Last Updated June 12th
Caspian Tern Colony Counts East Sand Island The first Caspian tern chick of the season on East Sand Island was seen on 27 May. This is 4 days later than the first chick was observed on the East Sand Island colony last year, which previous to this year, was the latest first-chick date we have observed at the East Sand Island tern colony. The late first-chick date this year was apparently due to early nests failing because of gull predation on tern eggs.
Two boat-based surveys were conducted this past week (6 and 10 June) looking for nesting terns at dredged material disposal sites in the upper estuary. During these surveys, no terns were observed roosting or attempting to nest in upland areas of Pillar Rock Sands, Miller Sands Spit, or Rice Island. The total number of terns roosting at sites in the upper estuary has declined considerably from what was observed earlier in the season. We will continue to monitor Rice Island and the other upper estuary dredge disposal islands for early signs of nesting (e.g., nest scrape digging) and will promptly inform resource managers of any such activity.
The high and low on-colony counts for the week on Crescent Island were 428 terns and 351 terns, respectively. Counts of incubating or brooding adult terns on the Crescent Island colony indicate that about 355 pairs of Caspian terns attempted to nest at the colony this year. This represents about a 21% decline in the size of the colony compared to 2006, when about 450 pairs nested on Crescent Island. The first Caspian tern chick hatched at the Crescent Island colony on 16 May, 8 days later than the first chick hatched on the Crescent Island colony last year. This past week we conducted boat surveys of several islands on the mid-Columbia River and one island in Banks Lake in order to assess colony size, nesting chronology, and nesting success for Caspian terns. During these surveys nesting Caspian terns were observed on Rock Island (located on the mid-Columbia River in the John Day Pool) and Dry Falls Island (located in Banks Lake). Harper Island (located in Sprague Lake, roughly 50 miles east of Moses Lake) and Goose Island (in Potholes Reservoir) were not surveyed this past week. A total of 42 active tern nests were counted on Rock Island and 23 active tern nests were counted on Dry Falls Island,. Eggs and chicks less than one week old were observed at both locations, suggesting that nesting chronology at these sites is several weeks behind that observed at the Crescent Island tern colony. Tern nesting has been documented at both of these locations in recent years. Caspian terns were first observed nesting on Rock Island in 2005, when 6 pairs attempted to nest there and at least one young was fledged from the colony. The Rock Island Caspian tern colony increased dramatically to 110 nesting pairs in 2006, but subsequently failed due to mink predation on all tern eggs and chicks produced at the colony. A total of 21 tern chicks and some nests with eggs were counted on Dry Falls Island in 2006. In 2005, terns were successful in hatching young on islands in Banks Lake. We do not know whether any of the Caspian tern nesting attempts in Banks Lake in 2005 or 2006 were successful (i.e., resulting in fledged young). Nesting Caspian terns have not been observed at other potential colony sites along the Mid-Columbia River so far this year.
Avian predation rates often vary by salmonid species, run-type, stock, and rearing type (hatchery vs. wild). Furthermore, predation rates for specific groups of fish can vary greatly from one year to the next. Despite this well-documented variation, few data are available to determine which biotic and abiotic factors account for differences in smolt vulnerability to avian predators. One method to evaluate the potential intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting relative vulnerability of smolts to avian predation is to PIT-tag smolts and subsequently recover their tags on bird colonies following the breeding season. This year, we initiated a pilot study whereby run-of-the-river steelhead smolts encountered at the juvenile fish facilities at Lower Monumental and Ice Harbor dams on the lower Snake River are PIT-tagged, weighed, measured, photographed (for condition scoring), and released back into the river to resume their out-migration. Following the breeding season, PIT tags will be recovered from various bird colonies in order to test hypotheses concerning how differences in smolt morphology, condition, abundance, origin, river conditions, and dam operations are associated with differences in smolt vulnerability to avian predation.
This past week at East Sand Island, a total of 7 colony disturbances were observed (all causes) at a rate of 0.4 disturbances/hr of observation. Generally, disturbances at the tern colony are short, causing terns to flush for only 10-30 seconds before returning to the colony. There were no disturbances observed at the Crescent Island tern colony this past week. This past week, gull kleptoparasitism rates at East Sand Island were 1% of all known fates of fish delivered by terns. At Crescent Island, gull kleptoparasitism rates remained high this past week (10% of all known fates of fish delivered by terns), presumably associated with the increase in the number of larger fish, primarily steelhead smolts, being brought to the colony to feed larger chicks. At the East Sand Island tern colony, kleptoparasitism is by glaucous-winged/western gulls, while at Crescent Island kleptoparasitism is by the smaller California gull. To date, there have been no signs of mammalian predators on any of the tern colonies monitored as part of this study.
On 4 June, Thomas Dean and Blake Miller assisted with diet collections at East Sand Island, for which we are thankful. On 6 June, Geoff Dorsey (COE), Morris Frasier (COE), Thareth Yin (COE), and Don Dickison (Peter Kiewit) visited East Sand Island. |
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The high and low on-colony counts for the past week on East Sand Island were 18,245 terns and 10,080 terns, respectively. This is the third straight week when the average number of adult terns counted on colony has increased; during this same time period in previous years (i.e., 1999-2006) the colony size has either been stable or in decline suggesting that the nesting chronology may be somewhat delayed this year as compared to previous years. The annual photo census of the Caspian tern colony on East Sand Island was conducted on 23 May. Once the aerial photos are counted (Fall 2007) we will be able to accurately estimate colony size and determine whether there has been a significant change in colony size since 2006. 
This past week, 624 and 47 steelhead smolts were PIT-tagged at Lower Monumental Dam and Ice Harbor Dam, respectively. The majority of fish were in either excellent (50%) or good (37%) physical condition, with some fish classified as being in fair (11%) or poor (2%) condition. To date, 6,419 steelhead have been PIT-tagged at either Lower Monumental or Ice Harbor dams as part of this study.