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	Terns in 2001

Tern Restoration

by Diane DeLuca, Senior Biologist

Roseate Terns Photo by Eric Masterson July 28, 2001: I sit in a well-weathered blind atop a rocky knoll with my eyes glued to the first Roseate Tern nest on these islands in more than 50 years. It is a spectacular day on the coast, with crystal clear blue skies that allow a seemingly never-ending view of the distant horizon. Two Roseate Terns seem intertwined with each other. The female is tight in the nest cup, and the male lays his bill across her back. He almost seems to caress her, and I keep reminding myself that I am watching a pair of birds...but the tenderness is unmistakable. Something spooks the terns momentarily, and the pair is up and off the nest. For the first time, I can see the egg. It appears to be moving, and I readjust my view through the scope. No mistaking...the egg is open and movement real. The adults are back as quickly as they had flown. They settle on the nest and begin to actively rearrange the nest contents. Both adults reach into the nest with their long, dark bills, gently edging the material. In another moment, the female stands...as she works to settle on the nest cup, she appears fretful and attentive at the same time. She fluffs her feathers and probes with her bill repeatedly. As she stands one more time, I am able to clearly see a tiny wet head. Roseate Tern hatch!! For the first time in half a century, Roseate Terns have bred in New Hampshire. I am bursting with the excitement and can barely sit, as I so much want to share the news. Magical is the word that comes to mind for that experience... extraordinary results, as if by magic. Magical is also a word to describe the 2001 field season out on Seavey Island, Isles of Shoals. As the season progressed, this newly established tern colony grew to 809 pairs of Common Terns along with the Roseate Tern pair. It is a year that went beyond dreams and may truly be described as magic. We are well aware that this colony has grown through much hard work and stewardship...but the phenomenal growth has a power all its own. Common Tern Photo by Diane DeLuca In 1997, Audubon, in partnership with the N.H. Fish and Game Department Nongame Program and with support from the Office of State Planning Coastal Program, the Department of Resources and Economic Development Parks Division, USDA Animal Damage Control, Shoals Marine Laboratory, Isles of Shoals Steamship Company, Gulf of Maine Seabird Working Group, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, worked cooperatively to successfully complete the first year of this project by using nonlethal means of gull control along with decoys and tern colony sounds to attract breeding terns back to the Isles of Shoals. A small colony of six pairs of Common Terns raised and fledged six young at this site. This was the first documented breeding by terns at the Isles of Shoals since the early 1950s. The 1998, 1999, and 2000 field seasons saw significant growth as the number of breeding Common Terns climbed to 45, 141, and 446 pairs, respectively. 2001 Tern Numbers The 2001 field season showed continued strong growth, as 809 pairs of Common Terns fledged well over 1000 chicks from Seavey Island. This was an excellent year for the Seavey Island tern colony. This New Hampshire colony had the highest productivity rate of any Common Tern colony in the entire Gulf of Maine (Nova Scotia to Massachusetts). This is an amazing and hopeful statistic for terns in our state. The continued struggles of the 2001 New Hampshire mainland colonies also puts the strength of the Seavey Island colony into perspective: MAINLAND TERN COLONIES 2001 Nest site #of pairs Productivity Estimates Hampton Saltmarsh approx. ~25 undetermined Backchannel Islands 0   Hen Island 12 min. 8 chicks Nanny Island 0   Little Footman 0   Feeding Study With strong colony growth at Seavey Island, we have the great opportunity to continue research that will help support further management for island nesting terns in the Gulf of Maine. The size of the 2001 tern colony allowed us to make further explorations of colony dynamics. The study of tern feeding has taken place on managed islands in Maine and Massachusetts for a number of years. Our tern feeding study is modeled after this work and contributes to a growing database. The years of feeding data have yielded some very interesting results in terms of abundance and cycling of food sources, as well as the correlation of chick survival with food availability. The goals of the feeding study were to determine the identification of food items being provided to the chicks, the feeding rate, receiving chicks, and nest productivity. The summary of chick feeding data revealed the identification and relative frequency of approximately 1000 food items. The 2001 feeding data was able to identify a minimum of 21 food items that were brought to the chicks. In addition, the study highlighted the importance of herring as the dominant food source in 2001. Juvenile hake had been identified as almost 50% of the chicks' diet in 1998-2000. Another important finding was that the feeding rate continues to show that the adult terns are feeding in very close proximity to White and Seavey Islands. This is a very positive confirmation for this growing colony, as the food resources needed to successfully raise chicks were available in 1998 through 2001. Food Item Relative Frequency (%) Herring 46.64 Hake 22.08 Bluefish 9.45 Sand Lance 6.38 Unknown Fish 4.60 Insect (unknown) 2.60 Amphipod 2.13 Unknown Item 2.01 Butterfish 1.30 Lumpfish 0.71 Ant 0.59 Stickleback 0.35 Pollack 0.24 Butterfly 0.12 Cunner 0.12 Grasshopper 0.12 Moth 0.12 Squid 0.12 Whiting 0.12 Mackerel 0.12 Total 100.00 Banding Matt Charrette weighing common tern chick, Seavey Island, July, 2000 Photo by Diane DeLuca From 1998 through 2001, we have worked to maximize the number of chicks banded with special salt-resistant metal bands to facilitate data on colony growth and nest site fidelity. Close to 350 chicks were banded in 2001. Tern chicks do not typically return to the breeding colony until they are two to three years of age and may not breed until they are four years of age. We identified 16 Seavey Island chicks that had returned to the island from the 1998 and 1999 cohorts. A number of these birds were also confirmed as breeders...a great sign for future recruitment. We are hopeful that the large number of chicks banded will provide additional survival and movement data in the coming years. We have also been able to read the bands on close to 70 adult terns that are now part of the Seavey Island colony. This data gives us a picture of where our growing colony is originating. Band information tells us that we have breeding birds that were hatched on islands as far away as Great Gull Island, Long Island, N.Y., and numerous individuals from Jenny and Stratton Islands off the coast of Maine. Other Terns In addition to the first nesting by Roseate Terns, we had as many as 85 roseates on the island during the southward migration in August. Many of these roseates showed a keen interest in the nesting pair, and numerous courtship interactions were observed. What could this mean for 2002? Arctic Terns continued to be present in the Seavey Island tern colony in 2001...this species has spent a significant part of the breeding season at the colony since 1997. We are very hopeful that Arctics will also join our growing New Hampshire colony. Other tern sightings that caused some excitement included single sightings of both Black and Least Terns at Seavey Island. Educational Outreach The Tern Restoration Project has provided an excellent opportunity for educational outreach. The focus of this outreach has been to foster stewardship, appreciation, and protection for nesting seabird colonies at White and Seavey as well as other Gulf of Maine seabird nesting islands. Opportunities have come through welcoming visitors and organized classes to the island, sharing the details of the project with charter and ferry boats that visit the Isles of Shoals, and taking the project out to many groups around New Hampshire through a slide presentation and display. In 2000, the New Hampshire Coastal Program provided funding to place a remote camera on Seavey Island to be broadcast on cable at the Seacoast Science Center. In 2001, this camera successfully relayed the activities at the Seavey Island tern colony to a monitor at the SSC. Many, many summer visitors were able to experience (almost firsthand) the excitement and frenzy of a breeding tern colony. The Future The nesting success and growth of the tern colony on Seavey Island is a good sign for continued population growth in the coming years. It remains important that intensive management continues at this site in the near future. Other tern recolonization projects have shown that productivity of these colonies is directly correlated to the level of management aimed at eliminating or ameliorating factors that currently limit successful tern nesting. Thanks My deepest appreciation goes to the 2001 tern biologists, Dan Hayward and Andrew LeFrancois, for their hard work, tenacity, good humor, and tremendous spirit; and to Rich Cook and John Kanter for their guidance and support. Special thanks also to all the other individuals who helped staff the island through the field season: Suzanne Conrad, Rebecca Courser, Laura Deming, Carla Dudley, Robin Jenkins, Jill Kelly, Margi Lord, Eric Masterson, Steve Mirick, Mindy Speigel, Becky Suomala, and Stephen, Kiah, and Jonah Walker. Additional thanks go to the many who have supported the project logistically, including the Shoals Marine Lab, Jon Savage of Cap'N Sav's Charters, Sue Reynolds of Island Cruises, and the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company. And thanks to the many other volunteers and supporters, without whom the project would not be possible.