[J)~ 0/ Ff~ Rmwi 1Fidd¥
n~~o/~ [J)~ 0/ ff~ rMWi 1fIdd¥ ffwld ~taJ<.lM<4, 1fI~ 015J'f 1 November 1982 To: Tern Workshop Participants From: Bradford G. Blodget, Assistant Director, Nongame and Endangered Species Subject: Tern Census and Inventory Data Normal settlement and colony establishment by the least tern was severely be lated in 1982 by protracted rains and recurrent storms, a situation that made census taking even more difficult than usual for the least tern. Nevertheless, the 1,812 pairs inventoried compared with 1,856 pairs in 1981 and suggested little fundamental fluctuation of the base population. A general decline in the nlli~ber of breeding stations for the least tern from 40 in 1980 to 35 in 1982 reflects the combination for reporting purposes of the various small colonies along the Provincetown outer beach from Exit 9 to Race Point. Numer ically, the least tern population, possibly owing to the difficult June period, was very dispersed in 1982, with seven colonies of over 100 pairs.· These were Long Beach, Barnstable (120 pairs), West Dennis Beach, Dennis (110 pairs), North Beach, Chatham (250 pairs), Nauset Heights, Orleans (158 pairs), Nauset Spit, Eastham (115 pairs), Nashawena Island, Gosnold (122 pairs), and Low Beach, Nantucket (175 pairs). In 1981, with less disruptive weather during the settlement period, there were but three colonies larger than 100 pairs (one had 415 pairs). The common tern nested at 22 stations in 1982 (versus 18 in 1981) and total pairs rose to 7,577. More than offsetting a 25 percent decline from 1981 at the Monomoy colony to 1,500 pairs, were major increases over 1981 at Wood bridge Island, Newburyport (150 to 200), Hog Island, Hull (130 to 190), Plymouth Beach (550 to 800), Gray's Beach, West Yarmouth (860 to 1,500), West Dennis Beach, Dennis (260 to 400), New Island, Orleans and Eastham (520 to 1,100) and Nashawena Island, Gosnold (50 to 110).
[Show full text]