Removal from endangered list proposed after bird's rebound in Arkansas

by Emily Walkenhorst | December 2, 2019 at 6:48 a.m.

A least tern checks her eggs in May 2010 on a beach in Gulfport, Miss. On Wednesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed taking the least tern off the endangered species list.

A bird that dwells in Arkansas, the Missouri River and the lower Mississippi River no longer needs to be considered endangered, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal.

Research shows the population of least tern has rebounded from a loss of habitat related to river damming.

Colonies numbered near 500 in 2005, up tenfold from 20 years before. The population is estimated to be 18,000 now.

In Arkansas, researchers at Arkansas Tech University have been surveying the bird's population since about 2001 and recommending to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ways to help the bird. The Corps has paid the university for the surveying and research most years since then.

The least tern has a long life span, up to 20 years, said Thomas Nupp, professor of wildlife science and director of Arkansas Tech's fisheries and wildlife science program.

"That means they don't need to be successful in reproduction every year but need to be consistent over the years," Nupp said. "That was a very interesting and unique thing about their biology compared to other birds."

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DNR burns grasslands to promote habitat for endangered bird

Posted: Thursday, March 19, 2015 9:14 am

OWENSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — State wildlife crews have burned hundreds of acres of grasslands in southwestern Indiana to keep a wildlife area in good shape for an endangered water-loving bird.

State Department of Natural Resources staffers conducted a prescribed burn Tuesday of 300 acres at the Tern Bar Slough Wildlife Diversity area about 20 miles northwest of Evansville.

DNR assistant non-game bird biologist Amy Kearns tells the Princeton Daily Clarion the burn cleared out young trees and will help promote "a nice mix of grasses" for the wildlife area's population of least terns.

Indiana's least tern populations have grown significantly since a single pair of the petite shorebirds was found in Gibson County in 1986.

DNR crews say they try to conduct prescribed burns before most reptiles and amphibians emerge from winter hibernation.

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Dogs running free may have wiped out colony of threatened birds on Disappearing Island

By Dinah Voyles Pulver

dinah.pulver@news-jrnl.com

Published: Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 4:20 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 10:38 p.m.

Nearly 90 percent of the 63 rare least tern nests on a Volusia County beach disappeared at some point over the past week, in a demonstration of the fragile nature of nesting seabird colonies.

A week after celebrating the 63 nests, county officials returned to the colony on Disappearing Island on Wednesday and found only six nests, two of them new from the week before. They believe dogs running free in protected areas could be partly to blame.

County officials found some flightless chicks, said Jennifer Winters, the county’s coastal habitat program manager, “but the colony was pretty devastated.”

“It’s a major disappointment,” she said. “People were really interested and excited.”

It was the first time a sizable colony of least terns had been found on a Volusia beach in the last 10 years, said Alex Kropp, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist responsible for helping ensure the protected birds continue nesting along Florida beaches.

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Tiny rare birds nesting on Disappearing Island in New Smyrna Beach

Posted Fri, 2014-05-16 10:27

By HENRY FREDERICK

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A least tern pair has been discovered nesting on Disappearing Island near Ponce Inlet. The birds were spotted May 14 by members of the Florida Shorebird Alliance’s Volusia Shorebird Partnership as they conducted a routine shorebird survey in the inlet.

Least terns weigh just over an ounce and have a wing span of about 20 inches. They have a grayish-white body with a black-capped head, narrow wings, yellow legs and a yellow bill. They nest on sandy beaches and rooftops in the southern U.S. and are aggressive in defending their nests.

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