aleutian and arctic tern colony monitoring, kodiak ......arctic terns have been extensively studied...

Refuge Report 2020.1

Aleutian and Arctic Tern Colony Monitoring, Kodiak

Archipelago, 2019

Jill E. Tengeres and Robin M. Corcoran

Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

April, 2020

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Mo

rgan B

arn

es,

US

FW

S

ii

The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands

and waters for the conservation, management and where appropriate, restoration of the fish,

wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present

and future generations of Americans.

Suggested Citation:

Tengeres, J.E. and R.M. Corcoran. 2020. Aleutian and Arctic Tern colony monitoring, Kodiak

Archipelago, 2019. Refuge report 2020.1, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Kodiak, AK.

Keywords:

Alaska, Aleutian Tern, Arctic Tern, Gulf of Alaska, Kodiak Archipelago, Onychoprion aleuticus,

seabird colony, Sterna paradisaea.

Disclaimers: The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and

do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The use

of trade names of commercial products in this report does not constitute endorsement

or recommendation for use by the federal government.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Goals for Monitoring Aleutian and Arctic Terns in the Kodiak Archipelago ........................................................................ 3

Study Area ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Field Studies .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Tern Colony Surveys ................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Count Results ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Game Cameras Used to Monitor Tern Nests ..................................................................................................................................... 9

Colony Monitoring with Game Cameras........................................................................................................................................... 12

Vegetation Sampling ................................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Acoustic Recording to Monitor Colony Occupancy ...................................................................................................................... 13

Using Social Attraction to Entice Terns to Nest in a Less Disturbed Location ................................................................... 14

Comparison of Direct Counts of Terns to Ground-based Photo Counts ................................................................................ 15

Notable Details of Tern Colony Visits ................................................................................................................................. 17

Road System Colonies (Figure 12) ...................................................................................................................................................... 17

East Kodiak Region Remote Colonies (Figure 21) ........................................................................................................................ 26

Afognak/Shuyak Island Colonies (Figure 26) .................................................................................................................................. 31

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................................................................ 32

Appendix A. .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1

Appendix B.................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Appendix C. .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1

iv

LIST OF TABLES Page

Table 1. The coefficient of variation on counts of Aleutian and Arctic terns. .............................................. 8

Table 2. The fate of Aleutian tern nests across the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska, in 2019. ........................ 10

Table 3. The fate of Aleutian tern chicks at monitored nests. .................................................................... 10

Table 4. Summary of the number of habitat plots. ...................................................................................... 13

Table 5. The locations and number of recording days for Song Meter 4 units. .......................................... 14

LIST OF FIGURES Page

Figure 1. An Aleutian tern in flight, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2019 ............................................................... 3

Figure 2. Locations of Aleutian terns from May-August, 2019 in the Kodiak Archipelago, AK.. ............... 6

Figure 3. Locations of Arctic terns from May-August, 2019 in the Kodiak Archipelago, AK.. .................. 7

Figure 4. Variation in high counts of Aleutian and Arctic terns. .................................................................. 8

Figure 5. The A chick from nest K67 observed as a fledgling on 23 July, Kalsin Bay. ............................. 11

Figure 6. Nest camera image of an Aleutian tern delivering a Pacific sand lance. ..................................... 11

Figure 7. Colony-view camera image of a Kodiak brown bear on Three Spruce Island. ........................... 12

Figure 8. Pictures of the 2-m2 vegetation sampling plots ........................................................................... 13

Figure 9. Example of Song Meter 4 units used to monitor tern colonies in 2019 ....................................... 14

Figure 10. Equipment for broadcasting Aleutian tern calls on Mary Island ............................................... 15

Figure 11. Estimated regression relationship between ground-based photo and direct counts. .................. 16

Figure 12. Nesting status of tern colonies along the road system of Kodiak Island, Alaska. ..................... 17

Figure 13. Map of the tern nesting habitat at the head of Middle Bay........................................................ 18

Figure 14. Nest camera image of a PTT tagged adult Aleutian tern. .......................................................... 19

Figure 15. Map of the tern nesting habitat at the head of Kalsin Bay. ........................................................ 21

Figure 16. Banded Aleutian tern chick at Kalsin Bay, Kodiak Island, 2019. ............................................. 22

Figure 17. Arctic tern fledgling at Kalsin Bay, Kodiak Island, 2019. ....................................................... 22

Figure 18. Map of Aleutian tern, Arctic tern, and mew gull nests monitored at Womens Bay. ................. 23

Figure 19. Nest camera image of an Aleutian tern at Womens Bay. .......................................................... 24

Figure 20. Map of Aleutian tern nests monitored at Burton Ranch, Kodiak Island. ................................... 25

Figure 21. Map of tern colony locations surveyed in 2019 on East Kodiak Island. ................................... 26

Figure 22. Nest camera images of Sitka black-tailed deer stepping on an Aleutian tern egg. .................... 27

Figure 23. Colony-view camera image of an Aleutian tern at the West Kaiugnak Bay Point colony. ....... 28

Figure 24. Black-billed magpie depredating an Arctic tern nest at the Kaiugnak Bay colony ................... 29

Figure 25. Nest camera images of 20-day old Aleutian tern chick at North Anchor Cove. ....................... 30

Figure 26. Map of tern colony nest locations on Three Spruce Island, north Shuyak Island. .................... 31

Figure 27. Aleutian and Arctic tern nests at Three Spruce Island............................................................... 32


U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

1

Aleutian and Arctic Tern Colony Monitoring, Kodiak

Archipelago, 2019

Jill E. Tengeres1 and Robin M. Corcoran2

Abstract

Aleutian terns (Onychoprion aleuticus) are colonial nesting seabirds that breed in

coastal Alaska and the Russian Far East, often in association with Arctic terns (Sterna

paradisaea) and mew gulls (Larus canus). Recent trend analysis of numbers of Aleutian

terns at documented colonies in Alaska indicates that this poorly known seabird has

declined 80% over the past three decades. The much more abundant and widely

distributed Arctic tern also appears to have declined an estimated 90% regionally in

coastal locations in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). During the 2019 breeding season we

collected count data for terns at 21 of the 54 known colony sites in the Kodiak

Archipelago and searched for new colonies. Aleutian terns were confirmed nesting at

eight colonies, and Arctic terns nested at ten colonies. Aleutian terns varied in the

maximum number of individuals from 1-75 per colony. Arctic terns varied in the

maximum number of individuals from 1-80 per colony. Trail cameras were placed at 53

nest sites of Aleutian tern and four nest sites of Arctic tern to determine nest survival

rates, causes of nest failure, and identify prey species provided to chicks. Eighteen

camera nests survived to the hatching stage (18 Aleutian and 0 Arctic tern). We

documented 588 chick provisioning events from hatched nests at four colonies. Overall,

we documented 46 Aleutian tern fledglings at three individual colonies, and 39 Arctic

tern fledglings at six individual colonies, which was the highest breeding success of

both species observed in the Kodiak Archipelago in many years. In addition to

monitoring nest status, we collected vegetation data at 75 Aleutian tern nest sites, along

with a paired habitat point for each nest, continuing the project that began in 2017.

Analyses of these data are ongoing. As part of an Alaska-wide project to standardize

tern monitoring methods, acoustic data were collected at eight colonies for a total of

864 recording days. Comparison of drone colony surveys paired with ground-based

direct and photography counts were conducted in partnership with various organizations

at four colonies in Kodiak. The analysis for this study will be completed by

collaborators. In addition, this season we initiated two efforts for increasing tern

productivity: 1) using social cues (decoys and audio playback of calls) to attract terns to

nest on Mary Island, and 2) installing a rope fence around the tern colony on the Kalsin

Spit to reduce human disturbance. Both efforts were successful, Aleutian and Arctic

terns nested on Mary Island for the first time in decades, and both species experienced

much higher than average nest and fledgling success at the head of Kalsin Bay.

1Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331; [email protected] 2Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, 1390 Buskin River Road, Kodiak, AK 99615; [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



2

Introduction

Recent trend analysis of Aleutian terns (Onychoprion aleuticus) at documented colonies in

Alaska indicates that the population has declined over 80% during the past three decades (Renner

et al. 2015). Systematic research and monitoring are challenging because the species is widely

distributed in remote regions of coastal Alaska, breeds in a variety of habitats, and exhibits

frequent shifts in colony location and occupancy from year to year. The Arctic tern (Sterna

paradisaea) is circumpolar in distribution and in Alaska there may be several hundred thousand

individuals in the breeding population, most nesting inland. However, coastal colony counts and

at-sea surveys in Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island indicate that Arctic terns have

declined by more than 90% regionally in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) in recent decades (Denlinger

2006). Prompted by concerns about population declines, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

(NWR) targeted terns for monitoring. Every effort was made to count terns at known colonies

and locate new colonies during at-sea nearshore marine bird surveys conducted annually since

2011. We also surveyed nesting tern colonies along the Kodiak Island road system.

Conservation actions directed to benefit Aleutian terns are limited in part because we lack data

on basic breeding biology, ecological requirements, and causes of possible declines. However,

Aleutian terns have been described as highly sensitive to disturbance at nest sites and have been

documented to seasonally and permanently abandon colonies in response to human disturbance

(Litvinenko and Shibaev 1991, Gabrielson and Lincoln 1959). Complete colony abandonment

has been observed following a single visit by humans (Haney et al. 1991). The intensive colony

management successful with several tern species on the North Atlantic coast (Kress and Hall

2004) will be a challenge to adapt and implement with a species so highly sensitive to human

disturbance. Due to this documented sensitively and the widely distributed location of nesting

colonies in the Kodiak Archipelago, we continued efforts initiated in 2015-2018 using digital

game cameras to monitor terns at nesting colonies (Tengeres and Corcoran 2019) during the

2019 breeding season.

Arctic terns were a major focus of monitoring efforts because comparing the two species nesting

ecology could help identify potential reasons for declines in both species in coastal Alaska.

Arctic terns have been extensively studied in other regions (Hatch 2002) and numerous colony

sites along the Atlantic coast of U.S. and Canada are actively managed (Kress and Hall 2004,

Lamb 2015). Methods for collecting data at Arctic tern colonies are well established, and certain

aspects of their breeding biology make them an ideal comparison species for Aleutian terns. For

instance, Arctic terns are believed to be less sensitive to disturbance, tend to nest in less

vegetated habitat within the same colonies, and chicks often gather in large visible groups at the

edge of colonies. In contrast, Aleutian terns are reportedly easily disturbed, nest at lower

densities in thick vegetation, and have chicks that often remain concealed in dense vegetation

throughout the pre-fledge period.



3

Goals for Monitoring Aleutian and Arctic Terns in the Kodiak Archipelago

Our primary goals for the 2019 breeding season were to:

1) Conduct multiple counts at known tern colony locations and search for new nesting sites

to: (a) identify the degree of intra-annual variability in colony occupancy and size to

inform future state-wide survey efforts, and (b) document evidence of successful nesting.

2) Use digital game cameras placed on Aleutian and Arctic tern nests to determine nest

survival through hatch, nest attendance and vigilance rate, and identify causes of nest

failure.

3) Quantify differences in habitat characteristics at Aleutian and Arctic tern nest sites within

mixed and single species colonies.

4) Band Arctic and Aleutian tern chicks to estimate survival.

5) Test the effectiveness of using acoustic recorders to monitor Aleutian tern colony

occupancy throughout the breeding season and identify the timing and causes of colony

abandonment. This project was part of a state-wide coordinated effort to standardize

methodologies.

6) Compare direct counts of terns to ground-based photo counts as a potential method for

quantifying the number of birds at colonies.

7) Assist in a cooperative study attempting to count terns on the ground in low altitude

photography using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Terns colonies in Kodiak were one

of three sites selected for study, data will be analyzed and reported by cooperators.

8) Pilot test the efficacy of social cues (decoys and audio playback of calls) to attract terns

to nest on Mary Island, and away from neighboring areas on the mainland with high

levels of human disturbance.

Figure 1. An Aleutian tern in flight, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2019. (Robin Corcoran/USFWS)



4

Study Area

The Kodiak Archipelago is located in the Gulf of Alaska, 50 km east of the Alaska Peninsula and

140 km southwest of the Kenai Peninsula. Data recorded at the Kodiak State Airport (National

Weather Service) in northeastern Kodiak Island indicated a long-term (1980-2019) mean annual

temperature of 3.0° C. Total annual precipitation varies from 250 cm along the eastern coast of

the archipelago to 60 cm over the western areas adjacent to Shelikof Strait. Mountains traverse

more than half the length of Kodiak Island and dominant vegetation types range from Sitka

spruce (Picea sitchensis) forest on the northern end of the archipelago to treeless tundra on the

southern end. The area is characterized by approximately 4,500 km of rocky irregular coastlines

with numerous glacially scoured straits, inlets, bays, and fjords with branching arms. Sea bluffs

are generally steep and rocky and numerous offshore rocks and islets occur along the coast.

Seabird colony records from the 1970s-2018 identify at least 54 sites with a history of tern

nesting activity in the Archipelago. Marine bird surveys in 2019 were conducted along the

coastline of east Kodiak Island, which enabled multiple visits to tern colonies in this region over

the course of the summer. A remote colony on north Shuyak Island was accessed via refuge

floatplane twice, once at the beginning of the nesting season to place nest cameras and once at

the end of the season to retrieve cameras. Colonies on the road system were visited weekly and

were the focus of our study.

Field Studies

Tern Colony Surveys Methods Aleutian and Arctic tern colonies in remote locations around Kodiak Island were visited in

conjunction with the NWR’s nearshore marine bird surveys conducted in summer 2019. Most

observations were made from a 19-foot skiff traveling at slow speeds (approximately 4 knots)

making frequent stops where birds were highly concentrated. Observations were made with

image stabilizing 10x42 binoculars. We attempted to visit each colony with a history of tern

nesting in the survey region plus all other observed tern colonies. Observations were recorded on

a rugged laptop with a GPS using software developed for bird surveys (dLOG3, Ford 2009).

All documented tern colonies in the Kodiak Archipelago comprised less than 150 pairs in recent

years. In general, flush counts were considered well suited to small tern colonies less than 200

pairs (Bibby et al. 2000). During at-sea surveys conducted from skiffs, colonies were not

regularly visited on foot, but all birds roosting or nesting on land and birds in flight were counted

from the skiff. For tern colonies along the Kodiak road system, we used a multiple count

approach where birds were counted at regular 30-minute intervals during a colony visit and

opportunistically when flushed. We remained on the periphery of the colonies for counts in May

to reduce disturbance and did not enter colonies later in the season unless searching for nests or

checking on nest cameras. At the beginning of the nesting season terns would often make dread

flights, a behavior where the entire flock flies rapidly away from the nesting habitat low over the

water before doubling back to settle on the beach. In response to dread flights and when terns

were flushed by a disturbance, observers counted birds to estimate colony size. All counts were

recorded but the single high count for the day is reported in Appendix A.



5

We used tern behavioral cues to confirm nesting to minimize disturbance to colonies. Arctic

terns were highly territorial during the breeding season and had several conspicuous displays

associated with nesting, including aerial and ground courtship displays, mate-guarding, and mate

feeding (Hatch 2002). We noted prospecting behaviors such as scraping to create a depression

for a nest typically initiated during courtship. When brooding is fully developed Arctic terns

incubate almost all the time, and after hatch parents are very attentive for the first four days,

brooding nearly 100% of the time. Adults that chased away intruders often guard older chicks,

and this guarding often persisted until young fledge (Hatch 2002). While not as well described in

the literature, Aleutian terns have similar courtship and nesting behaviors to other tern species

(North 2013). Behaviors associated with nesting by both Aleutian and Arctic terns were recorded

during counts conducted at remote sites by skiff, during visits to road system colonies on foot

when we observed birds from the periphery of the colony, and when we entered colonies to

search for nests to monitor with game cameras.

Our primary method of locating tern nests was to watch birds return to their nest sites. Both

Aleutian and Arctic terns would return to incubate eggs while observers were within 30-50 m of

the nest. In general, Arctic tern nests were at higher density and in less vegetated areas in the

colonies compared to Aleutian terns and were easily found by careful searching without having

to rely on bird behavior. When a nest was located it was photographed, a GPS location was

recorded, and a small tongue depressor marked with species, date, and nest number was inserted

into the ground about 10-15 cm from the nest so that only about 2.5 cm was above ground level.

The primary goal of nest searching was to locate nests for camera placement.

Results

Seabird colony records identified at least 54 locations with a history of tern nesting activity in the

Kodiak Archipelago. In 2019, we surveyed 21 of these locations and Aleutian terns were

confirmed nesting at eight colonies (two colonies were monospecific), and Arctic terns nested at

10 colonies (four monospecific colonies) (Figures 2 & 3). Whereas remote tern colonies were

visited from 1-4 times across the season, tern colonies along the Kodiak road system were

counted on a near-weekly basis. Counts at colonies varied in the maximum number of individual

Aleutian terns from 1 to 75, while Arctic tern counts ranged from 1 to 80 individuals (Appendix

A). In 2017, the high count of Aleutian terns at a colony was 212 individuals, notably higher than

any recent colony counts. However, the total number of Aleutian tern nests located in 2019 was

116, a six-fold increase over 2017 (n = 19 nests).



6

Figure 2. Locations of Aleutian terns from May-August, 2019 from colony surveys in the Kodiak Archipelago,

Alaska. All known breeding colonies are illustrated, and information is provided on results of 2019 surveys

including colonies: (1) where breeding was confirmed, (2) no terns were present, and (3) we did not visit/count.



7

Figure 3. Locations of colony surveys conducted for Arctic terns from May-August, 2019 in the Kodiak

Archipelago, Alaska. All known breeding colonies are illustrated, and information is provided on results of 2019

surveys including colonies: (1) where breeding was confirmed, (2) no terns were present, (3) we did not visit/count.



8

Count Results

Intra and interannual variability in the number of adult terns at colonies on Kodiak continued to

be high. The coefficient of variation at the two colony sites with the most counts from 2016-2019

ranged from 0.19 – 2.66 for Aleutian terns, and 0.37 – 1.76 for Arctic terns during the peak of

the nesting season (see Table 1 and Figure 4).

Table 1. The coefficient of variation (CV) on counts of Aleutian and Arctic terns at colonies at the head of Middle

and Kalsin Bays, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2016-2019 (n = the number of counts conducted from June 1 – August 1).

Aleutian Tern Arctic Tern

Site 2016 2017 2018 2019 2016 2017 2018 2019

Kalsin Bay 1.31

(n=15)

2.66

(n=12)

0.95

(n=11)

0.19

(n=11)

0.44

(n=5)

1.41

(n=11)

0.46

(n=11)

0.37

(n=11)

Middle Bay 0.41

(n=7)

0.33

(n=9)

0.75

(n=9)

0.33

(n=8)

1.37

(n=4)

1.76

(n=10)

1.23

(n=9)

1.73

(n=8)

Figure 4. Variation in high counts of Aleutian (ALTE) and Arctic (ARTE) terns at nesting colonies at the head of

Kalsin (top) and Middle Bays (bottom), Kodiak Island, Alaska, by date from 2016-2019.



9

Game Cameras Used to Monitor Tern Nests Methods During the 2019 breeding season we continued monitoring tern nests with time-lapse digital

game cameras. We used Reconyx® Hyperfire™ PC900 cameras and Reconyx® XP9 Ultrafire™

Professional Covert Camera Trap cameras that were painted green for better concealment. Nest

cameras were placed approximately 0.5-1.0 meter from each nest and five inches above the

ground, depending upon topography and vegetation height around nest. Cameras were held in

place with mounts to attach them to rebar stakes hammered into the ground. Cameras were

programmed to record time-lapse images at two-minute intervals and to take three images at one

second intervals when motion was detected. Ultrafire cameras with video capability were

initially programmed to take a picture every minute, as well as a 20 second video clip when

motion was triggered. Unfortunately, this programming configuration drained the camera

batteries rapidly, and we reduced the video length to 10 seconds.

Results

We monitored a total of 53 Aleutian tern nests (Table 2) with game cameras at nine colonies and

four Arctic tern nests at three colonies. An additional 64 Aleutian tern and 33 Arctic tern nests

without cameras were monitored at colonies along the Kodiak road system. These nests were

checked at least once every week.

Eighteen camera nests, all Aleutian tern, survived to hatching. Chicks usually did not stay at the

nest site until fledging, so it was challenging to assess how many of these camera nest chicks

survived to fledging (Table 3). One Aleutian tern chick from a camera nest was resighted as a

fledgling (Figure 5). Depredation by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was documented at five Aleutian

tern nests and one Arctic tern nest. Black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) depredated two Aleutian

tern nests. Additionally, one camera nest documented a black-billed magpie consuming chicks at

an Aleutian tern nest. Two nests failed due to trampling by Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus

hemionus sitkensis) and bison (Bison bison), respectively. A domestic yak (Bos grunniens) was

caught on camera consuming eggs of an Aleutian tern nest. At another nest, an adult tern was

observed removing a broken egg, and after this did not return to the nest. Nests of 15 Aleutian

tern and one Arctic tern were abandoned. Time of abandonment ranged from undetermined time

before the camera was installed to 15 days after the camera was installed. However, 69% of

abandoned nests were deserted on the day the camera was installed. Six additional Aleutian tern

camera nests failed for undetermined reasons. Three Aleutian tern nests and one Arctic tern nest

had an unknown fate due to camera failure and limited in-person visits to nests.

At 16 hatched Aleutian tern nests with cameras, we documented a total of 588 individual chick

provisioning events while chicks were situated near their nests (Figure 6). Image review is on-

going and prey species identification will be reported in a comprehensive multi-year report.



10

Table 2. The fate of Aleutian tern nests across the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska, in 2019.

No C

am

era

Womens

Bay

Middle

Bay

Kalsin

Bay

Burton

Ranch

Mary

Island

Remote

Colonies TOTAL

Hatch 0 2 18 1 0 0 21

Fail 8 13 11 8 1 0 41

abandon - - 2 3 1 - 6

fox 4 1 - - - - 5

unknown 4 12 9 5 - - 30

Unknown 0 0 2 0 0 1 3

Percent of Nests Hatched: 47.7%

Cam

era

Hatch 0 1 12 1 1 2 17

Fail 5 9 4 11 1 3 33

abandon 1 4 2 6 1 1 15

BBMA - - - 2 - - 2

trampling - - - 1 - 1 2

livestock - - - 1 - - 1

fox 2 1 1 - - - 4

egg broke - 1 - - - - 1

unknown 2 - 1 1 - 1 5

Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 3 3

Percent of Nests Hatched: 47.2%

Table 3. The fate of Aleutian tern chicks at monitored nests (both camera and no camera) in the Kodiak

Archipelago, Alaska, in 2019.

Middle

Bay

Kalsin

Bay

Burton

Ranch

Mary

Island

Remote

Colonies TOTAL

Unknown 3 35 2 1 2 43

Fledged 0 3 0 0 0 3

Deceased 0 7 1 0 0 8

trampled - 2 1 - - 3

BBMA - 3 - - - 3

exposure/starvation - 1 - - - 1

unknown - 1 - - - 1



11

Figure 5. The A chick from nest K67 was observed as a fledgling on 23 July, Kalsin Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska.

(Morgan Barnes/USFWS) The inset shows this chick on 1 July in a photo taken by a nest camera.

Figure 6. Nest camera image of an Aleutian tern delivering a Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) to its chick

at Burton Ranch, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2019.



12

Colony Monitoring with Game Cameras

Methods

PlotWatcher Pro™, Cuddeback Silver™, and Cuddeback Dual Flash™ game cameras were

placed at tern colonies to assist with monitoring at remote sites. Cuddeback cameras were

programmed to take a picture every three minutes and when motion was sensed. PlotWatcher

cameras were programmed to take a picture every three minutes as well but did not have motion

trigger capacity. We deployed colony view cameras at Three Spruce Island, Anchor Cove, Sheep

Island, Mary Island, Akhiok Bay, and West Kaiugnak Bay Island. Cameras were installed above

the vegetation height and oriented in the direction of potential tern nesting habitat.

Results

Image review is ongoing, but initial scans provided some information about predator visitation

and tern activity. For example, so far Sitka black-tailed deer have been documented at the

Akhiok, Kaiugnak, and Three Spruce Island colonies, and Kodiak brown bears (Ursus arctos

middendorffi) have been documented visiting Three Spruce Island and Kaiugnak. One of these

deer was responsible for the failure of a camera nest at the West Kaiugnak Bay Island colony,

where it stepped directly on the Aleutian tern egg. Successful nesting of Aleutian terns was not

confirmed in the field at Kaiugnak, but images of adult terns carrying fish were seen as late as 31

July, which suggests this colony reached the hatching stage (Figure 7).

We experienced technical issues with multiple Cuddeback cameras in 2019, including failure

soon after deployment and difficulties downloading pictures from SD cards. Even with these

setbacks, colony view cameras provided valuable insight into the occupancy of terns at colonies

and information about predator visitation rates throughout the tern breeding season.

Figure 7. Colony-view camera image of a Kodiak brown bear on Three Spruce Island, Alaska, on 25 May 2019.



13

Vegetation Sampling

Methods

We collected vegetation data at active nests of Aleutian and Arctic terns, as well as at paired

randomly selected points five meters from the center of each nest (Figure 8). At each nest habitat

and paired habitat point we measured the vegetation height (center, four corners, maximum),

vegetation percent cover by type, vegetation total cover, distance from vegetation to nest

bowl/center of plot, distance to nearest neighboring nest, nest substrate, and distance to nearest

shrub/tree (Grande and Paton 2016, Ramos and del Nevo 1995). We did not sample when

vegetation was wet or wind speed exceeded > 15 kmph because these factors could influence

habitat measurements and nest survival.

Results

In 2019, we collected vegetation data at 75 Aleutian tern nests, one Arctic tern nest, and three

mew gull nests. In association with the nest-site habitat plots, 79 paired habitat plots were

measured. Data from 2019 will be analyzed after the conclusion of data collection in 2020 (Table

4).

Figure 8. Pictures of the 2-m2 vegetation sampling plots centered over an Aleutian tern nest (left) and the paired

point randomly selected 5 m from the nest (right), Kalsin Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2019. (Jill Tengeres/USFWS)

Table 4. Summary of the number of habitat plots measured at Aleutian tern (ALTE), Arctic tern (ARTE), mew gull

(MEGU) nests and habitat points from 2017-2019, Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska.

Year ALTE ARTE MEGU Habitat

2017 18 7 7 112

2018 61 11 6 74

2019 75 1 3 79

Total 154 19 16 265

Acoustic Recording to Monitor Colony Occupancy

In 2019, we continued testing the feasibility of passive acoustic recorders to monitor colony

occupancy and behavior at remote sites. We deployed Song Meter 4™ units (Figure 9) at a total



14

of 8 colonies, with recording deployments lasting from 95‒115 days (Table 5). A total of 864

days were acoustically sampled across colonies. Units were programmed to record one minute

and then pause for 5 minutes, continuing the pattern through all hours of the day. The same

sampling technique was used at Aleutian tern colonies across Alaska in a collaborative effort to

develop standardized monitoring methods. Analysis for this project is ongoing.

Figure 9. Example of Song Meter 4 units used to monitor tern colonies in 2019, Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska. (Lisa

Hupp/USFWS, Jill Tengeres/USFWS)

Table 5. The locations and number of recording days for Song Meter 4 units (SM4) deployed across the Kodiak

Archipelago, Alaska, in 2019.

Location # SM4 recording days

Akhiok Bay 104

Kalsin Bay 112

Mary Island 110

Middle Bay 115

Pasagshak 110

Sheep Island 106

Three Spruce Island 95

Womens Bay 112

Total 864

Using Social Attraction to Entice Terns to Nest in a Less Disturbed Location The use of visual and auditory cues to attract seabirds to nest in newly restored habitats is

becoming more common. This approach has been successfully applied with several species of

colonial nesting terns (Friesen et al. 2017). In 2019 we experimented with social attractants

(Aleutian and Arctic tern decoys and sound recordings of nonaggressive Aleutian tern

vocalizations) to attract terns to nest on Mary Island at the head of Womens Bay (Figure 10).

Review of data from the OCSEAP indicated that between 40-60 Aleutian terns and 90-260

Arctic terns nested on the island each season from 1975-1978. The last record of either tern



15

species nesting on Mary Island was 1978 (Corcoran 2013). Aleutian terns were documented in

2018 nesting at the head of Womens Bay, which is located 2 km west of Mary Island. This

nesting location is also a popular recreational site, with hiking trails bisecting the colony and

sport fishing on two adjacent river systems. As a result of high predation rates and nest flooding

the colony experienced complete failure in 2018. Due to the level of disturbance and poor

nesting performance in 2018 we chose Mary Island as a good candidate to experiment with the

use of social attractants to encourage terns to nest.

We installed approximately 70 decoys and two sound systems at the eastern end of Mary Island,

hereafter referenced as the “decoy area” on 4 May (Figure 10), before terns had returned to the

Kodiak Archipelago for the breeding season. Decoys and the sound systems were placed in an

area of the island where terns had been documented nesting in the 1970s. Twelve Aleutian terns

were seen flying over the decoy area on Mary Island on 21 May. On 5 June, we found three

Aleutian tern nests, including two active nests. We believe one of these nests, which was located

on the western end of the island in another area of historical Aleutian tern nesting habitat,

survived until hatching. No fledglings were observed on the island, and we do not believe the

chick survived. Arctic terns briefly attempted to nest along the edge of the island in mid- to late-

June, but all these nests failed. Mew gull productivity was very low on Mary Island this season

as well. We found six mew gull nests in the decoy area on 21 May. A subsequent visit revealed

that all these nests failed. Throughout the season, we saw many eggshell fragments near empty

nest bowls, as well as abandoned nests still containing eggs. We suspect that mammalian

predators may have caused this early failure of mew gull nests. See Figure 18 under the results

for Womens Bay for a map of Mary Island with nest locations.

Figure 10. Solar panel and tote containing the battery and other equipment for broadcasting Aleutian tern calls

(left). The solar panel was connected to speakers placed in surrogate nesting habitat along with Aleutian tern decoys

(right) on Mary Island, Alaska, in 2019. (Jill Tengeres/USFWS)

Comparison of Direct Counts of Terns to Ground-based Photo Counts

Currently, research efforts are focused on understanding alternative sampling and population

estimators because of the absence of a consistent method for estimating Aleutian tern abundance

at local or regional scales. In 2019 we continued to test ground-based photo counts as a method

for estimating tern colony size. Ground-based photo-counts attempted to standardize and reduce

variability inherent in traditional visual ground-based direct counts by using multiple

photographs in quick succession in an attempt to “freeze” the action and capture flying



16

individuals (McDonald and Carlisle 2018). The general field protocol for photo-counts was

largely the same as the protocol for direct counts except for the presence of a photographer and

images. During natural flush events, the photographer attempted to cover the entire colony with a

single burst of photos lasting 3-5 seconds. The goal was to take multiple photos with overlap so

that all in-flight birds appear in the final photo mosaic. Ideally, the photographer captured the

entire colony in a single photo or 2-5 images. At mixed species tern colonies we were unable to

distinguish between Aleutian and Arctic terns; thus numbers are reported as tern species (spp.).

Terns observed in photographs were counted using Microsoft® Paint. Photo overlap was

determined manually in Paint, or after photos were digitally stitched together using Microsoft®

Composite Editor (ICE).

In 2019 we conducted 29 photo counts across five colonies and one tern roosting site (Appendix

C). For 16 of these 29 counts we acquired paired direct count data. The linear regression

relationship we fitted to these data indicated that the maximum direct count increased by an

average of 0.59 birds for every additional bird counted in photos (Adjusted R2 = 0.81, Figure

11). In eight of the 16 counts, the photo count was greater than the corresponding direct count

(all of these colonies were > 60 terns). In six of the 16 counts the photo count was less than the

direct count (all of these colonies were < 60 terns, with one exception). Our results indicate that,

in general, direct counts tend to underestimate the number of terns at larger colonies, while

slightly overestimating the number at smaller colonies compared to photo counts.

Figure 11. Estimated regression relationship between ground-based photo and direct counts for tern colonies

surveyed in the Kodiak Archipelago, May-August, 2019. Additional details in Appendix C.



17

Notable Details of Tern Colony Visits

Road System Colonies (Figure 12)

Figure 12. Nesting status of tern colonies accessible along the road system of Kodiak Island, Alaska, during the

breeding season in 2019. Colonies highlighted in the report are identified by name on the map.



18

Head of Middle Bay (34100):

Counts of terns at Middle Bay were conducted on 17 days from 4 May to 29 August, 2019. The

number of Aleutian terns counted at Middle Bay was similar to the number of birds observed in

2017-2018. However, this year the high count was only 31 terns, and was later in the season

occurring on 1 August 2019. In contrast, in 2017 the high count was 41 Aleutian terns on 7 June,

while in 2018 the high count was 55 individuals on 7 June. The mean count of Aleutian tern

adults from 21 May to 1 August was 17 individuals (n = 10 counts).

Over the course of the season we located 24 active and one recently depredated Aleutian tern

nests in the fields at the head of the bay, and two Arctic tern nests along the beach berm (Figure

13). Three Aleutian tern and no Arctic tern nests at Middle Bay hatched. We placed cameras at

11 Aleutian tern nests. Interestingly, the only camera nest to reach hatching was a 3-egg clutch

that belonged to a tern tagged with a PTT tag during late May. The chick was visible on camera

for six days before disappearing (Figure 14). The adults returned to the nest for an additional five

days before abandoning the other two eggs remaining in the nest. Fourteen chick feeding events

were documented at this nest. We do not believe that any of the chicks survived because no

fledglings were observed at Middle Bay this season. Five of the camera nests were abandoned

for unknown reasons. Two were depredated by red foxes, and two nests had undetermined causes

of failure due to camera malfunction. The egg in the last camera nest broke while being

incubated. Camera images show a broken egg being removed from the nest by an Aleutian tern.

Figure 13. Map of the tern nesting habitat at the head of Middle Bay showing the locations of Aleutian and Arctic

tern nests monitored from May to August, 2019, Kodiak Island, Alaska.



19

Figure 14. Nest camera image of a PTT tagged adult Aleutian tern (right) landing at nest with chick (center) and

untagged mate (left), Middle Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2019.

Head of Kalsin Bay (34101):

Counts of terns at Kalsin Bay were conducted on 25 days from 4 May to 26 August, 2019. The

average count of Aleutian tern adults from 23 May to 5 August, the time period when terns were

attending the colony, was 54 individuals (n = 15 counts). The 2019 high count was 75 adult

Aleutian terns on 19 June. The average count of Arctic terns was 39 individuals (n = 21) from 7

May to 12 August. The high count for Arctic terns was 76 individuals on 31 July.

A total of 47 Aleutian tern and 20 Arctic tern nests were located at the head of Kalsin Bay in

2019 (Figure 15). We placed nest cameras on 17 Aleutian tern nests and two Arctic tern nests. Of

the camera nests, 13 Aleutian tern nests hatched and no Arctic tern nests hatched. The Arctic tern

camera nests failed due to abandonment and fox predation. At the 13 Aleutian tern nests that

hatched, we documented 359 chick feeding events. Two Aleutian tern camera nests failed due to

abandonment, one nest failed due to potential fox predation, and the final nest was classified as

unknown cause of failure due to camera battery failure. The fate of the monitored nests without

cameras was more difficult to determine. However, we confirmed hatching at 17 of the 30 non-

camera Aleutian tern nests (Figure 16). We only confirmed hatching at one nest out of 18 non-

camera Arctic tern nests. This outcome may have been an artifact of mainly monitoring Arctic

tern nests in the high tide island subcolony and along the berm outside the main Arctic tern

nesting area, in an attempt to reduce our disturbance. Three out of the 30 hatched Aleutian tern

nests had chicks documented as fledged, as determined by observation of banded juveniles. We

suspect many more of these chicks fledged; however, not all chicks were banded and we were



20

not able to re-sight every banded fledgling. Overall, we estimate that 40 Arctic tern fledged and

45 Aleutian tern fledged at the Kalsin Bay colony (Figure 17).

Though we documented only 5% of tern camera nests failed due to predation during the

incubation stage, there were plenty of direct nest predators and other disturbance sources present

at Kalsin Bay in 2019. For example, we twice-observed black-billed magpies directly preying on

Aleutian tern chicks. One instance was caught on a nest camera, and the other was observed

while in the field. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) frequently visited the colony, but we

never observed predation on terns. We suspect that eagles were targeting nesting gulls and ducks

in the area instead, such as the mew gull chick depredated by an adult bald eagle on the beach on

8 July. Though we did not document short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) depredation on

camera, we did occasionally see a weasel in the images. In one instance, a chick disappeared the

same day a weasel appeared in camera images. In July, we located a weasel den under a log

within the tern colony near many tern nests. Near the entrance of the burrow, we found feathers

that appeared to belong to an Aleutian tern chick. We do not know how many chicks this

individual may have consumed, or the number of weasels at Kalsin Bay.

Trampling by cattle and horses, along with disturbance issues caused by human recreation,

remain problems at Kalsin Bay. We suspect that two Aleutian tern chicks that were found dead

in the nest were trampled by livestock. Often hoof prints and areas of grass flattened by livestock

bedding down were observed within the nesting habitat.

During the 2019 breeding season we initiated a new conservation action to improve tern nest

survival. On 23 May we recorded a high number of Aleutian terns on the spit at the head of

Kalsin Bay. Many of the terns were flying over the beach berm between the two access roads on

the spit and were landing in the nesting habitat and along the road. Because this is one of our

most disturbed nesting sites, with high levels of camping, ATV and 4-wheel drive vehicle use,

fishing, hiking, photography, and livestock grazing, we received permission from the land owner

(Leisnoi Native Corporation, Inc.) to install a fence around the perimeter of the nesting area. The

fence consisted of t-posts connected by rope with flagging around the edge of the colony on the

berm where both nesting and human activities are concentrated. We installed the fence with four

informational signs about nesting terns at each corner on 24 May, and it remained in place until

the end of the nesting season. The fence was well received by people recreating at the head of

Kalsin Bay, and we believe it contributed to the high tern nest and fledgling success at this

colony in 2019.



21

Figure 15. Map of the tern nesting habitat at the head of Kalsin Bay with the locations of Aleutian tern, Arctic tern,

and mew gull nests monitored from May to August, 2019, on Kodiak Island, Alaska.



22

Figure 16. Banded Aleutian tern chick at Kalsin Bay, Kodiak Island, 2019. (Jill Tengeres/USFWS)

Figure 17. Arctic tern fledgling at Kalsin Bay, Kodiak Island, 2019. (Jill Tengeres/USFWS)



23

Womens Bay (34106):

Counts of Aleutian terns at Womens Bay were conducted on 19 days from 4 May to 26 August,

2019. The high count for Aleutian terns was 33 individuals on 7 June and the average count from

27 May to 1 August was 11 individuals (n = 9 counts).

We found 13 Aleutian tern nests at the head of Womens Bay in 2019 (Figure 18), and placed

cameras on five of those nests (Figure 19). By 12 June, all nests had failed. Two camera nests

failed on the night of 8 June due to fox predation. One camera nest abandoned the day the

camera was placed, and the remaining two camera nests failed, but the cause is unknown due to

camera failure. We suspect that foxes were the main cause of nest failure at Womens Bay in

2019 because many nests had eggshell fragments around the nest bowls.

Figure 18. Map of Aleutian tern, Arctic tern, and mew gull nests monitored from May to August, 2019, at the head

of Womens Bay, including Mary Island, Kodiak Island, Alaska.



24

Figure 19. Nest camera image of an Aleutian tern in sedge meadow subcolony, Womens Bay, Kodiak Island,

Alaska, 2019.

Pasagshak River (N/A):

We did not document any nesting activity at Pasagshak by either species of tern in 2019, which

was the largest Aleutian tern colony in the Kodiak Archipelago in 2016-2017 (though a fledgling

has not been seen there since 2015). We observed Aleutian terns on two out of ten visits to the

colony, and Arctic terns on only one visit. Our high count for Aleutian terns was five individuals

flying over the area on 23 July.

Burton Ranch (N/A):

Counts of terns at Burton Ranch were conducted on 13 days from 8 May to 12 August, 2019.

The average count of Aleutian tern adults from 29 May to 7 August, the time period when terns

were attending the colony, was 23 individuals (n = 10 counts). The 2019 high count was 51

Aleutian terns on 10 June. We often observed 1-2 Arctic terns flying over the marsh or the

lagoon; however, no nesting attempts by Arctic terns were documented.

We found 20 Aleutian tern nests (at least one was already abandoned), and installed cameras

adjacent to 11 of these nests (Figure 20). We suspect that one of these nests, located in the

marsh, was already abandoned when the camera was installed. Only one of the camera nests

survived until hatching. At this nest, we documented 62 chick feeding events. Two camera nests

were depredated by black-billed magpies, five were abandoned, one was consumed by a yak, one

was trampled by a bison, and the last nest failed due to an unknown predator. One nest hatched

out of the nine nests monitored without cameras. The A chick at this nest was found dead on 10

July, and we suspect this chick was trampled by livestock earlier that day. Livestock remain an

issue at Burton Ranch. Grazing by large herds often takes place within the tern colony. It is

likely that some of the nests with unknown fates failed due to trampling, direct livestock



25

predation, or livestock disturbance of adult terns. We observed one Aleutian tern fledgling in

2019.

Figure 20. Map of Aleutian tern nests monitored from May to August, 2019, at Burton Ranch, Kodiak Island,

Alaska.



26

East Kodiak Region Remote Colonies (Figure 21)

Figure 21. Map of tern colony locations surveyed in 2019 on East Kodiak Island, Alaska. Colonies highlighted

below are indicated on the map.



27

West Kaiugnak Bay Point (10011):

We visited the West Kaiugnak Bay Point tern colony three times during summer 2019 by skiff.

During the first visit on 10 June we located three Aleutian tern and three Arctic tern nests. We

placed nest cameras at all three Aleutian tern nests, installed a colony-view camera, and collected

vegetation measurements. We noted evidence of recent Kodiak brown bear activity around the

nesting area at the east end of the island (e.g., scat and digging up of vole (Microtus oeconomus)

tunnels). We surveyed the colony again on 19 June to confirm that it was active but did not go on

the island to check nests. On 10 August we observed three Aleutian tern adults around the island,

but neither hatch year terns, nor evidence of successful nesting. Nest camera images captured a

Sitka black-tailed deer stepping on and crushing an Aleutian tern egg on 18 June (Figure 22).

Terns were actively incubating eggs at the two other camera nests when the batteries failed (or

memory cards filled) on 12 June and 19 June. We believe the cameras failed because they were

placed too close to the nests (due to dense vegetation), and motion triggering resulted in 40-

50,000 images in a short period of time (2-9 days).

Although we did not see evidence of successful nesting during the skiff survey in August,

preliminary review of the colony view camera images indicate that Aleutian terns were actively

nesting at the colony until 31 July (Figure 23). Images of terns carrying fish and landing in the

vegetation are common. A bear was seen in the colony on 28 July, but apparently nesting

continued after this bear visit. The camera was knocked down on 31 July, most likely by a bear.

On the morning of 11 August, we photographed and counted 115 adult and eight hatch year

Arctic terns in the intertidal zone on the spit at the head of Kaiugnak Bay. The terns did not nest

at this location but could have been associated with the two nearby colonies (Figure 21).

Figure 22. Nest camera images of Sitka black-tailed deer stepping on and crushing an Aleutian tern egg in a nest at

the West Kaiugnak Bay Point colony, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 18 June 2019.



28

Figure 23. Colony-view camera image of an Aleutian tern carrying a fish over nesting habitat at the West Kaiugnak

Bay Point colony, Kodiak Island, Alaska on 25 July 2019.

Akhiok Bay (32004):

We visited the Akhiok Bay tern colony four times during summer 2019. We installed two

colony-view cameras and one acoustic recorder on 5 May. Unfortunately, one colony-view

camera failed. Very little tern activity was observed from an initial scan of the other colony-view

camera data. We made three additional visits on 13 June, 12 August, and 15 August. Terns were

only seen on the 12 August visit, when two Aleutian terns and three Arctic terns flew over the

island briefly. Colony-view camera images showed people on the island on 15 June; most likely

they were engaged in subsistence egg harvest.

Aiaktalik Marsh (32015)

We did not see any evidence of tern nesting on 12 June when we hiked to the historic nesting

location in the marsh on Aiaktalik Island and surveyed a 5 km transect by skiff along the north

side of the island. However, we noted Aleutian tern activity in the central uplands of the island

based on satellite tagging results and aerial surveys of the island in June and July (Tengeres and

Corcoran 2020).

Sheep Island (34004)

We visited Sheep Island five times during summer 2019. We installed two colony-view cameras

and one acoustic recorder on 3 May. We made four additional visits on 8 June, 21 June, 8

August, and 17 August. Arctic terns nested on the southwest end of the island on a low ledge at

the tide line and along the beach and under the ledge in locations vulnerable to flooding during

the high tides. On 8 June we installed one nest camera on a 3-egg Arctic tern nest on the low

ledge. Our high count of Arctic tern fledglings on Sheep Island was five on 17 August. Colony

view cameras repeatedly captured images of common ravens and other corvids in the potential



29

tern nesting areas. The colony-view cameras also captured images of people on the island on 5

June. Most likely they engaged in subsistence egg harvest.

Cub Island (34053)

We surveyed Cub Island four times during the summer of 2019 (8 June, 21 June, 8 August, 17

August). Arctic terns nested on the gravel spit on the west side of the Island in June. We did not

access the island during any surveys but viewed Arctic terns in incubating posture on the spit

from the skiff. We observed two fledgling Arctic tern chicks at this colony on 8 August.

Cat Triangle (34064)

We surveyed Cat Triangle in Ugak Bay twice during summer 2019 (6 June, 6 August). Arctic

terns were actively nesting primarily on the west side of the island in June and at least four

fledgling Arctic terns were present on 6 August.

Kaiugnak Bay (34070)

We surveyed the Kaiugnak Bay colony by skiff three times during summer 2019 (10 June, 19

June, 10 August). Arctic terns nested high on the hillside on the south side of the island in June.

On the 19 June survey we observed and photographed Arctic terns mobbing a black-billed

magpie over the tern nesting area. The magpie located a tern nest and was observed flying from

the colony with an egg in its bill while pursued by a tern (Figure 24). At least one Arctic tern

chick, estimated 10 days-old, was present on 10 August.

Figure 24. Black-billed magpie depredating an Arctic tern nest at the Kaiugnak Bay colony, Kodiak Island, Alaska

on 19 June 2019. (Robin Corcoran/USFWS)



30

North Anchor Cove (35028)

We surveyed the North Anchor Cove colony by skiff twice during summer 2019 (15 June, 13

August). We nest searched on 15 June and located four Aleutian tern nests and one Arctic tern

nest. One active Aleutian tern nest had a depredated egg next to the nest bowl. We observed two

mew gull nests with depredated eggs, as well as four empty mew gull nest bowls. There was also

one active mew gull nest with one egg. We installed nest cameras at three Aleutian tern nests

(Figure 25), one PlotWatcher colony view camera, and took vegetation measurements. When we

returned in August there were at least two Aleutian and three Arctic tern fledglings. Two of the

nest cameras documented hatching, while the third camera failed during incubation. We

documented 152 chick feeding events at two camera nests.

Figure 25. Nest camera images of 20-day old Aleutian tern chick at North Anchor Cove, Kodiak Island, 2019.

South Anchor Cove (35029)

We surveyed the South Anchor Cove colony by skiff twice during summer 2019 (15 June, 13

August). In June, Arctic terns were seen landing on the island and flying between North and

South Anchor Cove Islands, which are less than 400 m apart. We do not believe terns nested on

the south island in 2019.



31

Afognak/Shuyak Island Colonies (Figure 26)

Figure 26. Map of tern colony nest locations during the breeding season 2019 on Three Spruce Island, north Shuyak

Island, Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska.

Three Spruce Island (N/A):

Three Spruce Island was the only tern colony we visited in the Afognak/Shuyak Island region

during 2019. Three Spruce Island was also the only colony monitored in the Kodiak Archipelago

that produced Aleutian tern fledglings in 2018; however, we observed no fledglings at this

colony in 2019. Two Arctic tern nests were found, the first on 24 May and the second on 19 July.

A camera was installed adjacent to the first nest. Image review indicated that it was depredated

by an unknown animal. Unfortunately, the camera did not trigger while the predator was at the

nest, but the remains of the egg are visible in the time lapse images. An Aleutian tern nest was

found on 19 July. Review of camera images showed that no terns returned to the nest after the

camera was installed (Figure 27). Both Aleutian and Arctic terns were present on 24 May and 19

July visits, but none on 27 August. No fledglings of either species were observed on any visit.

Tern nesting failure in 2019 on Three Spruce Island could have been influenced by higher

predation rates this year than last. A river otter (Lutra canadensis) was flushed from the island

on 27 August. The colony-view cameras had images of bald eagles, deer, and bears visiting the

island multiple times over the course of the summer.



32

Figure 27. Aleutian tern nest (left) and Arctic tern nest (right) found at Three Spruce Island, Alaska, on 19 July,

2019. (Jill Tengeres, USFWS)

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the seasonal avian monitoring interns Morgan Barnes, Melissa Crews, and

Andrea Mendez-Bye who volunteered to help with field work this summer, we appreciate their

hard work and sense of humor in a summer full of the uncertainties involved with field work in

Alaska. We thank the staff of the Kodiak NWR for assistance with logistics, in particular Jeff

Lewis, Captain of the Refuge research boat the Ursa Major II. We thank Stacy Studebaker and

Smokey Stanton for documenting tern activity in the Pasagshak region and providing us access

to the Pasagshak River colony. We appreciate constructive comments by Don Lyons on an

earlier version of this report. Finally, we thank Rich MacIntosh for generously sharing his survey

data from road system colonies. We thank the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National

Geographic Society (EC-356C-18), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Alaska

Department of Fish and Game (SWG) for providing support for monitoring Aleutian terns in the

Kodiak Archipelago.

Literature Cited

Bibby, C.J., Burgess, N.D., Hill, D.A., and Mustoe, S.H. 2000. Bird Census Techniques, 2nd ed.

Academic Press, London

Corcoran, R.M. 2013. Seabird Colony Report, Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska 1975-2011. Unpubl.

Refuge Report 02-13. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge,

Kodiak, Alaska.

Denlinger, L.M. 2006. Alaska Seabird Information Series. Unpubl. Rept., U.S. Fish and Wildl.

Serv., Migr. Bird Manage., Nongame Program, Anchorage, AK.



33

Ford, G. 2009. Program Description and Users Manual V 1.0 R.G. Ford Consulting Co. dLOG3

Software for Biological Surveys: Data Entry and Real-time Mapping Program for

Windows®. R.G. Ford Consulting Co., 2735 NE Weidler Street, Portland, OR.

Friesen, M.R., J.R. Beggs, and A.C. Gaskett. 2017. Sensory-based conservation of seabirds: a

review of management strategies and animal behaviours that facilitate success. Biol. Rev.

92:1769-1784.

Gabrielson, I. N. and F. C. Lincoln. 1959. The birds of Alaska. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA.

Grande, M. and P. Paton. 2016. Survey Protocol: Monitoring vegetation at tern colonies in New

England. Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island.

Haney, J.C., J.M. Andrew and D.S. Lee. 1991. A closer look: Aleutian Tern. Birding 23: 346–

351.

Hatch, Jeremy J. 2002. Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea), The Birds of North America (P. G.

Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North

America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/arcter DOI: 10.2173/bna.707

Kress, S.W. and C.S. Hall. 2004. Tern management handbook-coastal northeastern United States

and Atlantic Canada. U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA.

195 pp.

Lamb, J.S. 2015. Review of vegetation management in breeding colonies of North Atlantic terns.

Conservation Evidence 12:53-59.

Litvinenko, N. and Y. Shibaev. 1991. Status and conservation of the seabirds nesting in southeast

U.S.S.R. Pages 175-193 in Seabird status and conservation: a supplement. (Croxall, J. P.,

Ed.) ICBP Tech. Publ. no. 11.

McDonald, T.L. and J.D. Carlisle. 2018. Report on the 2018 Aleutian Tern Conservation

Planning Meeting. Unpublished Report, Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc. 415 West 17th

Street, Suite 200, Cheyenne, Wyoming. 38 pp.

North, Michael R. 2013. Aleutian Tern (Onychoprion aleuticus), The Birds of North America (P.

G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North

America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/aleter1 DOI: 10.2173/bna.291

Ramos, J. A. and A.J. del Nevo. 1995. Nest-site selection by Roseate Terns and Common Terns

in the Azores. Auk 112: 580-589.

Renner, H.M., M.D. Romano, M. Renner, S. Pyare, M.I. Goldstein, Y. Arthukin. 2015.

Assessing the breeding distribution and population trends of the Aleutian Tern Onychoprion

aleutica. Marine Ornithology 43:179-187.

Tengeres, J.E. and R.M. Corcoran. 2020. Aleutian and Arctic Tern colony monitoring, Kodiak

Archipelago, 2018. Refuge report 2019.1, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Kodiak, AK.

Tengeres, J.E. and R.M. Corcoran. 2020. Aleutian Tern Satellite Tracking, Kodiak Archipelago,

2019. Refuge report 2020.2, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Kodiak, AK.

https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/arcter

http://dx.doi.org/10.2173/bna.707



1

Appendix A. Counts of adult and hatch year Aleutian (ALTE) and Arctic (ARTE) terns by date at colonies in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska, during the 2019 breeding

season. HY = hatch year; NC = not counted.

Colony

Number Colony Name Date

No. ALTE No. ARTE Unid.

Tern Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

10011 West Kaiugnak Bay

Point

6/10/2019 8 0 10 0

6/19/2019 4 0 7 0

8/10/2019 3 0 0 0

32004 Akhiok Island

5/3/2019 0 0 0 0

No indication of nesting; terns seen on 8/12 were just

flying over the island briefly

6/13/2019 0 0 0 0

8/12/2019 2 0 3 0

8/15/2019 0 0 0 0

32015 Aiaktalik Marsh 6/12/2019 0 0 0 0

34004 Sheep Island

5/3/2019 0 0 0 0

6/8/2019 0 0 40 0

6/21/2019 0 0 42 0

8/9/2019 5 0 17 4

8/17/2019 0 0 38 5

34007 Ladder Island

6/6/2019 0 0 0 0

6/22/2019 0 0 0 0

8/7/2019 0 0 0 0

34047 Kalsin Island 5/6/2019 0 0 0 0

6/26/2019 0 0 2 0

34053 Cub Island

6/8/2019 0 0 44 0

6/21/2019 0 0 36 0

8/8/2019 0 0 7 3

8/17/2019 0 0 0 0

34054 Amee Island

6/7/2019 0 0 0 0

6/20/2019 0 0 0 0

8/8/2019 0 0 0 0



2

Appendix A. (cont.)

Colony



Tern Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

34064 Cat Triangle 6/6/2019 0 0 3 0

8/6/2019 0 0 30 4

34069 Pasagshak Point 5/23/2019 0 0 0 0

34070 Kaiugnak Bay

6/10/2019 1 0 27 0

6/19/2019 0 0 24 0

8/10/2019 0 0 7 1

34085 Mary Island

5/4/2019 0 0 0 0

5/6/2019 0 0 0 0

5/11/2019 0 0 2 0

5/21/2019 12 0 0 0

5/21/2019 4 0 1 0

5/23/2019 2 0 0 0

6/5/2019 3 0 1 0

6/18/2019 4 0 28 0

7/7/2019 4 0 30 0

7/28/2019 2 0 2 0

34086 Blodgett Island 6/29/2019 0 0 0 0

8/23/2019 0 0 0 0

34100 Middle Bay

5/4/2019 0 0 0 0

5/6/2019 2 0 7 0

5/7/2019 4 0 20 0

5/16/2019 8 0 7 0

5/21/2019 12 0 11 0

5/29/2019 7 0 11 0

6/1/2019 10 0 1 0

6/15/2019 13 0 30 0

6/24/2019 21 0 2 0



3

Appendix A. (cont.)

Colony



Tern Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

34100 Middle Bay (cont.)

7/2/2019 20 2 5 0

7/9/2019 19 0 4 0

7/17/2019 17 0 1 0

7/22/2019 19 0 0 0

8/1/2019 31 0 3 0

8/7/2019 12 0 0 0

8/16/2019 0 0 0 0

8/29/2019 0 0 0 0

34101 Kalsin Bay

5/4/2019 0 0 0 0

5/6/2019 2 0 4 0

5/7/2019 0 0 50 0

5/8/2019 0 0 32 0

5/14/2019 0 0 31 0

5/20/2019 0 0 50 0

5/23/2019 46 0 16 0

5/28/2019 40 0 20 0

5/31/2019 54 0 30 0

6/6/2019 45 0 50 0

6/12/2019 57 0 38 1

6/19/2019 75 6 40 0

6/27/2019 60 7 30 0

7/2/2019 50 3 30 14

7/8/2019 65 1 40 2

7/17/2019 65 15 50 2

7/23/2019 60 23 57 23

7/24/2019 60 3 53 NC

7/29/2019 44 6 15 2



4

Appendix A. (cont.)

Colony



Tern Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

7/31/2019 40 NC 76 NC

8/5/2019 43 3 23 16

8/7/2019 15 3 43 NC

34101 Kalsin Bay

(cont.)

8/12/2019 8 2 39 NC

8/16/2019 4 1 5 3

8/26/2019 0 0 0 0

34106 Womens Bay

5/4/2019 0 0 0 0

5/5/2019 0 0 0 0

5/6/2019 0 0 0 0

5/7/2019 0 0 0 0

5/8/2019 0 0 0 0

5/10/2019 0 0 62 0

5/14/2019 0 0 62 0

5/16/2019 2 0 5 0

5/27/2019 20 0 2 0

5/28/2019 17 0 0 0

5/29/2019 17 0 1 0

6/7/2019 33 0 0 0

6/12/2019 10 0 0 0

6/18/2019 2 0 3 0

6/24/2019 2 0 2 0

7/3/2019 0 0 0 0

8/1/2019 0 0 0 0

8/16/2019 0 0 0 0

8/26/2019 0 0 0 0



5

Appendix A. (cont.)

Colony



Tern Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

34108 Utesistoi Island 6/26/2019 0 0 0 0

8/27/2019 0 0 0 0

35028 North Anchor Cove 6/15/2019 7 0 19 0

8/13/2019 15 2 13 3

35029 South Anchor Cove 6/15/2019 0 0 0 0

8/13/2019 0 0 0 0

NA Aiaktalik Island 7/1/2019 50

Aerial surveys based on satellite tagged tern locations 7/25/2019 25

NA Burton Ranch

5/8/2019 0 0 0 0

One of the two Aleutian tern chicks observed on 7/10

had been trampled; Arctic tern fledging seen on 8/7

was not from a nesting attempt at Burton Ranch, most

likely moved from neighboring successful colony

5/23/2019 2 0 0 0

5/29/2019 21 0 2 0

6/4/2019 38 0 1 0

6/10/2019 51 0 0 0

6/16/2019 10 0 0 0

6/25/2019 7 0 2 0

7/3/2019 13 0 2 0

7/10/2019 16 2 2 0

7/23/2019 37 0 2 0

7/30/2019 29 1 0 0

8/7/2019 12 0 2 1

8/12/2019 1 0 0 0

NA CG Marginal Pier 5/19/2019 0 0 0 0

No nesting recorded by CG observer in summer 2019 5/24/2019 0 0 0 0

NA Pasagshak River

5/8/2019 0 0 0 0

5/20/2019 0 0 0 0

5/29/2019 1 0 0 0

6/10/2019 0 0 0 0



6

Appendix A. (cont.)

Colony



Tern Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

NA Pasagshak River

(cont.)

6/25/2019 0 0 0 0

7/23/2019 5 0 0 0

7/30/2019 0 0 0 0

8/7/2019 0 0 2 0

8/12/2019 0 0 0 0

8/26/2019 0 0 0 0

NA Sitkalidak Island 6/26/2019 8

Aerial surveys based on satellite tagged tern locations 7/25/2019 2

NA Three Spruce Island 5/24/2019 16 0 35 0

8/27/2019 0 0 0 0

NA Womens Bay Barge

5/14/2019 0 0 31 0

5/16/2019 0 0 45 0

5/20/2019 0 0 40 0

5/24/2019 0 0 80 0

7/1/2019 0 0 60 0



1

Appendix B. Location, date found, and egg number of Aleutian tern (ALTE) and Arctic tern (ARTE) tern nests in colonies on the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska,

May-August, 2019. FAIL = failed to hatch; HATCH = at least one egg at hatched; UNK = unknown nest fate.

Colony Nest # Latitude Longitude

Date

Found

Clutch

Size Camera

Nest

Fate

Anchor Cove

AC1_ALTE 57.11678 -154.13271 6/15/2019 1 yes HATCH

AC2_ALTE 57.11678 -154.13266 6/15/2019 2 yes UNK

AC3_ALTE 57.11678 -154.13266 6/15/2019 2 no UNK

AC4_ALTE 57.11681 -154.13269 6/15/2019 2 yes HATCH

AC5_ARTE 57.11676 -154.13264 6/15/2019 1 no UNK

Burton Ranch

BR1_ALTE 57.47337 -152.32680 6/2/2019 2 yes FAIL

BR2_ALTE_614 57.47343 -152.32684 6/2/2019 2 no FAIL

BR3_ALTE 57.47357 -152.32700 6/2/2019 2 no FAIL

BR4_ALTE_617 57.47339 -152.32687 6/2/2019 1 yes FAIL

BR5_ALTE 57.47265 -152.32889 6/3/2019 1 no FAIL

BR6_ALTE_616 57.47335 -152.32693 6/3/2019 1 yes FAIL

BR7_ALTE_615 57.47211 -152.33051 6/3/2019 2 no FAIL

BR8_ALTE 57.47472 -152.33200 6/3/2019 1 no FAIL

BR9_ALTE_618 57.47816 -152.33495 6/3/2019 2 yes FAIL

BR10_ALTE 57.47797 -152.33458 6/4/2019 1 yes FAIL

BR10r_ALTE 57.47797 -152.33458 6/10/2019 2 yes FAIL

BR11_ALTE 57.47245 -152.32895 6/10/2019 2 yes FAIL

BR15_ALTE 57.47424 -152.33167 6/10/2019 2 no FAIL

BR20_ALTE 57.47748 -152.33670 6/10/2019 2 yes FAIL

BR21_ALTE 57.47738 -152.33620 6/10/2019 2 yes FAIL

BR22_ALTE 57.47640 -152.33574 6/10/2019 2 no FAIL

BR23_ALTE 57.47319 -152.32991 6/10/2019 2 no HATCH

BR24_ALTE 57.47370 -152.32982 6/16/2019 1 no FAIL

BR29_ALTE 57.47292 -152.32829 6/25/2019 2 yes HATCH

BR34_ALTE 57.47359 -152.32959 7/3/2019 1 yes FAIL

BR35_ALTE 57.47304 -152.32812 7/18/2019 1 yes FAIL



2

Appendix B (cont.)

Colony Nest # Latitude Longitude

Date

Found

Clutch

Size Camera?

Nest

Fate

Kaiugnak

KGK1_ALTE 57.07198 -153.65952 6/10/2019 1 yes FAIL

KGK2_ALTE 57.07203 -153.65927 6/10/2019 2 yes UNK

KGK3_ALTE 57.07212 -153.65915 6/10/2019 2 yes UNK

KGK4_ARTE 57.07208 -153.65909 6/10/2019 2 no UNK

Kalsin Bay

K9_ALTE 57.59222 -152.45578 5/28/2019 2 yes HATCH

K11_ALTE 57.59211 -152.45547 5/28/2019 1 yes FAIL

K13_ALTE 57.59311 -152.45821 5/28/2019 1 no HATCH

K27_ALTE 57.59195 -152.45401 6/6/2019 2 yes HATCH

K29_ALTE 57.59199 -152.45396 6/6/2019 2 no HATCH

K30_ALTE 57.59208 -152.45445 6/6/2019 2 no HATCH

K32_ALTE 57.59210 -152.45499 6/6/2019 2 no FAIL

K32r_ALTE 57.59210 -152.45499 7/12/2019 1 no FAIL

K33_ALTE 57.59209 -152.45525 6/6/2019 2 no HATCH

K34_ALTE 57.59216 -152.45541 6/6/2019 2 no HATCH

K36_ALTE 57.59257 -152.45583 6/6/2019 1 yes HATCH

K38_ALTE 57.59254 -152.45593 6/6/2019 2 no HATCH

K39_ALTE 57.59296 -152.45697 6/6/2019 2 no FAIL

K45_ALTE 57.59071 -152.45746 6/6/2019 2 no FAIL

K46_ALTE 57.59061 -152.45735 6/6/2019 1 yes FAIL

K47_ALTE 57.59072 -152.45718 6/6/2019 2 no FAIL

K48_ALTE 57.59073 -152.45708 6/6/2019 1 no FAIL

K49_ALTE 57.59207 -152.45457 6/12/2019 2 no HATCH

K50_ALTE 57.59243 -152.45587 6/12/2019 2 no HATCH

K51_ALTE 57.59264 -152.45605 6/12/2019 2 no HATCH

K54_ALTE 57.59307 -152.45827 6/12/2019 2 no HATCH

K57_ALTE 57.59233 -152.45581 6/19/2019 2 yes HATCH

K58_ALTE 57.59271 -152.45610 6/19/2019 2 no HATCH

K59_ALTE 57.59081 -152.45726 6/19/2019 1 yes FAIL

K60_ALTE 57.59082 -152.45766 6/19/2019 2 no UNK



3

Appendix B (cont.)

Colony Nest # Latitude Longitude Date

Found

Clutch

Size Camera?

Nest

Fate

K61_ALTE 57.59206 -152.45552 6/26/2019 2 no HATCH

K62_ALTE 57.59341 -152.46017 6/27/2019 1 yes HATCH

K63_ALTE 57.59319 -152.45789 6/27/2019 1 yes HATCH

K64_ALTE 57.59316 -152.45789 6/27/2019 2 no HATCH

Kalsin Bay

K65_ALTE 57.59293 -152.45833 6/27/2019 2 yes HATCH

K67_ALTE 57.59267 -152.45670 6/27/2019 2 yes HATCH

K69_ALTE 57.59265 -152.45595 6/27/2019 2 no HATCH

K70_ALTE 57.59289 -152.45807 6/27/2019 1 no HATCH

K71_ALTE 57.59293 -152.45848 6/27/2019 1 no FAIL

K78_ALTE 57.59312 -152.45808 7/2/2019 1 no UNK

K80_ALTE 57.59317 -152.45781 7/2/2019 1 no HATCH

K82_ALTE 57.59315 -152.45819 7/2/2019 1 no FAIL

K83_ALTE 57.59234 -152.45641 7/2/2019 1 no FAIL

K84_ALTE 57.59249 -152.45505 7/12/2019 2 no FAIL

K85_ALTE 57.59301 -152.45868 7/12/2019 1 yes HATCH

K86_ALTE 57.59269 -152.45595 7/12/2019 2 no HATCH

K87_ALTE 57.59295 -152.45825 7/12/2019 1 yes HATCH

K92_ALTE 57.59224 -152.45390 7/12/2019 2 yes HATCH

K97_ALTE 57.59317 -152.45808 7/12/2019 1 no FAIL

K100_ALTE 57.59204 -152.45396 7/17/2019 2 yes HATCH

K102_ALTE 57.59314 -152.45888 7/24/2019 1 yes FAIL

K103_ALTE 57.59323 -152.45796 7/24/2019 2 no HATCH

K5_ARTE 57.59327 -152.45802 5/23/2019 3 no HATCH

K6_ARTE 57.59329 -152.45799 5/23/2019 3 yes FAIL

K7_ARTE 57.59333 -152.45804 5/23/2019 3 no UNK

K15_ARTE 57.59342 -152.45828 5/28/2019 3 no UNK

K17_ARTE - - 5/28/2019 2 no UNK

K19_ARTE 57.59356 -152.45888 5/28/2019 unk no UNK



4

Appendix B (cont.)

Colony Nest # Latitude Longitude Date Found Clutch Size Camera? Nest Fate

Kalsin Bay

K21_ARTE 57.59356 -152.45889 5/28/2019 unk no UNK

K22_ARTE 57.59358 -152.45895 5/28/2019 unk no UNK

K23_ARTE 57.59129 -152.45827 5/28/2019 1 no FAIL

K25_ARTE 57.59096 -152.45757 5/28/2019 2 yes FAIL

K26_ARTE 57.59093 -152.45755 5/28/2019 3 no FAIL

K40_ARTE 57.59125 -152.45830 6/6/2019 3 no FAIL

K41_ARTE 57.59119 -152.45805 6/6/2019 2 no FAIL

K42_ARTE 57.59112 -152.45799 6/6/2019 3 no FAIL

K43_ARTE 57.59112 -152.45795 6/6/2019 2 no FAIL

K44_ARTE 57.59110 -152.43787 6/6/2019 3 no FAIL

K55_ARTE 57.59128 -152.45830 6/12/2019 3 no FAIL

K56_ARTE 57.59110 -152.45787 6/12/2019 3 no FAIL

K66_ARTE 57.59082 -152.45718 6/27/2019 1 no FAIL

K68_ARTE 57.59266 -152.45563 6/27/2019 2 no UNK

Mary Island

MI7_ALTE 57.70547 -152.53751 6/5/2019 1 no FAIL

MI8_ALTE 57.70719 -152.53520 6/5/2019 2 yes FAIL

MI9_ALTE 57.70482 -152.53703 6/5/2019 1 yes HATCH

MI10_ARTE 57.70758 -152.53630 6/18/2019 1 no FAIL

MI11_ARTE 57.70758 -152.53635 6/18/2019 1 no FAIL

MI12_ARTE 57.70757 -152.53638 6/18/2019 2 no FAIL

MI13_ARTE 57.70758 -152.53641 6/18/2019 1 no FAIL

MI14_ARTE 57.70756 -152.53641 6/18/2019 1 no FAIL

MI15_ARTE 57.70759 -152.53632 6/18/2019 2 no FAIL

MI16_ARTE 57.70758 -152.53633 6/18/2019 3 no FAIL

MI17_ARTE 57.70758 -152.53639 7/7/2019 2 no FAIL

MI18_ARTE 57.70757 -152.53638 7/7/2019 1 no FAIL

MI19_ARTE 57.70758 -152.53642 7/7/2019 1 no FAIL

MI20_ARTE 57.70760 -152.53633 7/7/2019 2 no FAIL



5

Appendix B (cont.)


Middle Bay

MB3_ALTE_609 57.64981 -152.50899 5/31/2019 1 no FAIL

MB4_ALTE_610 57.6496 -152.50383 5/31/2019 1 yes FAIL

MB5_ALTE - - 5/31/2019 1 no FAIL

MB6_ALTE_611 57.64959 -152.5089 6/1/2019 3 yes HATCH

MB7_ALTE_612 57.64842 -152.50507 6/1/2019 2 yes FAIL

MB8_ALTE_613 57.64968 -152.50864 6/1/2019 2 no FAIL

MB9_ALTE 57.64952 -152.50847 6/1/2019 3 no FAIL

MB10_ALTE 57.64909 -152.50298 6/15/2019 1 yes FAIL

MB11_ALTE 57.64912 -152.50322 6/15/2019 2 no HATCH

MB12_ALTE 57.64942 -152.50359 6/15/2019 2 yes FAIL

MB13_ALTE 57.64777 -152.50259 6/15/2019 1 no FAIL

MB14_ALTE 57.64675 -152.5005 6/15/2019 2 no FAIL

MB16_ALTE 57.64982 -152.50539 6/24/2019 1 no FAIL

MB17_ALTE 57.65101 -152.50697 6/24/2019 1 no FAIL

MB19_ALTE 57.65089 -152.50751 7/2/2019 unk no HATCH

MB25_ALTE 57.64753 -152.50148 7/2/2019 2 no FAIL

MB29_ALTE 57.65087 -152.50653 7/2/2019 1 no FAIL

MB30_ALTE 57.65111 -152.50720 7/2/2019 2 yes FAIL

MB31_ALTE 57.65117 -152.50745 7/2/2019 2 no FAIL

MB36_ALTE 57.65097 -152.50716 7/9/2019 1 yes FAIL

MB37_ALTE 57.64891 -152.50725 7/9/2019 1 yes FAIL

MB40_ALTE 57.64700 -152.50046 7/17/2019 2 yes FAIL

MB41_ALTE 57.64759 -152.50116 7/17/2019 unk no FAIL

MB42_ALTE 57.64805 -152.50240 7/17/2019 1 yes FAIL

MB45_ALTE 57.65072 -152.50665 7/22/2019 1 no FAIL

MB1_ARTE 57.64834 -152.50111 5/29/2019 1 no FAIL

MB2_ARTE 57.64841 -152.50119 5/29/2019 1 no FAIL



6

Appendix B (cont.)


Sheep Island

SI1_ARTE 57.21687 -153.24487 6/8/2019 3 Yes UNK

SI2_ARTE 57.21488 -153.24483 6/8/2019 3 no UNK

SI3_ARTE 57.21489 -153.24477 6/8/2019 1 no UNK

SI4_ARTE 57.2149 -153.24466 6/8/2019 2 no UNK

SI5_ARTE 57.2149 -153.24463 6/8/2019 1 no UNK

SI6_ARTE 57.21489 -153.24445 6/8/2019 2 no UNK

Three Spruce

Island

TSI5_ALTE 58.59369 -152.51343 5/24/2019 1 yes UNK

TSI9_ALTE 58.59301 -152.51453 7/19/2019 1 yes FAIL

TSI8_ARTE 58.59371 -152.51353 7/19/2019 2 no FAIL

Womens Bay

WB1_ALTE 57.70226 -152.57169 5/27/2019 1 yes FAIL

WB2_ALTE 57.70193 -152.57271 5/27/2019 1 yes FAIL

WB3_ALTE 57.70134 -152.57329 5/28/2019 2 yes FAIL

WB7_ALTE 57.70131 -152.57317 6/7/2019 unk no FAIL

WB8_ALTE 57.70129 -152.5721 6/7/2019 2 yes FAIL

WB9_ALTE 57.70134 -152.57179 6/7/2019 unk no FAIL

WB10_ALTE 57.70115 -152.57162 6/7/2019 2 yes FAIL

WB11_ALTE 57.70089 -152.57181 6/7/2019 2 no FAIL

WB12_ALTE 57.70092 -152.5712 6/7/2019 2 no FAIL

WB13_ALTE 57.70053 -152.57079 6/7/2019 2 no FAIL

WB14_ALTE 57.70082 -152.5703 6/7/2019 2 no FAIL

WB15_ALTE 57.7056 -152.56792 6/7/2019 2 no FAIL

WB16_ALTE 57.70555 -152.56871 6/7/2019 2 no FAIL



1

Appendix C. Comparison of visual direct counts (traditional method) to ground-based photo counts of Aleutian

(ALTE) and Arctic (ARTE) terns at colony sites in the Kodiak Archipelago in 2019. At mixed species tern colonies

we were unable to distinguish between species and thus numbers are reported as tern species (spp.). Terns in

photographs were counted using Microsoft Paint with photo overlap determined manually in Paint or after photos

were digitally stitched together using Microsoft Composite Editor (ICE). * Terns counted roosting in the intertidal at

the head of Kaiugnak Bay, not a nesting colony location.

Location Date/Count # Species Time Direct High Count Photo Count

Manual ICE

Kalsin Bay

May 23 Count 1 Tern spp. 10:46 62 66




May 28 Count 2 Tern spp. 11:36 82


May 31 Count 2 Tern spp. 11:37 106

July 8 Count 1 Tern spp. 10:15 41

July 8 Count 2 Tern spp. 10:27 56 55 54


July 8 Count 4 Tern spp. 12:37 110 172










Womens Bay 28 May ALTE 14:32 17 14

Burton Ranch

June 2 Count 1 ALTE 15:08 13

June 2 Count 2 ALTE 17:29 18 18

June 3 ALTE 11:27 17 11

July 30 ALTE 11:16 29 24

Cub Island

June 21 Count 1 ARTE 13:58 36 36


June 21 Count 3 ARTE 14:13 27

Sheep Island June 21 Count 1 ARTE 13:31 42 29


Kaiugnak Bay* August 11 ARTE 7:20 76 123

aleutian and arctic tern colony monitoring, kodiak ......arctic terns have been extensively studied...

Documents