Hi All: For those following the tern - salmon conflicts, here is a Puget Sound colony, that is now eliminated, that I didn't know about. Stumbled on it on the Bird Research NW site (http://www.birdresearchnw.org/Project-Info/Study-Area/Columbia-Basin/Naval-Base-Kitsap-Bremerton/default.aspx).

"A Caspian tern colony has existed on warehouse rooftops at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton since 2003. The Naval Base is located on the Olympic Peninsula, 40 km west of Seattle, in the City of Bremerton (WA). During 2005-2006, the colony site included three waterfront buildings within the naval shipyard adjacent to Sinclair Inlet. Caspian tern nests scrapes were confined to areas where small amounts of shells, sand, bone, and other debris accumulated along the ridgelines of each of rooftop. In 2007, the colony was limited to the roof of one of the three buildings. In 2005, USDA-Wildlife Services hazed the colony intensively during five nights beginning in early June until eggs were discovered, at which time the hazing was discontinued. In 2006, no hazing was conducted and a rough estimate suggested that the colony consisted of as many as 500 breeding pairs. In 2007, up to 900 Caspian terns were counted at the site in early May (Steve Holtom, USDA-Wildlife Services, personal communication); our best estimate for the size of this colony in 2007 was 117 breeding pairs. In 2008-2009, USDA-Wildlife Services, under contract from the U.S. Navy, prevented any nesting by Caspian terns at the rooftop colony site."
Other interesting bird facts from the Bird Research NW site. The Brandt's Cormorant nesting colony at East Sand Island in the Columbia River Estuary (Pacific Co, WA) was up to 1,000 pairs in 2010 and dc cormorants colony grew from 93 pairs in 1989 to 13,600 pairs in 2010. Brown Pelicans roosting during the summer number in the 1,000 (17K in 2010). Plus 1,700 pairs of ring-billed gulls in 2010. The colony site was hosted number predators last year as well as a few extreme weather events reducing productivity.


Gary Shugart, Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma & Vashon Island