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| Photo by Hannah White |
The birds had a successful Memorial Day holiday weekend even though the weather was challenging with chilly temperatures, mist, and high winds. But we had good-spirited stewards enjoying each other’s company in the afternoon and looking for the adorable chicks!
Let’s talk about nests… How many nests are out there?
Lindsay Addison, Coastal Biologist with the NC Audubon Society, shared her initial counts of nests on the south end of Wrightsville were:
Black Skimmers --87 (with more to come because of predation by Ruddy Turnstones)Least Terns -- 323 pairsCommon Terns --10 pairsGull-billed Terns -- 3 pairsAmerican Oystercatcher – 1 pair
What we are seeing this week…adorable Least Tern chicks!
Parent Least Terns are busy feeding and sheltering the newly hatched chicks. In addition, they are very attentive in trying to protect the chicks from ghost crabs and gulls. The presence of Bird Stewards reduces additional disturbance by beachgoers and possible predation. Remember, when a parent bird is distracted by a human activity, such as approaching the string too closely or walking a dog near the colony, they can’t pay as close attention to other threats, and that is when a gull or crow or ghost crab can take the opportunity to eat an egg or chick.
The best way to locate a chick is by following a parent bird flying in with a fish with your binoculars. We highly recommend good optics to get the best experience of all the cuteness out there!
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| Photo by Camille Daniels |
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| Photo by Camille Daniels |
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| Photo by Camille Daniels |
Join us on one of our free weekly Bird Walks on any Monday morning. We meet at the gazebo at Beach Access 43 at 9 a.m.
The photos are awesome! I really enjoyed my first two bird walks in NC and learned a lot! It was great to see a least tern chick! Thank you, Marlene and Kathy
ReplyDeleteFantastic! I hope you will join us again! Thank you!
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