Looking Good For Least Terns

This week I participated in a walk-through of the Least Tern site in Venice, and we counted 53 nests! Most of the nests have been around for about two weeks, and they usually hatch at about three weeks. Then, it takes the chicks another twenty or so days to become more independent. The crows seem to be staying away from the area where most of the nests are located, and when a crow does get close, it gets bombarded by over 60 terns flying at it. The terns are doing a great job at keeping the crows away from their nests. We do see some predated eggs but it is not as bad as when the terns first tried nesting earlier in the summer. It is a bit unusual that the terns have tried to nest again so late in the season because in most seasons they are usually leaving the site by early or mid July. This coming week we will do another walk-through to see how the nests are doing and we will set up a fence within the exclosure to help keep the chicks inside the exclosure if they start hatching. It is very exciting, and I am looking forward to seeing chicks at Venice soon.