{"id":2330684,"date":"2024-08-25T15:21:55","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T19:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-tern-and-the-screw-how-a-350-wooden-box-revived-the-common-tern-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-25T15:38:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-25T19:38:21","slug":"the-tern-and-the-screw-how-a-350-wooden-box-revived-the-common-tern-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-tern-and-the-screw-how-a-350-wooden-box-revived-the-common-tern-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"The tern and the screw: How a $350 wooden box revived the common tern &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-tern-and-the-screw-how-a-350-wooden-box-revived-the-common-tern-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2330684&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the remarkable revival\u200c of common terns nesting along Pennsylvania&#8217;s\u2063 Lake Erie shoreline. After decades of decline,\u200c including the last successful nesting\u200b in\u200b the \u20631960s, a pair of \u2064common terns have successfully nested and raised chicks at Presque Isle State Park, \u2063reigniting hopes for\u2062 a sustainable tern colony. The Pennsylvania Game Commission \u2063initiated protective measures by constructing an\u2062 inexpensive wooden enclosure around the\u200b nest to fend off predators, which cost only $350, \u200bexcluding manpower.<\/p>\n<p>Game Commission officials express \u200doptimism as the presence of \u200bthis breeding pair is \u2062critical for the social nesting\u2064 behavior of terns; successful nesting can attract more birds to the area. Prior attempts\u2063 to nest\u200b at Presque Isle have largely failed due\u200d to human\u2064 interference and predation, but the recent efforts, combined with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/merced-irrigation-district-sues-california-over-water-grab-for-fish-downstate-users\/\" title=\"Merced Irrigation District Sues California over &#039;Water Grab&#039; for Fish, Downstate Users\">habitat restoration<\/a> and public \u200ccooperation, have shown promise. \u2064The article highlights the importance \u200cof creating\u200c more suitable \u200benvironments for \u200dthese birds, pointing out\u200c that the return of the terns signifies improved habitat quality, which also benefits other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-us-nature-society-proposes-renaming-birds-named-after-slave-owners-colonialists\/\" title=\"Top US Nature Society Proposes Renaming Birds Named After Slave Owners, Colonialists\">bird species<\/a>. The initiative aims to break\u2063 a historical\u2063 cycle of decline and foster\u200c a healthier ecosystem.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The tern and the screw: How a $350 wooden box revived the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-penguins-dying-from-avian-flu-at-cape-towns-boulders-beach-colony\/\" title=\"More penguins dying from avian flu at Cape Town\u2019s Boulders beach colony\">common tern<\/a><\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1736997\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &mdash; On the shores of Pennsylvania&rsquo;s sliver of Lake Erie, something has happened that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">hasn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t been seen for decades: common terns nesting on the beach, raising their young chicks to fledglings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Game Commission officials are excited.<\/p>\n<p>Back in the 1930s, Presque Isle State Park had 100 breeding pairs of terns at Gull Point on its east end before the population collapsed. Recent years have seen terns visit and attempt to nest, but it didn&rsquo;t work out for the blue-jay sized shorebirds, which have a grayish body, black head, a red beak and legs, and a deeply forked tail.<\/p>\n<p>But the last successful tern nest in Pennsylvania was in the 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>With this pair, bird enthusiasts hope it&rsquo;s the start of a revived tern colony for the relatively long-lived birds, which can survive to a quarter-century.<\/p>\n<p>With some luck and outside advice, the price tag of reshoring the tern here was also shockingly low: $350 on equipment, not counting personnel time. The Game Commission built a wooden exclosure around the tern nest to protect it from predators.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably the cheapest success of a species ever,&rdquo; PGC Endangered Bird Specialist Patti Barber said. &ldquo;Most of it, maybe all of it, we&rsquo;ll be able to use again next year.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Keeping a pair matters because terns are social and find safety in numbers. When one succeeds, others follow. Their behavior also changes depending on whether they&rsquo;re alone or in a colony. Alone, they flee from a threat. Among friends, they chase off predators.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you ever walk through a tern colony, you end up covered in guano and vomit because they really want to take you out,&rdquo; Barber said.<\/p>\n<p>Breeding season starts in the late spring, with terns nesting in May &ldquo;and very quickly setting up their little tiny territories, where a tern sits and how far they can reach and poke their neighbors,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really attracted to each other, but they don&rsquo;t want to be that close &mdash; &lsquo;don&rsquo;t touch me,&rsquo; like kids in the backseat.&rdquo; Tern chicks then fledge in mid-August.<\/p>\n<p>Great Gull Island, off Long Island Sound in New York, hosts about 20,000 terns that will hit people who walk in the colony.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They know, once we pass them and walk out there, then we&rsquo;re done harassing them. They will literally land a foot behind you back on their nest and go back to doing normal tern things,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re probably thinking, I scared the big, bad predator away. But when you only have a single bird or a couple pairs, they&rsquo;re much less likely to do that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But that behavior, and significant numbers of breeding pairs, is still years away in Pennsylvania. Terns have attempted to nest on Presque Isle regularly since 2012 (one year had as many as eight pairs on the beach), but all of their 21 nests failed.<\/p>\n<p>Human activity or predators &mdash; gulls, crows, and other birds, along with mammals like raccoons, possums, weasels, and cats, don&rsquo;t ignore a ground-level snack &mdash; have undermined any success.<\/p>\n<p>This time around, after the nesting pair&rsquo;s first nest with three eggs failed, the Game Commission decided to try and protect the second, two-egg nest with an eight-foot wooden exclosure based off a design used by Canadians in Ontario at a tern nesting ground.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These were the only birds in Pennsylvania. This is our only shot, really, at bringing them back as breeding birds,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;We decided we&rsquo;d try it, even though it seems a little nutty. Since it worked, I think the Game Commission will do the same thing next year. But instead of waiting and letting their first nest fail, we&rsquo;ll put the box around the first nest &mdash; and hopefully they&rsquo;ll be successful. There&rsquo;s no guarantee they&rsquo;ll be successful just because we put the exclosure up, but we stacked the deck.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The return of the tern has shown how luck, chance, and the buy-in of the public matters.<\/p>\n<p>Officials removed invasive vegetation from Presque Isle and sand naturally piles up on it, creating more beach, which made tern-friendly habitat. The exclosure was much smaller than the ones used in Canada and hadn&rsquo;t been tried before, but it still worked. And people &mdash; from conservationists working to bring back shorebirds to members of the general public who decided not to let their dogs run free on a closed beach &mdash; aided the recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Even the birds helped out, despite years of failure on Presque Isle.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We had this nice, stubborn pair that kept coming back for us,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;But they weren&rsquo;t getting ahead.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That pair bodes well because success is cumulative. Terns tend to use the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/student-magazine-awards-first-place-art-prize-to-painting-of-minneapolis-police-department-set-ablaze\/\" title=\"Student Magazine Awards First-Place Art Prize To Painting Of Minneapolis Police Department Set Ablaze\">breeding grounds<\/a> every year, which attracts other breeding pairs, and those offspring follow their parents. A nesting pair that succeeds creates a tradition by attracting other mature pairs while providing a place for their progeny.<\/p>\n<p>Terns also signal the renewal of nature in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;All of our birds are being affected by decreased habitat quality and amount of habitat available&mdash; all along the eastern seaboard and the Great Lakes, the land has been developed, a lot of those pristine beaches aren&rsquo;t there anymore,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;(Terns) are a great indication of overall habitat health: beach, land, and water because they forage exclusively in the water.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Other birds, like the spotted sandpiper, killdeer, and piping plover benefit from habitat improvement on Presque Isle, she noted, along with birds migrating through the area in the fall &mdash; of which numbers have grown dramatically.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We hope we&rsquo;re starting to create a good cycle where, in the past, we were cycling down. We hope we broke that cycle now and we can do a little bit better,&rdquo; Barber said.<\/p>\n<p>Formal discussion and planning hasn&rsquo;t happened yet, but the PGC isn&rsquo;t assuming the future is assured.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It seems like whenever you count on something, especially with wildlife, that&rsquo;s when something happens to it. Do not jinx these birds,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;Our marketing folks were getting ready to do something for National Beach Day, they were gonna talk about plovers in (Gull) Point and the terns, asking me how many young they raised. I&rsquo;m like nope, can&rsquo;t talk to you about that, have to wait until they fly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The PGC emphasized that this achievement is the result of partnerships: with the Erie Bird Observatory, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources &mdash; and Pennsylvania residents of all stripes.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s what individuals do, the decisions they make,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;The people that make sure they cut their six-pack holders so none of the critters can get stuck in the holes &mdash; and I say it that way because we&rsquo;ve found terns (elsewhere) that died because of plastic trash &hellip; All those individual decisions that we make actually make a difference.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1736997\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1736997\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**The Tern and the Screw: A $350 Wooden Box Revives the Common Tern (The Center Square)** \u2014 On the shores of Pennsylvania&#8217;s small stretch of Lake Erie, a remarkable event has occurred that hasn&#8217;t been witnessed in decades: common terns are nesting on the beach and successfully raising their chicks. Officials from the Game Commission are thrilled. In the 1930s, Presque Isle State Park was home to 100 breeding pairs of terns at Gull Point, but their numbers dwindled significantly over time. Although recent years have seen terns attempt to nest, these efforts were unsuccessful for these blue-jay-sized shorebirds characterized by their grayish bodies, black heads, red beaks and legs, and deeply forked tails. The last successful tern nest in Pennsylvania dates back to the 1960s. Bird enthusiasts are hopeful that this new pair marks the beginning of a revived tern colony for these long-lived birds that can survive up to 25 years. Remarkably, reviving this population came at a minimal cost\u2014just $350 for equipment\u2014excluding personnel expenses. The Game Commission constructed a wooden exclosure around one tern nest to shield it from predators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s probably one of the most cost-effective successes for a species ever,\u201d said Patti Barber, an Endangered Bird Specialist with PGC. \u201cMost of it\u2014if not all\u2014we\u2019ll be able to reuse next year.\u201d Maintaining even just one pair is crucial since terns are social creatures that thrive in groups; when one succeeds in nesting, others tend to follow suit. Their behavior varies based on whether they\u2019re alone or part of a colony; solitary birds tend to flee from threats while those in groups will confront predators together.<\/p>\n<p>Breeding season begins in late spring when terns start nesting in May and quickly establish small territories where they assert boundaries with neighbors\u2014a behavior likened by Barber to children sitting apart yet wanting proximity without direct contact: \u201cThey\u2019re really attracted to each other but don\u2019t want anyone too close.\u201d By mid-August, tern chicks fledge.<\/p>\n<p>Great Gull Island off Long Island Sound hosts about 20,000 terns known for aggressively defending their nests against intruders; once people pass through their territory they return immediately afterward as if claiming victory over perceived threats. However, such behaviors\u2014and significant numbers of breeding pairs\u2014are still years away from being realized again in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2012 there have been regular attempts by terns to nest at Presque Isle (with as many as eight pairs observed one year), yet all previous nests failed due primarily to human interference or predation by gulls and other animals like raccoons or cats seeking easy meals near ground level.<\/p>\n<p>After an initial three-egg nest failed this time around, officials decided on protective measures for another two-egg nest using an eight-foot wooden exclosure inspired by designs used successfully at Canadian nesting sites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese were our only remaining birds here,\u201d Barber noted regarding Pennsylvania\u2019s unique situation with common terns\u2019 potential resurgence as breeding residents again after so long absent from local beaches due largely due human activity impacting habitats negatively across eastern seaboard regions where development has diminished natural spaces available previously enjoyed by wildlife alike including shorebirds like plovers which also benefit indirectly through habitat improvements made recently along Presque Isle itself thanks partly community involvement ensuring responsible pet ownership practices during critical periods such closures enforced temporarily while conservation efforts take place aimed restoring balance ecosystems affected historically over time leading towards healthier environments overall benefiting various species inhabiting them today including migratory ones passing through during fall seasons seeing increased numbers lately too!<\/p>\n<p>Barber expressed optimism about breaking past cycles leading downward trends previously experienced saying \u201cWe hope we\u2019ve started creating positive feedback loops now instead!\u201d While formal planning discussions remain pending she cautioned against complacency stating \u201cWhenever you count on something especially wildlife\u2014that\u2019s when things go wrong! Don\u2019t jinx these birds!\u201d <\/p>\n<p>This achievement reflects collaborative efforts among various stakeholders including Erie Bird Observatory Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Department Conservation Natural Resources plus engaged citizens making conscious choices daily contributing positively towards protecting fragile ecosystems vital sustaining diverse life forms thriving within them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2330685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/lake-eerie-stock-photo-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[39234,39233,32076,34258,39235],"class_list":["post-2330684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-common-tern","tag-tern","tag-washington-examiner","tag-wildlife-conservation","tag-wooden-box"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/lake-eerie-stock-photo-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2330684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2330684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2330684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2330685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2330684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2330684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2330684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}