Short abstract from the book: The common tern is a fairly widespread breeding bird in
Denmark with an estimated population of 1,000 pairs.
Migrants pass Denmark from late June to September and in
April–May.
The first common tern was ringed in Denmark in 1911,
with the majority ringed in the 1970s and ’80s. The recovered
birds were ringed in many different colonies all over Denmark
in May–July.
The Danish common terns start their migration in late July,
and in August 30 % of the recoveries are from abroad, with
a mean position south of Denmark. Common terns migrate
along the west coast of continental Europe. The first birds
are recovered in their winter quarters in tropical Africa in September. During winter common terns have been recovered
from Gambia in the northwest to South Africa in the south.
Most have been found in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Namibia and
South Africa. Three birds have been found east of the Cape of
Good Hope. The spring migration follows the same route as in
autumn. A bird was recovered in Portugal in March, in April
in Spain and France, and on 25 April the first have been
recorded in the breeding colony. Few common terns return
to the breeding colonies as one-year-olds, and many probably
stay in Africa during the summer.
Outside the breeding season, Denmark is mainly visited
by common terns from the countries around the Baltic Sea,
Norway and northwest Germany. Most of these foreign visitors
have been found in western Jutland but some also in inner
Danish waters. Most (57 %) have been recovered in August.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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