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Least Tern Project info
2011
Season
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2010
Least Tern & Snowy Plover Project
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| July
24 - End
of Season |
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It's
a wrap. The season is over. On Friday July 23, the monitors
walked the entire site and found a couple of fledglings being
fed inside the main colony and some others on the beach. The
week before we still had a couple of chicks and occupied nests.
One of the final activities of the monitors is to collect
abandoned eggs from the colony (see attached photo). The high
egg count, about 60, is not well understood. Guesses include
predation pressures, infertility, first year reproducers,
third eggs....you can add to the list with your good ideas.
In all this year, we had good numbers of fledglings. Even
with the ~ three weeks where we lost chicks to kestrels, there
was food enough to grow the young to fledgling size. They
grow quickly and leave within days of reaching full fledgling
strength. Just like teenagers with new drivers licenses- they
take off. The numbers will be tallied and a full breeding
season report will be worked up and passed on to you all.
If you continue to visit, please fill out a data sheet as
we are looking for the day of the last tern seen at the colony.
There have not been many observations of snowy plovers, but
I saw 3 one day last week and 1 the next. Their "winter"
season has started. Seems odd with summer in full swing.
We saw a rare sight yesterday with our own docent, Star Howard,
working for the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, releasing
a rehabilitated Caspian Tern. Check out the picture attached
to see how it's done. He was strong and fiesty and took off
over Newport. What a great job they do at the Center. Several
snowies were cared for this season and released. Cheryl can
fill in the number released: 13!
We will soon announce a day for our annual BBQ picnic, slide
show and awards get together to thank all of the volunteers
who gave their time to work at the beach protecting this endangered
species. Great job everyone. Thanks for being there.
—David
Pryor
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Abandoned
Least Tern Eggs |
Star
Howard releasing a feisty rehabilitated Caspian Tern
from the
Wetlands & Wildife Care Center |
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Please
be sure to send me any photos you have to include in the slide
show.
Today, Peter Knapp and I released the last three of 13 Snowy
Plovers raised at the center this year. They were released
at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. He did pick up one abandoned
egg and I took it to the center and placed it in the egg incubator,
but it may not hatch. See www.wwccoc.org
Click on the large “Pelican Crisis” graphic to
get to our most recent newsletter with an article about the
Snowy Plovers that were raised and released last year. There
are still a few broods at the reserve, but Peter said that
many of the plovers have migrated or dispersed and may now
be on our local or nearby beaches. So, you may start seeing
more of them from now on.
Thanks for all your work monitoring and educating! Hope to
see you at our annual BBQ. It will probably be the last week
in Aug. Notice will be coming soon.
—Cheryl |
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