesting in Great Britain winter mainly along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
In Wiltshire they were regularly recorded in small numbers as passage migrants from the 19th century onwards but it was not until 1979 that the first successful nesting attempt was confirmed, at the Cotswold Water Park (CWP). They bred there also in 1980, but thereafter not again until 1988 (though by now they were breeding regularly in the Gloucestershire part of the CWP). There were further attempts in 1993 and 1994 (at least one of which managed to fledge a single young) but it was not until 1996 that regular breeding started, using a raft that had been floated the previous year in CWP lake74. A second raft was moored alongside the first one in 1997 and five pairs bred successfully. Since then they have bred there every year, sharing the rafts with Black-headed Gulls. Breeding has also been recorded elsewhere in the CWP, and at Coate Water, other Swindon sites, Langford Lakes and Wilton Water. WTA2 recorded them breeding in 18 tetrads, a marked expansion from the seven tetrads in Birds of Wiltshire.
References
The following references are used throughout these species accounts, in the abbreviated form given in quotation marks:
“1968-72 Breeding Atlas” – Sharrack, J.T.R. 1976: The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1981-84 Winter Atlas” – Lack, P.C. 1986: The Atlas of Wintering Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1988-91 Breeding Atlas” – Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. 1993: The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-91. T. & A. Poyser
“Birds of Wiltshire” – Ferguson-Lees, I.J. et al. 2007 : Birds of Wiltshire, published by the tetrad atlas group of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society after mapping fieldwork 1995-2000. Wiltshire Ornithological Society.
“Bird Atlas 2007-2011” – Balmer, D.E., Gillings, S., Caffrey, B.J., Swann, R.L., Downie, I.S. and Fuller, R.J. 2013: Bird Atlas 2007-2011: the Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland
“WTA2” – ("Wiltshire Tetrad Atlas 2 ") the present electronic publication, bringing together the Wiltshire data from “Birds of Wiltshire” and “Bird Atlas 2007-11”, together with data from further fieldwork carried out in 2011 and 2012.
"Hobby" - the annual bird report of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society.