Roseate Terns: Challenges and Success from Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod will be presented by Dr. Katharine Parsons at the next Nasketucket Bird Club meeting on Thursday, May 25 at 7:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Public Library. The library is located on Barstow Street and is handicapped accessible. The program is free and open to the public.
The Northwest Atlantic population of the Roseate Tern was listed as Endangered in 1987 under state and federal endangered species acts, and despite intensive efforts to protect birds at nesting colonies, it has failed to meet recovery goals. Terns are experiencing difficulty during the period between fledging and reaching sexual maturity at 3 years. The most vulnerable time in this period is during the time fledglings are preparing for their first migration to South America—the time they are staging with a care-giving adult at locations in the region with abundant, suitable prey (typically sand lance). Prior studies by Mass Audubon have shown that the majority of the Northwest Atlantic population of Roseate Terns stage during late summer on outer Cape Cod beaches and Nantucket. Current studies are focusing on the foraging ecology of staging terns, including the impact of a major shift in the marine community at critical staging sites on Cape Cod and Nantucket with the exponential growth of another sand lance specialist—Gray Seal.