July 17 - July 31 -FI Newsmagazine Terns of Fire Islandby Paul Stoutenburgh
Outside of the gull, the common tern is the
most abundant sea bird on Fire Island.
Although some people are not familiar with
this dainty sea bird, every fisherman worth
his salt knows of the tern, for it's their
association with schools of fish that makes
them a friend of the angler.
Often in the bay or the ocean we see these
small graceful birds diving and hovering
over a school of bluefish or stripers. It's part
of the savage game of survival that they're
involved in. From down below the tigers of
the sea, the bluefish, drive the smaller bait
fish to the surface, where they are quickly
eaten by the terns who hover around the
churning water waiting for a meal.
Often in their haste to pick up a sand eel or
spearing, the tern will grab it the wrong way
for swallowing and so in mid -air will flip it
around to swallow it head first. More often
we see these terns flying with the bait fish in
their mouth - headed back to the nest where
two or three young are anxiously awaiting
their meal.
Having photographed these birds from a
blind or hicie many times, I have often been
around when the parent bird returns with the
day's catch. First come, first served, is the
rule of the day and the poor fellow who is
slow or asleep will soon discover his brother
or sister will eventually overtake him in size
and aggressiveness. When this happens the
weak are forgotten and they become unfit for
survival. A cruel system in some eyes, but
the only one that works in the natural world.
Sometimes the fish brought back is too long
to handle and hangs out the mouth of the
young bird like a fish - tailed tongue. As the
digestive juices work and the gulping chick
works at swallowing the fish, it slowly
disappears.
All terns nest in colonies and aggressively
protect their area. One can never enter a
Paul Stoutenburgh is a retired educator and
a former naturalist for the National Park
Service. He writes a column called "Focus
on Nature" for eastern Long Island
Newspapers.
TERNS OF
FIRE ISLAND
The common tern, the most often -seen tern In our local waters.
colony unnoticed for as soon as the alarm is
given the whole area comes alive with birds
in the air and the attack is on. Hovering
above they fold their wings and dive -bomb
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the intruder until he leaves. Often I've seen
them attack so vigorously that they ha,✓e
drawn blood. Usually we never bother the
birds in their nesting site unless $;are is a
286 -0777
reason for it. One reason would be to band
the young with a small numbered light-
weight aluminum band that carries a return
address. These returns give valuable in-
formation as to where the birds migrate, how
old they are, causes of death and a host of
other factors vital to the study of our
wildlife.
Some tern colonies number in the thousands
of birds. It is only by being careful when
walking through them that we do not step on
the nest where camouflaged eggs have been
laid in a tiny depression in the sand.
Material from dredging has often made ideal
nesting sites, and it is just recently that the
Army Corps of Engineers has been per-
suaded to take into consideration this fact
and alter their plans so that dredged soil is
placed in ideal locations for nesting. This
was recently done in the eastern part of Great
South Bay on John Boyle Island which, of
course, is off limits because of its nesting
status.
The two terns we see here along the bay and
ocean are the small least tern and the larger
common tern. Both have long narrow gray
wings, white under bodies and a black cap.
Both have a relatively rapid wing beat when
compared to the gull. Often you'll find these
terns resting on pilings, buoys or stakes as
they recuperate from a long forage trip out to
sea. Seldom, if ever, will you see the terns
resting on the water r- you do gulls. They're
usually in flight when you see them.
Whenever we have great storms along r ur
coast, there is a good possibility of seaming
some of our big southern terns along the
beach. These would be the casplan and
royal terns, which are almost thy; size of a
small gull but have bright reel bills. They
will be seen resting on our beaches and can
easily be picked out among the gulls for they
like their smaller cousins the common and
least terns are slr ^'a and trim in comparison.
So shoulc? you be a boater, a homeowner, a
renter a daytripper, start to recognize these
inte.;esting sea birds that are associated with
.'' a barrier beach. Once learned, these
marauders of the sea, will be a constant
source of pleasure, for their flight and grace
is always a source of delight to the eye.
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