WHY ARE WE INTERESTED IN INTERIOR LEAST TERNS AND PIPING PLOVERS?
Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover populations have declined due to:
- broad-scale alteration of natural river systems
- loss of midstream river nesting habitat
- loss of overwintering habitat
- hunting for the restaurant and millinery trades in the late 1800s and early 1900s
Amount of midstream river sandbar nesting habitat has been reduced by
- invasive plant species
- construction of dams and reservoirs
- river channelization
- bank stabilization
- island armoring
- hydropower generation
- water diversion
Threats to overwintering habitat for both species include
- sea level rise
- global climate change
- residential, industrial, and commercial development
Day-old plover chick running across the sand at Lake McConaughy, NE
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Interior Least Tern in flight
Piping Plover flying across the sandbars of a river bed.
Interior Least Tern
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Adult male plover with chick near water.
Interior Least Tern chick looking for a little shade
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Two 1-day old plover chicks with unhatched egg.
Adult Interior Least Tern and chick
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Day-old plover chick at Lake McConaughy, NE
Interior Least Tern adult and chick.
Weighing Interior Least Tern chick
Interior Least Tern nest with one chick and egg.
Piping Plover feigning a broken wing to draw prey from the plover's nest.
News
Availble Now:
- "Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership 2012 Annual Report"
- "Review of Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover Management, Conservation, and Recovery on the Lower Platte River, Nebraska"
Upcoming Events:
- May – August is the Tern and Plover Field Season
TernCam
TernCam is down for the season because the birds are off to their wintering grounds, but TernCam will be back when the birds are back. Click here to view photo gallery.