The 2013 “Return of the Terns” tours at Alameda Point gave visitors a glimpse of wildlife in its drive to survive. Co-sponsored by the East Bay Regional Park District, Golden Gate Audubon Society, Aububon California, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the three June 15th tours departed from the Crab Cove Visitor Center following a natural history presentation about the terns.
Peering out of the bus windows at the bustling birds was not your normal bird watching day. Most birds are not endangered species. The California Least Terns, however, were placed on the endangered species list in 1970. After decades of coastal development and recreational use, their nesting habitat declined, and so too did their numbers. In their search for new habitat, they spotted the wide-open space at Alameda’s naval air station airfield in the 1970s. Alameda’s colony has become the largest in northern California, with the Bay Area being the northernmost part of their range along the California coast.
During the tours, adult terns could be seen bringing small fish to their young. The colors of the young chicks help them blend into the sand and gravel background. With predators like hawks and falcons never far away, it’s good not to be noticed when you can’t fly.
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The terns arrived in April. By early August, the young terns will be strong enough to leave Alameda Point with their parents, eventually heading south to Baja and perhaps beyond.
More "Return of the Terns" tour photos:
