Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Abundance: Very Uncommon; at least 18 records in 6 Regional counties, 4 in Kentucky and 2 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).
Status: Transient during spring (4 records) and fall (14 records); photograph (see link below).
Regional High Count: 43 (8 September 2004; Pulaski County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton).
Information on Records:
9 August/28 September 1984 (1/3) Fishing Creek Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr. [notes]).
25 August 1985 (4) Pulaski County Park, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr. [notes]).
21 April 1997 (1) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).
22 September 2002 (40) Fishing Creek Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).
29 June 2004 (7) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).
8 September 2004 (17/26) Fishing Creek Recreation Area/Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo [at first location]); see also Remarks.
9 & 17/17 September 2004 (3&10/1) Fishing Creek Recreation Area/Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo, David L. Roemer [17 September only and independently]/Roseanna M. Denton); Note: this set of records is treated as part of the immediately preceding set of records in determining the total number of Regional records.
17 September 2004 (18) Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).
20 May 2005 (18) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).
29 August 2005 (20) Fishing Creek Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).
31 August 2005 (2) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006a).
24 September 2005 (10) Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky ([KOS members]; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006a).
27 August 2006 (1) Tompkinsville City Park, Monroe County, Kentucky (Stephen J. Stedman photo, Winston A. Walden; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2007a).
11 May 2007 (1) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer).
25/26 October 2007 (an unspecified portion of c. 80 Sterna sp./25) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (Aaron Hulsey/David L. Roemer).
24 May 2008 (5) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Melinda Welton, John Noel), a DeKalb County Foray record.
15 October 2009 (8) Twin Lakes, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).
24 October 2009 (1) Lake Cumberland State Resort Park, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).
5/6 September 2011 (6/1) Lake Tansi, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand photo [latter date]).
Regional Extreme Dates:
Spring: 21 April 1997 (Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer)–24 May 2008 (DeKalb County, Tennessee; Melinda Welton, John Noel).
Fall: 29 June 2004 (Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer)–24 October 2009 (1) Russell County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton).
Habitat: Open water of the big lakes of the Region, but sightings at the lake in the Tompkinsville City Park, Monroe County, Kentucky, and at Twin Lakes, Pulaski County, Kentucky, reveal that moderate-sized lakes/large ponds are also attractive to this species during its migratory passages through the Region.
YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.
Foray Results: A summary of data for late spring transients from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):
| County | Dates when Foray Conducted | Total
Blocks in County * |
Total
Blocks in which Common Tern Recorded |
Total Transients Recorded |
| Adair | 8–16 June 2014 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Barren | 1–6 June 2013 | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| Clinton | 12–14 June 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland | 16–20 June 2014 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| McCreary | 30 May–5 Jun 2011 | 51 | 0 | 0 |
| Metcalfe | 8–12 June 2013 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Monroe | 1–12 June 2015 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Pulaski | 5–11 June 2010 | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| Russell | 13–16, 26–29 June 2012 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne | 28 May–3 June 2012 | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 434 (408) | 0 (0%) | 0 | |
| Bledsoe | 18–24 June 2012 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| Clay | 12–15 June 2010 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland | 29 May–4 June 2010 | 75 | 0 | 0 |
| DeKalb | 23–26 May 2008 | 40 | 1 | 0 |
| Fentress | 11–17 June 2012 | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson | 29 May–1 Jun 2009 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Macon | 17–22 June 2013 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Morgan | 1–8 June 2014 | 58 | 0 | 0 |
| Overton | 23–29 May 2011 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| Pickett | 22–25 May 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Putnam | 6–12 June 2011 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott | 9–24 June 2016 | 62 | 0 | 0 |
| Smith | 15–25 June 2015 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| Van Buren | 13–15 June 2011 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| Warren | 1–10 June 2016 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| White | 1–6 June 2015 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 724 (651) | 1 (0.14%) | 0 | |
| Region | 1158 (c. 1059) | 1 (0.09%) | 0 |
* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.
Remarks: Groups of 20 and 40 Sterna sp. were noted 8 September 2004 at Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Janie C. Finch; Casteel 2005a), and the Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2005a), respectively; some of these terns may have been S. hirundo, the species counted in moderate numbers on the same date in Pulaski County, Kentucky (above).
Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.
| Barren | Metcalfe | Adair | Russell | Pulaski |
| Monroe | Cumberland | Clinton | Wayne | McCreary |
| Macon | Clay | Pickett | Fentress | Scott |
| Smith | Jackson | Overton | Putnam | Morgan |
| DeKalb | White | Cumberland | ||
| Warren | Van Buren | Bledsoe |
Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.
Literature Cited
