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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI14090847/00001
Subjects
- Subjects / Keywords:
- Terns
Notes
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Terns 1
Length of Segment: 00:01:08
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The diminutive least tern is a creature of habit and habitat and we've been able to use information about their nesting habitat preferences to provide for their needs and ours. They need open beach with bits of broken shell and only scattered, sparse vegetation to begin their nesting. If there's too much clay mixed with the sand, such as with some dredged material, eggs become glued to the ground when it rains and break when the birds try to turn them. As the season progresses, some growth of vegetation can be good, providing shade and hiding places for chicks. Sandspurs, whose sharp seeds injure chicks, can harm the birds. Too much vegetation can hide predators. By protecting and managing a specific site for least terns we can increase colony size, determine where the birds will be for management purposes, and decrease the number of small colonies that might get in the way of our activities. Unfortunately, with all their eggs in a few baskets, our efforts can also set least tern populations up for disaster. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Terns 2
Length of Segment: 00:01:07
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Terns and gulls are close relatives, but easily distinguished. Gulls are scavengers and predators that capture what they can on water or land, but gulls don't dive. Terns are consummate fish-eating birds that hover above water and dive in to capture prey. They also take other small animals, but always with the same diving approach. Gulls often rest floating on the water; terns never do. Gulls and terns loaf on piers or on the beach and their appearance allows us to distinguish one from the other. A gull stands upright with a rounded head, longer legs, and a heavy bill that is not sharply pointed. A tern is more sleek, seeming to hug the ground on its short legs. A tern often has a crest that seems slicked back and a dagger-like sharply pointed bill. A gull’s broader wings and tail allow it to sail effortlessly on coastal breezes. A tern’s long narrow pointed wings are perfect for speed and maneuvering, and its often forked tail allows intricate control of every dive. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Terns 3
Length of Segment: 00:01:15
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The eight inch long least tern can be found in coastal areas and along major rivers through much of North America, but for more than a century, its numbers have been declining. Those in Florida are considered threatened. In the late-1800s, these tiny fork-tailed gray and white birds with a crisp black cap and striking dagger-like black-tipped yellow bill were shot by the thousands to become ornaments on ladies' hats. Such slaughter led to conservation movements, changes in fashion, and laws that protected birds but not their habitat. Tern populations rebounded a bit, but growing human populations and popularity of recreation on beaches led to disturbances of nesting colonies that resulted in further loses. Damming and channelization of rivers eliminated sand bars where inland least terns nested. Pollutants ranging from pesticides to silt from construction reduced and contaminated tern food resources. Efforts are now made to protect Florida's least tern nesting areas. Please stay out of tern nesting areas. Birds disturbed from nests for only a few minutes can result in eggs and chicks that die in the Florida sun. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Terns 4
Length of Segment: 00:01:07
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Least terns are sea birds that nest in very open areas, and they prefer beaches. Under natural conditions, these habitats are occasionally flooded by storm surges and if they're not, beach vegetation takes them over. The choice for the birds is a tricky one: selection of a site that is too low could mean loss of a nest later due to flooding, selection of a site with too much vegetation may result in loss of nests to predators. Least terns usually nest in colonies of ten to twenty pairs, the numbers providing some protection against potential predators. And colony sites naturally change from year to year as habitats change. The typical small colony size and shifting of colony sites may be important to the survival of these birds. While a predator that finds a colony may destroy all of the nests, the colony isn't large enough to sustain a predator population over time. By shifting the colony site from year to year, predators must discover it anew each season. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Terns 5
Length of Segment: 00:01:13
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. As the saying goes, “One good turn deserves another.” And when you find the tiny least tern, you're almost certain to find several. The least tern is a master traveler winging its way in small flocks between breeding sites in North America and wintering areas off the northeast coast of South America. It arrives in Florida in April and most leave by mid-October. Each year, least terns seek beaches or beach-like habitats as colony nesting sites, and begin their annual courtship flights nearby. Males test waters for availability of tiny fishes, and attract a mate by demonstrating their fishing abilities. During April and May, a male least tern is often seen carrying tiny fishes in its bill as it pursues a female. The male is in pursuit of a mate in what is known as his ‘fish flight’. If she's interested, she lands and he joins her. She holds her head high as he dances around her, fish in bill. If she’s still interested, she crouches and he steps onto her back, dangling the fish in front of her. If she seizes the fish, he mates with her and a pair-bond is formed. ( English )
Record Information
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- Added automatically
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- Resource Identifier:
- FI00900180
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