Baby seabird rescue efforts in Long Beach and San Pedro deemed a success
By Orange County on July 30, 2021
Baby elegant terns rescued from Long Beach harbor are painted with a reddish-pink marking on head and chest feathers before they are taken back to their nesting barge. The terns also have a small red or orange band attached to one leg. (Photo Courtesy of International Bird Rescue)
Low-floating haul-outs have been provided to float alongside the nesting home barges so the chicks that fall into the water can climb up to warmth and safety. (Photo Courtesy of International Bird Rescue)
Recovered chicks are returned to a nesting barge in Long Beach Harbor by International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. (Photo Courtesy of International Bird Rescue)
Elegant terns crowd onto a floating barge that became a nesting site in Long Beach Harbor. Chicks began falling off the barge early in the week. Many were rescued and taken to the International Bird Rescue facility in San Pedro. (Courtesy Photo from Russ Curtis, International Bird Rescue)
Young elegant terns spend time in an incubator at the International Bird Rescue clinic in San Pedro. Dozens of chicks were rescued after falling off a floating barge nesting site in Long Beach Harbor. (Photo courtesy of Russ Curtis, International Bird Rescue)
Elegant terns are shown shortly after rescue. Dozens of chicks fell from a floating barge that was their nesting site in Long Beach Harbor. Many did not survive and were found washed up on beaches near downtown Long Beach in the days following the Fourth of July. (Photo courtesy of Russ Curtis, International Bird Rescue)
One Elegant Tern, dubbed “Little Mike,” has captured the hearts of his rescuers. More than 300 Elegant Terns were recovering in San Pedro Tuesday, July 20, 2021,at the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. The Terns were recovered after stumbling off their nesting site and into the water in Long Beach Harbor in the days following the Fourth of July weekend. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Clinic staff examine elegant tern chicks that were brought in to the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. Dozens of chicks were startled or otherwise disturbed and began falling off the nesting barge they were on in Long Beach Harbor. While relatively common along the Pacific Coast, the elegant terns face challenges, including having very few nesting areas that are free of disturbances from humans, dogs, cats, rats and other predators. Young terns stay close to their parents for up to six months as they learn to feed in the wild and will require more intensive rehabilitation lasting about eight weeks before they can be released back into the wild. (Photo courtesy of Russ Curtis, International Bird Rescue)
Three young elegant terns are kept warm after being plucked from the ocean in Long Beach Harbor where dozens were falling off the floating barge that had become a nesting site. It’s unclear what caused the chicks to go into the ocean, but some speculation has centered on a possible disturbance caused by boats and fireworks over the long Fourth of July weekend. State Fish and Wildlife officers have been out to the scene and are looking into the incident. As of noon Friday, July 10, the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro was treating 74 terns that had been brought in by Lenny Arkinstall of Los Cerritos Wetland Stewards, along with staff and volunteers from the center. (Photo courtesy of Russ Curtis, International Bird Rescue)
Berklee and Kendra Dixon hold one of the rescued elegant terns. (Courtesy Scott Dixon)
Elegant terns rescued from Long Beach harbor are doing well at the International Bird Rescue (Los Angeles) center in San Pedro. (Photo courtesy of Russ Curtis, International Bird Rescue)
Elegant terns rescued from Long Beach harbor are doing well at the International Bird Rescue (Los Angeles) center in San Pedro. (Photo courtesy of Russ Curtis, International Bird Rescue)
More than 300 Elegant Terns were recovering in San Pedro Tuesday, July 20, 2021,at the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. The Terns were recovered after stumbling off their nesting site and into the water in Long Beach Harbor in the days following the Fourth of July weekend. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
More than 300 Elegant Terns were recovering in San Pedro Tuesday, July 20, 2021,at the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. The Terns were recovered after stumbling off their nesting site and into the water in Long Beach Harbor in the days following the Fourth of July weekend. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
More than 300 Elegant Terns were recovering in San Pedro Tuesday, July 20, 2021,at the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. The Terns were recovered after stumbling off their nesting site and into the water in Long Beach Harbor in the days following the Fourth of July weekend. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
One Elegant Tern, dubbed “Little Mike,” has captured the hearts of his rescuers. More than 300 Elegant Terns were recovering in San Pedro Tuesday, July 20, 2021,at the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. The Terns were recovered after stumbling off their nesting site and into the water in Long Beach Harbor in the days following the Fourth of July weekend. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
One Elegant Tern, dubbed “Little Mike,” has captured the hearts of his rescuers. More than 300 Elegant Terns were recovering in San Pedro Tuesday, July 20, 2021,at the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro. The Terns were recovered after stumbling off their nesting site and into the water in Long Beach Harbor in the days following the Fourth of July weekend. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The mission took quick thinking, innovation and plenty of patience.
But this summer’s rescue of some 580 baby seabirds in the Long Beach Harbor has turned the corner — and is now being hailed a success, though some of the work continues.
The chicks, all from a nesting colony of about 2,000 elegant terns on two anchored barges near the Queen Mary, were spotted falling off the platforms in early July as they began to fledge, since there wasn’t much growing room as they became more active.
Rescuers, led by Lenny Arkinstall of Los Angeles Cerritos Wetlands Stewards, went out in small boats to pluck the birds, too young to be waterproof, out of the harbor. They were transported to the International Bird Rescue facility in San Pedro, where they were treated and nurtured back to health.
The chicks did well and, just recently, bird center staff and volunteers began returning the recovered birds to their colony.
And they now also have a place to dry off should they fall again.
More than 10 floating platform “haul-outs” are now set up alongside the barges for the terns to get out of the water safely. They are low enough to the water’s surface for the small terns to climb onto and get warm.
Teams have been returning the stabilized healthy chicks as quickly as possible to the 180-foot-long barges that serve as their nesting sites. Baby seabirds, the center noted in a recent news release, have the best chance of surviving if they are raised in the wild by their parents.
As they were returned, an International Bird Rescue statement said, a “reunion” chorus of mutual bird calls could be heard.
The Bird Rescue staff now leads a multi-agency team to patrol and monitor the barges, taking any sick or emaciated chicks to the center for treatment.
Los Cerritos Wetlands Stewards, California Fish and Wildlife, Oiled Wildlife Care Network, the Aquarium of the Pacific, California Science Center, Heal the Bay, Marine Spill Response Corporation and Ocean Animal Response and Research Alliance have all been involved in the effort.
“Thank you to our supporters and partners for their high level of support,” said JD Bergeron, CEO of International Bird Rescue. “We believe our efforts will help protect a generation of this vulnerable species of seabird, which has been classified as near-threatened.”
Tim Daly, a spokesman for California Fish and Wildlife, said in July that it was possible that the birds were among those that left the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, in Huntington Beach, to find new nesting grounds in the harbor. The birds had been startled by two drones flying illegally over the Orange County nesting area on May 13. Fearing an attack from a predator, they abandoned their nests, leaving behind some 2,000 eggs at the time.
Fledgling activity is increasing currently, so chicks are still being rescued from the water around the barges. Rescuers are assisting the babies off the haul-outs until a longer-term solution can be put into place.
Non-sanctioned vessels are asked to keep away from the tern breeding colony, as any additional disturbance could disrupt the rescue efforts that are still ongoing.
Sign up for The Localist, our daily email newsletter with handpicked stories relevant to where you live. Subscribe here.
Be First to Comment