Where do least terns go in the winter?
Migration. Leaves North America and northern Mexico entirely in winter, moving to tropical waters as far south as Brazil.
Where does least tern nest?
Least Terns nest in colonies on sandy, shelly beaches or islands on coastlines and rivers. They sometimes also nest in gravel pits, on dredge spoil, on flat gravel rooftops, or on dry mudflats.
Where can you find least tern?
The interior least tern is a migratory bird species, nesting along freshwater habitats of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and their major tributaries and overwintering in the Caribbean and South America. Least terns primarily feed on small fish.
What eats the least tern?
Habitat loss is a pressing threat to the species. In addition, encroaching development near beaches and estuaries increases access of predators like dogs, cats, crows, skunks, foxes and raccoons to tern nests. Larger birds of prey such as burrowing owls, peregrine falcons and American kestrels may feed on terns.
Why is it called least tern?
The California least tern is the smallest (10 cm long) of the North American terns, hence the name “least” tern.
Why are California least tern endangered?
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1916 ended the threat, but the least tern plummeted again some decades later due to growing development and recreational pressures which destroyed habitat, disturbed birds, and increased predation by introduced and native species.
Why is the Least Tern endangered?
Before the species was protected as endangered in 1985, the number of interior least terns had plummeted below 2,000 birds due to changes to river systems from dams, dikes, reservoirs and water diversions, which eliminated most of their historic nesting habitat.
Where do least terns lay eggs?
The shorebirds nest in very shallow depressions on broad expanses of bare sand, which camouflage the eggs. They lay from mid-April in south Florida to the first of May in the north, and the eggs hatch after 21 days.