Tenacious Terns and Strong-Willed Skimmers Continue To Nest

Common Tern EGGS!

Several dozen Least Terns are continuing to nest at the corner on the oceanside. A Least Tern nest was found outside the string so please be careful when entering the colony from Access 43 (by the gazebo). At least one Common Tern pair is also nesting near the posting oceanside. And a large group of Black Skimmers can be seen near the dunes. Our shore birds seem determined to mate, nest, and raise chicks for us to watch this summer. 

On the inlet side there is another large group of Black Skimmers and at least two pairs of Common Terns that appear to be sitting on eggs

Common Tern nest

Black Skimmer colony

Least Terns on nests

Video shows Common Terns taking turns sitting on their nest. 

Look for eggs!

Video shows Common Tern adding wrack to nest.

With the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaching there will be a lot of people coming to the beach.  It is important to remember that our birds and beach visitors need to work together to coexist.

Recent Updates From the Colony

photo by Stan Washlesky

Common Tern demanding his space back from the Black Skimmers mid-June

LEAST TERNS (LETE) – Ten Least Terns were seen on the south end and a couple were nesting in the posting.  The good news is 3 adult Least Terns were seen with their fledglings June 12th on the south end at the water’s edge!  It appeared that a fishing lesson was happening as the fledglings practiced “hovering” over the water during the high winds!

COMMON TERNS (COTE) –  Only 2 Common Terns were seen nesting in the posting on the wrack line on the inlet side the morning of July 13th.  The high tide went into the posting and appears to have washed out the other nests.  We have not seen the chick that was on the ocean side of the posting.

BLACK SKIMMERS (BLSK) – We counted 145 Black Skimmers in the posting and saw a large number of Skimmers roosting across the inlet on July 13th.  Courtship, mating and nesting continues. 

 

photo by Stan Washlesky 

photo by Stan Washlesky 

photo by Stan Washlesky 

The aerial choreography of the Black Skimmers continues to provide great entertainment.

photos by Jeff Hall

OYSTERCATCHERS (AMOY) –We enjoyed our Oystercatcher chicks while we had them.   The lone chick of CT4 and CFO was last seen on Friday afternoon, June 9th walking all over the beach with the parent CFO close by.  An observation from one of the Wrightsville Beach Bird Stewards was that he hung out too long outside the fencing after being escorted down to the water. He had no fear leaving his parents.  The Oystercatchers had just decided to take the little one back into the dunes. 

These photos were all taken Friday, June 9th 

by Camille Daniels.  

We have not seen the chick since then. 

Chicks Continue to Make Appearances

Photo by Jeff Hall

 WILLETS (WILL)

We had two Willet families make an appearance on the beach with chicks this week.   

Wednesday morning (5/31) one pair of Willets with five (yes 5!) chicks came out of the dunes and went to the water What a thrill!  Both parents were with all the chicks and it was fun to see them try to keep them together going to the water and back up into the dunes. 

Another pair of Willets brought 4 chicks to the water early Thursday morning (June 1).  Willet chicks are so adorable and it is a rare event to be able to see them when the parent birds bring their chicks to the beach!  

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS (AMOY)

The Oystercatcher pair, EMY & unbanded, lost their 2 chicks sometime Thursday night (6/1).  There was a “territorial dispute” between the two Oystercatcher pairs and misbehavior from beachgoers that evening that may have played a part…including fireworks and a campfire.   We really don’t know the specifics, but sadly the adult birds are now on the beach without chicks.

CT4 & CFO and chick have been seen throughout the week and are walking around throughout the posting even in the area by Beach Access 43 and the Gazebo.  Watch for feeding activity at low tide.  

As some of you may know, CFO has a transmitter and we placed the data logger (receiver) next to the posting hoping to gather data from her this week.  The logger was successful and when downloaded there were 2000 hits.  We learned  that CF0 wintered in Cape Romain, South Carolina.

COMMON TERNS (COTE)

Common Terns were seen feeding two chicks on the east side of the posting (ocean side) this week.  Again, watch for parent birds coming in with fish and follow them with your binoculars and they will lead you to the chicks.

BLACK SKIMMERS (BLSK)

Black Skimmers are nesting again after a couple of days of grieving the loss of their first nests.  Courtship activities including fish presentations, scraping and mating have been seen and they are spreading out into the interior of the posting.  

We have a number of skimmers who have returned to Wrightsville Beach and saw one skimmer that was banded about 8 years ago!  One skimmer has a white band which means it was banded in Virginia.

Some Disappointments and Some Good News

photo by Kathy Hannah

We have good news and bad news with this update…

NEST CHECK NUMBERS…Lindsay, our NC Audubon biologist, was able to do a nest check the morning of 5/30 and we have some very disappointing numbers.

 LEAST TERNS (LETE) 

The Least Terns disappeared over the stormy holiday weekend. The weather probably played a large role, as they were in an exposed area and unless they are able to sit tight on their nests, they are easily blown over. Any flushing of the adults would also leave them vulnerable to predators like ghost crabs and Ruddy Turnstones.  We do not have any Least Terns nesting at this time.

COMMON TERNS (COTE) 

Common Tern chicks can be seen on top of the dunes ocean (east) side and on the inlet (west) side.  We have about 4 Common Tern nests throughout the posting and we have seen just a couple of chicks.

photo by Monica Ramanathan

photo by Tom Hanna

photo by Tom Hanna

photo by Tom Hanna

BLACK SKIMMERS (BLSK)

Lindsay counted 52 Black Skimmer nests that have been depredated by Ruddy Turnstones and only 2 active nests remain. Three chicks were seen on the inlet side in one nest on Sunday and Monday on top of the dune; however, they were not there today.

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Maxine Hannah 

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah

We observed a few Black Skimmer pairs doing fish presentations and mating activity, which are signs of re-nesting to come, but most of the Black Skimmers gathered together on the inlet side of the posting appear to be grieving.

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS (AMOY) 

GOOD NEWS!  We have two Oystercatcher pairs with chicks!!

 

The first pair (unbanded and banded EMY) are feeding two chicks on the inlet (west) side of the posting.  The oystercatcher family is so adorable and the parents work together so well.

 

The second pair is on the ocean (east) side. On 5/30 at 10:30 am, the pair that are both banded (CT4 and CF0) were seen. One parent was seen trying to encourage the chick to follow it to the water’s edge. 

The banded pair were seen together on the ocean (east) side of the nesting colony that same afternoon. Bird Steward Steve Haley was able to get photos! This pair has not raised a chick in a few years, but hopefully they will succeed this year.

photo by Steve Haley

photo by Steve Haley 

WHAT DO THE CHICKS NEED?

One of the biggest threats to nesting birds is disturbance by people. When parents are disturbed, they are separated from their eggs or chicks and prevented from taking care of them. This can lead to heat stress, predation, or other harm! 

So what is disturbance?? It’s any activity that interrupts what the birds were doing before… 

• getting too close to take photos, 
• walking through a flock, 
• flying a kite over the colony, 
• standing too close, 
• moving around too much (especially moving directly towards them rather than diagonally),
• standing between the birds and the water so that the parent birds will not escort their chick to the water

many different things can cause disturbance.

As it warms up, parent birds work hard to get their chicks to the water to drink and cool their bodies. 

Please stop at a safe distance and enjoy this unique opportunity to see this behavior…  

We want each of you to enjoy these priceless moments!

Finally… although this week has brought some disappointments there is always beauty to be seen at the south end of Wrightsville Beach. 

Check out these stunning  reflections by Tom Hanna!

WE HAVE CHICKS!

 

Common Tern Family
photo by Kathy Hannah

COMMON TERN

The first Common Tern chick of the 2023 nesting season was able to be seen from outside the posting on Wednesday, May 24.  Since then other chicks have appeared, lots of eggs are being carefully tended, and we have photos and videos to share what’s happening  

Common Tern protecting chick during Friday evening’s wind and rain, 5/26
photo by Camille Daniels 

photo by Nancy Arehart

photo by Nancy Arehart

photo by Nancy Arehart

photo by Nancy Arehart

photo by Nancy Arehart

photo by Kathy Hannah

Common Tern sitting on eggs 
photo by Kathy Hannah

Videos are a great way to visit the nesting colony from the comfort of your living room.

This video shows the Common Terns co-parenting their new chick. They take turns caring for their chicks. One stays on the nest while the other goes looking for food and then they often reverse roles. 

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER 

The Oystercatcher pair CT4 & CFO nested in the interior of the posting oceanside in front of the tallest dunes in an open area. This morning (5/26/23) the two “twin” chicks were seen walking with the parents deep inside the posting. Watch for the parents coming in with food and you may see them. 

These next two photos were taken Friday evening, 5/26. Oystercatcher parents still keeping their chicks deeper inside the posting. 

photo by Camille Daniels 

photo by Camille Daniels 

BLACK SKIMMERS AND LEAST TERNS

We have not seen any Black Skimmer or Least Tern chicks yet, but they should be hatching soon. Keep looking! Watch for parent birds bringing in food..

Least Tern sitting on eggs
photo by Nancy Arehart

photo by Nancy Arehart