Implementing Conservation Blueprints for Black and Common Terns and Yellow Rails
Photo: Scott Dere/Audubon Photography Awards
Effective conservation requires knowledge about the status and trends of species of conservation need. Fortunately, collaborative long-term monitoring efforts like Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count and the Breeding Bird Survey program exist that provide detailed information about most North American birds. Unfortunately, not all species are effectively monitored by these programs and some survey routes are not consistently surveyed. Secretive marsh birds and some colonial nesting water birds are among those that require additional efforts to effectively determine if their populations are stable, growing, or in decline and in need of urgent conservation action.
Audubon aimed to establish benchmark survey sites to guide future conservation activities within Important Bird Areas for three species of conservation concern: Black Tern, Common Tern and Yellow Rail. We established these important benchmark survey locations for these species while also working closely to build collaboration and have open discussion with many different partners including:
The findings and partner relationships built will help guide collaborative conservation efforts going forward for these three bird species.
A total of 20 survey locations were identified within nine Important Bird Areas across the state. A total of 299 adult Black Terns were observed during the course of these surveys. Of the 20 survey locations visited, we recommend 15 survey points in 9 IBAs become part of the long-term monitoring plan for Black Terns in Minnesota.
Yellow Rail were surveyed on 20 survey routes in 10 Minnesota Important Bird Areas (IBAs). We counted 78 birds during the species-specific surveys including at least 17 individuals at Big Bog IBA and more 50 at the Kittson-Roseau Aspen Parklands IBAs.
Prior to this project, there were four known active Common Tern breeding colonies in Minnesota on Lake Mille Lacs, Lake of the Woods, Leech Lake and in the Duluth Superior Harbor. We surveyed several lakes that had historic breeding colonies but had not been surveyed for years or decades. A small breeding colony that included over 60 individuals was rediscovered on Pelican Lake in Crow Wing County!
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
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