|
Conservation
Mission
Statement
Committee
Meetings
Conservation
Award
Rancho
Mission Viejo settlment
Coyote
Hills
Salton Sea
Tree
Trimming
Wind
Turbines
E-mail
Activists
Environmental
Volunteer Opportunities
Urban
Sanctuaries Campaign
Least
Tern Project info
2006
Nesting Season
2007
Nesting Season
2008
Nesting Season
Bird
Research
Endangered Habitats League
|
| |
Least
Tern/Snowy Plover Project 2007
|
 |
|
| May
20 - Dave
Pryor's report on the LETE Colony |
Huntington
State Beach
Least Tern Natural Preserve
Notes from 5-20-07
A Least Tern Preserve tour was organized by Sea and Sage Audubon
yesterday with about a dozen attending, and about half signed
up to be volunteer docents. I am very encouraged by the progress
this volunteer effort has made, and the continued interest
by many in the community. A special thanks is offered to Sea
and Sage for their help in informing the birding world of
this special location (and others too).
We talked with Felicia Lee and Glenn Price who had just spent
their two hours writing observations on the data sheet. They
saw one snowy plover at the South end beach front and counted
the ~150-200 Least Terns in the area. We all saw repeated
courtship displays, paired flights, nest scraping, birds inside
the Preserve and in the front yard, and lots of fish being
carried. On Friday May 18, USFWS monitors were in the area
for nest counts, and they reported no eggs were seen. But,
I agree with Frank Stewart who wrote, “It won’t
be long now!”
Of note on our tour were: the dead giant squid that attract
feeding gulls, a Great Blue Heron near the Preserve and then
carrying nesting material to the palms by the Sanitation District,
and an American Kestrel that flew over our group and took
a mouse in the Preserve then flew to a palm in the mobile
home park across PCH in Newport. Crows have been seen and
scared away from the Preserve, and a ground squirrel was seen
in the river jetty rocks. All of the above observations are
important since they include potential Least Tern predators.
They all bear greater focus and continued monitoring.
From 1 to 7 Western Snowy Plovers have been observed in the
earlier morning hours at the South end of the Preserve beach.
Monitors at Pt. Mugu and on one of the Channel Islands have
found a couple of dead snowy plovers recently- rare findings.
One of the suspected effectors is the potential of domoic
acid accumulating from plankton bloom to fish then terns and
plovers. Pelicans have been hit hard, and if we find dead
terns or plovers, they should be handled carefully and taken
to the Wildlife Care Center at Newland and PCH. They will
report these listed species to the resource agencies and try
and find the cause of death. The red tide we see does not
produce domoic acid, but could affect tern foraging.
Helicopters have been a repeated nuisance to the colony and
I will contact the Aero Bureau of Huntington Beach and the
OC Sheriff Dept. Private helos that follow the coast line
may be very hard to contact. The motorized paragliders seen
recently are illegal at low altitudes and cannot be launched
on the beaches.
The season is ready to swing into full gear, and if you have
not visited recently, it is a very active place. Hope to see
you down there soon.
—David
Pryor |
| |
|
