Least Tern Chick videos

Watching the Least Terns and their new chicks is just another reason to go to the beach this summer  

We Have Least Tern Chicks!

NEST CHECK UPDATE – Our Audubon biologist did a nest check early Sunday, May 19 morning…

LEAST TERNS – We have 19 nesting on the south end and at least four of the nests already have chicks, with more hatching every day.  Look closely at the pairs in the shells on the inlet side, and up by the Black Skimmer nest marked by a tongue depressor BS17 in the shells…also inlet side.

These pictures of the new Least Tern chicks are reason enough for everyone to head for the beach!

The chicks are well camouflaged in the shells and sand.
photo by Michelle Frazier

New chicks are occasionally left on their own for short periods of time while the parents look for food.
photo by Michelle Frazier

photo by Michelle Frazier

photo by Michelle Frazier

Can you see the chick on the right tucked under the parent's wing?
photo by Michelle Frazier

Look VERY CLOSELY to the left of the parent and you will see a chick peeking out!
 photo by Michelle Frazier

photo by Michelle Frazier

Feeding Time
photo by Michelle Frazier

A family portrait
photo by Michelle Frazier

photo by Michelle Frazier

OYSTERCATCHERS – The oystercatchers have three nests (eggs) and continue to incubate them.   You will see two banded Oystercatchers CKX and CT4.  CKX had a chick last year at the south end and a picture of this particular bird with last year’s mate and chick is on the Wrightsville Beach Bird Steward shirts this year! 

You will commonly see a lone oystercatcher cooling by the water (hanging out with the Skimmers!) while the other oystercatcher is on the nest.

BLACK SKIMMERS – We have the largest colony of Black Skimmers in the State of North Carolina this year on the south end.  The high count yesterday was 368 Black Skimmers!

It was  confirmed on Sunday (5/19) that the Skimmers are in the process of laying eggs and the nests observed had 1 or 2 egg clutches.

COMMON TERNS – We have 8 pairs of Common Terns close to the dunes among the Black Skimmers.  One pair of Common Terns chose to nest on the ocean side of the posting.  This pair was consistently up off the nest, dive bombing people and while they were doing that Laughing Gulls would come in and attempt to take an egg.  The poor Common Tern was trying to protect her nest from people and gulls at the same time!

(About 33 Black Skimmers are seen apparently nesting on the ocean side of the posting close to this Common Tern pair along the dune and in the vegetation.)

WILLETS – It is very likely that we have Willet chicks now since the behavior of the Willets has become more protective as you attempt to leave through access 44.  The only time we have seen Willet chicks is in the very early morning walking along the water towards the Coast Guard Station.   

Local Shorebirds Make the News

Click the link below to read an article from the front page of today's StarNews

Did Florence help nesting shorebirds near Wilmington?

Click the link below to see photos from last week's (5/13/19) Bird Walk

Monday morning Bird Walk in photos

Lots of Action in the Colony!

We’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to the students and faculty at Wrightsville Beach Elementary School for another spectacular batch of posting signs that will help visitors to the south end understand and respect the importance of the boundary around the nesting colony area.  

American Oystercatchers – We saw six Oystercatchers Monday night including one banded with CT4 and another banded CWC.  CKX is also in the posting.  Interesting fact…CT4 & CKX were both banded as adult birds while nesting on the south end of Wrightsville Beach. 

 
On Sunday (5/4) our Audubon biologist did a nest check at sunrise and discovered two Oystercatcher nest, that means we have EGGS!  As soon as the nests can be seen from outside the posting, we will let all of you know! We know there is a good possibility of a third nest but weren’t able to find it Sunday since the Oystercatcher tracks had been cleared because of the rain.

Black Skimmers – There were 306 Black Skimmers in the colony on both Saturday and Sunday.  The Skimmers are coupling up and have begun courtship behaviors including fish presentations and are mating on the beach for all to see!   
We believe nesting has begun with the Skimmers.  Our biologist chose not to disturb the front of the colony when she was doing her nest check on Sunday.

Look for the Common Terns nesting among the Black Skimmers

Common Terns –  Five pairs of Common Terns have been seen in the posted area and one pair has a nest on top of one of the high dunes.   Scan the dunes and the area on the front of the dunes behind the Skimmers and you will see the Common Terns.

Least Terns – We are excited to see some Least Terns in the colony and it appears that more are coming each day.  We have seen approximately 25 Least Terns courting, scraping and/or nesting in the sand in the front of the Black Skimmers on all three sides in the sand.  Using your binoculars look closely in the sand and shells because they blend in perfectly.

Starting 9AM Monday May 6, join the Wrightsville Beach Bird Stewards for a free walk around the posted area and watch the nesting season unfold! @ Wrightsville Beach Access #43.

  

Another New Season of Shore Bird Adventures Begins

The posting to protect the nesting shorebirds at the south end of Wrightsville Beach went up on April 3rd.

We have had over 200 Black Skimmers, 7 American Oystercatchers, 25 Least Terns, 6 Common Terns and 3 Willets checking out our beach looking for suitable nesting areas.

American Oystercatcher

Black Skimmers

photo by Jin Bian

Common Terns

We have been observing courtship behaviors as the birds do their “fish presentation” 

Least Terns

Our Audubon biologists conducted a nest check on Friday, April 19^th and discovered that we have lots of courtship activity happening in the posted area.  They found several Oystercatcher scrapes (these “scrapes” become “nests” after an egg is laid). Least Terns have been seen creating scrapes as well.

                                             (Click twice to view video.) 

They also discovered the first “nest” in the posting – a Willet nest with 2 eggs!!!  We expect 1 or 2 more eggs in that particular nest. 

Willets

photo by Maxine Miller

FIRST BIRD WALK FOR THE 2019 SEASON... Monday, May 6 at 9 AM

Our first official Audubon Bird Walk for the Town of Wrightsville Beach is scheduled for Monday, May 6 at 9 AM.  We always meet at the gazebo at beach access 43.  Invite your family and friends! 

And then there were TWO!

On Monday, 8/20 around 3:30 PM one of the Wrightsville Beach Bird Stewards (WBBS) reported that she saw 2 big gray Black Skimmer chicks and 11 adult Black Skimmers!!!  One had just flown in and went behind the dunes with additional adults.  What a surprise!

Seven adult Black Skimmers, an Oystercatcher (CT4) and the second chick roosted in the posting for over 3 hours and then easily flew across the inlet. Here are two pictures of the second chick as seen through a scope.

 The Black Skimmer pair with our other chick (the one we banded #47) continued to roost by the point at the inlet while the other chick and Black Skimmers were in the posting. The new “field readable” #47 band was wonderful in allowing us to know exactly what bird we were looking at!  We are so thankful that we were able to capture and band our south end chick (banded #47), and we watched #47 easily move when beach goers approached and fly over the water and mimic skimming behavior.  Both of the Black Skimmer chicks continued the resting posture of lying flat on the ground and appear to disappear in the sand. 

Black Skimmer chick bathing in the surf
photo by Shelia White

BS chick dancing on the beach
photo by Shelia White

BS chick "skimming" in the surf
photo by Shelia White

BS chick playing in the surf
photo by Shelia White

We continue to see flocks of birds roosting on the south end either by the water or in the posting.  Sunday afternoon (8/19)  the WBBS saw a large flock of Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, Least Terns and Common Terns.  We also have been seeing increasing numbers of Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Willets, Oystercatchers…and of course the Great Black Back Gull and Laughing Gulls. 

The birds are moving all the time now and if you happen to arrive when they decided to fly across the inlet and roost on the other side it seems like the nesting season is over but there is still much to see!

Our last bird walk of the season is planned for Monday, 8/27.

Nesting Season Slowing Down

The torrential rains on the south end of Wrightsville Beach have finalized the nesting of the Black Skimmers and the Common Terns that were nesting on the front of the dunes the last week of July.  On the last nest check (7/30) we had 12 active nests on the front dune and on the beach, but the storms and the heavy rainfall in the following days that week washed all the eggs out of the nests. 

THE GOOD NEWS… 

We have one strong and fast growing Black Skimmer chick to enjoy! And flying lessons have already begun for this little one.  

  

Here is our Black Skimmer chick practicing FLIGHT!! Notice it is only about 2 feet above the ground! A milestone.... If you zoom in, you can see its leg bands!

photo by Shelia White

On August 7 the chick was caught and bands were placed on its legs.  You will notice a metal band on its right leg and a black “field readable” band with white numbers…#47 on its left leg.  With this field readable band we have the possibility of easily seeing this chick when it returns to Wrightsville Beach in future years and knowing it was our 2018 special chick!!!  

We continue to see large groups of our Black Skimmers on the beach and in the inlet! There were 191 Black Skimmers in the colony the other day.  The birds are moving all the time now and if you happen to arrive when they decided to fly across the inlet and roost on the other side it seems like the season is over but it is not.  Large numbers are on the move because they do not have chicks to care for in the posted area.

Black Skimmers and Common Terns will randomly fly over the posted area and some Least Terns  and Royal Terns can occasionally be seen.