O.K., that tells me more than I've ever known about what went on in
Commencement Bay in 2001. It's probably the starkest example of the
persecution of Caspian Terns, largely because it goes beyond the interests
of developers or Ports that want a piece of waterfront land to be available
for other uses. It involves the agencies that are stewards of fish and
wildlife resources, acting in the public's behalf, and making decisions that
terns are of lesser value than other unspecified interests. I know how
difficult it can be for a public or private entity to obtain the permits
required to harass protected birds or destroy the eggs or nestlings of
protected birds, even common species and single nests. In this example, 980
tern eggs were collected and the nesting substrate (barge) removed and the
only explanation I see is that there was "consultation with other natural
resource agencies".



Kelly McAllister

Olympia, Washington



_____

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Aquila
Chrysaetos
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 8:20 AM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] re: Caspian Terns in Commencement Bay



Kelly & Tweeters,

According to an article entitled "Caspian Tern Research on the Lower
Columbia River," 388 tern nests were built on the barge anchored in
Commencement Bay, but the barge was removed before the eggs hatched.
There was a discussion of this on Tweeters in 2001.
I also found an article on the feasibility of using barges as tern nesting
habit.
There is an article archived by JSTOR, available through college and
university libraries that subscribe to it, called Diet of Caspian Terns in
Commencement Bay.
Links:
http://www.columbiabirdresearch.org/Season_Summary_2001/01SeasonSummary.pdf
http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/2001-June/016249.html
http://oregonstate.edu/robylab/pdfs/Collis_et_al_2002b.pdf
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1522274

Sandy Daniels, Enumclaw Plateau
Ladyhawk707 AT msn DOT com