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Restoring California Least Tern Habitat with the San Diego Audubon

Document created 22 March 2018

Contents:

The annual tern migration

Each spring, the endangered California Least Tern returns to the coast of California to breed. With just a few weeks left before their arrival in San Diego, the Audubon Society is enlisting volunteers to help restore their nesting sites. Last Sunday, efforts were concentrated upon a flat, artificial spit named Mariner’s Point, which is located in Mission Bay, a dredged former wetland now mainly used for recreation.

Threats

A Least Tern egg camouflages on sand but not against vegetation.   Photo by Katy Chappaz
The California Least Tern is threatened by habitat loss due to coastal development. San Diego’s coastline supports 60 percent of the total Least Tern Population at 12 different sites. To nest, the birds require clear, sandy areas with little vegetation. This is for two reasons: Least Tern eggs camouflage best in pale, sandy colours, and adult birds require a clear vantage point, unhindered by tall vegetation, in order to watch for predators.
The Filaree.   Photo by Katy Chappaz
At Mariner’s Point, the ground is currently overrun by a low-lying invasive plant from the geranium family named Erodium cicutarium, or filaree. Though the San Diego Audubon Society regularly hosts invasive species removal events, late winter rains have boosted filaree growth at an inopportune time.

Solutions

Volunteers working at Mariner's Point   Photo by Katy Chappaz
Jumping into action on Sunday, the volunteers dispersed across the nesting site, choosing patches where the filaree was most prominent, and delicately pulling the plants from the loose, sandy soil. It is a meditative process, and a social one too. We were careful to pull the filaree’s long tap root all the way out, and to leave behind native plants growing nearby. We chatted with fellow volunteers as our orange buckets filled.
  Photo by Katy Chappaz
The goal is an 80 percent sand cover. On Sunday we removed around 450 pounds of filaree, but more needs clearing and additional restoration events are planned.
Plant versus sand cover before Filaree removal.   Photo by Katy Chappaz
The same spot after Filaree removal.   Photo by Katy Chappaz

Other bird seen at Mariner's Point

Though the terns have yet to arrive, we did enjoy the presence of Killdeer, Whimbrel and Horned Lark.
A Killdeer.   Photo by Katy Chappaz
A Whimbrel.   The fencing prevents tern chicks from falling off the dune. Photo by Katy Chappaz
A Horned Lark.   Photo by Katy Chappaz

More information

Visit https://sandiegoaudubon.org
  Photo by Katy Chappaz
The California Least Tern (Sternula antillarum browni).   Photo by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region

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The California Least Tern (Sternula antillarum browni). Photo by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region

The Filaree. Photo by Katy Chappaz

Photo by Katy Chappaz

Photo by Katy Chappaz

Plant versus sand cover before Filaree removal. Photo by Katy Chappaz

Volunteers working at Mariner's Point Photo by Katy Chappaz

The same spot after Filaree removal. Photo by Katy Chappaz

A Whimbrel. The fencing prevents tern chicks from falling off the dune. Photo by Katy Chappaz

A Killdeer. Photo by Katy Chappaz

A Least Tern egg camouflages on sand but not against vegetation. Photo by Katy Chappaz

A Horned Lark. Photo by Katy Chappaz

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