by Kris Vagos
Another nesting season is upon us! The terns are starting to show up in greater numbers. Thanks to Steve McGuire and others, I have been able to view the terns’ arrival
from my computer screen. Only yesterday there were a couple hundred, but now I’d say it’s closer to a thousand. With help from volunteers this spring, we’ve been able to make some improvements to the boat house, field blinds, and tern habitat found on the island.
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
The cadets from the Sustainability Club and USCGA staff helped us build a couple hundred chick shelters over the winter, as well as several boardwalk pieces. Some of the shelters were transported out to the island to create hiding places for young terns during this breeding season, and all of the boardwalks have been installed to allow the crew passage through the vegetation without the risk of stepping on eggs or chicks.
Guilford Boy Scouts – Troop 474 – April 15-16
The boy scouts from Troop 474 helped us remove the old field observation blinds, clean and temporarily restore the boathouse floor, move trash and material off the island, and manage vegetation in prime tern habitat. With their help, we were able to set-up the southwestern shelf for the terns. This is one of the densest areas of common tern nests on the island. Additionally, Joel Helander, Guilford’s town historian, visited the island to tell Falkner Island stories to the Boy Scout troop members.
Hebron Boy Scouts, Master Bird Conservationists, & Sound School – Troop 28 – April 27-28
Eric Saunders from Troop 28 completed his Eagle Scout project which was to build and install 5 field observation blinds on Falkner Island. The new blinds are sturdier than their predecessors and have also been relocated to points on the island that will allow the summer crew better views of tern nesting locations. The troop, Master Bird Conservationists (Julie and Peter), and Sound School students set-up nest boxes, cut trail, fixed fencing around the field station, and brought lots of pea gravel to the top of the northern portion of the island to create better tern habitat here. This area was historically a roseate tern nesting site. We are hoping that with the loss of habitat on the north spit, the roseates will chose this location as a substitute for breeding.
The Refuge Staff
The Refuge Staff also worked hard to get the island mowed, to rototill areas on the top southern portion of the island, to clean the field station, and to set up nest boxes and productivity plots. The only things that remain to be done this spring are to install a screen door and windows in the field station and to put hardware onto the north spit blind.
There will always be things to do and ways to improve…but I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish this year to protect and create more habitat for the terns. Thank you to everyone who helped! We couldn’t have done it without you.
Stay tuned for our next blog…an introduction to our 2013 summer crew.