Sandwich Tern

Where to see

Sandwich Tern

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve leads · 6 parks ranked by real sighting rates

Parks Ranked

Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Sandwich Tern during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)

#ParkCountrySighting
1 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~60%
2 West Coast National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
3 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
4 Padre Island National Seashore 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
5 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
6 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%

Before you go

Which is the best park to see a Sandwich Tern?

Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve

In Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Sandwich Tern sighting on a given day, the highest of the 6 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.

Where else can you see a Sandwich Tern?

West Coast National Park and more

After Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, the next-best odds of seeing a Sandwich Tern are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 40%), Celestún Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 40%) and Padre Island National Seashore (United States, about 40%). Outside North America, the best options are West Coast National Park in Africa (about 40%), Península Valdés in South America (about 20%) and Wadden Sea National Park in Europe (about 20%).

When is the best time to see a Sandwich Tern?

It depends on the park

In the top parks, the best months are March and November–January in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (about 70%), March and June in West Coast National Park (about 60%) and March, May–June and December in Celestún Biosphere Reserve (about 50%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Sandwich Tern on a given day. Each park's Sandwich Tern page has the full month-by-month chart.