Audubon scientists of the Seabird Restoration Program (SRP) have been working since 1977 to employ social attraction methods to attract terns back to island seabird colonies in the Gulf of Maine. The first restored tern colony for the program was established by 1980 on the Muscongus Bay island of Eastern Egg Rock. It was made up of Common and Arctic Terns and by 1981 the first pair of Roseate Terns had joined the colony.
Today there are over 240 pairs of Roseate Terns nesting in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and roughly 90% of all terns in Maine nest only on managed islands. The work of our island teams includes not only employing social attraction methods, but also protecting the birds from disturbance, and most especially for this grant project, in managing vegetative growth to ensure ground-nesting habitat is available to the birds upon return to the islands during nesting season.
Program Report: Managing Vegetation on Maine Islands for Federally-Endangered Roseate Terns
