Aleutian and Arctic Tern Colony Monitoring, Kodiak ......determine nest survival rates, causes of...

Refuge Report 2019.1

Aleutian and Arctic Tern Colony Monitoring, Kodiak Archipelago, 2018 Jill E. Tengeres and Robin M. Corcoran

Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

March, 2019

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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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. 2019. 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.

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.

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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........................................................................................................................................... 11

Vegetation Sampling ................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

Acoustic Recording to Monitor Colony Occupancy ...................................................................................................................... 12

Notable Details of Tern Colony Visits ................................................................................................................................. 14

Road System Colonies .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14

East Kodiak Region Remote Colonies ................................................................................................................................................ 25

Afognak Island Region Colonies .......................................................................................................................................................... 28

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

Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................................................................ 33

Appendix A. Counts of Aleutian and Arctic terns at colonies in 2018 ................................................................................ 1

Appendix B. Location, date found, and egg number of Aleutian and Arctic tern nests. ................................................... 1

LIST OF TABLES Page

Table 1. The coefficient of variation on counts of Aleutian and Arctic terns ........................................................ 8 Table 2. The locations and number of recording days for Song Meters in the Kodiak Archipelago ............ 13

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LIST OF FIGURES Page

Figure 1. An Aleutian tern in flight, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2018 (Kristy Lapenta/USFWS). ........................ 3 Figure 2. Locations of Aleutian terns from May-August, 2018 in the Kodiak Archipelago. ............................ 6 Figure 3. Locations of Arctic terns from May-August, 2018 in the Kodiak Archipelago ................................. 7 Figure 4. High counts for Aleutian and Arctic terns at the head of Kalsin and Middle Bays from 2016-2018. .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 5. A submerged Aleutian tern nest at the Russian River subcolony at Womens Bay .......................... 10 Figure 6. Aleutian tern delivering a Pacific sand lance to its chick at Middle Bay ............................................ 10 Figure 7. Pictures of the 2-m2 vegetation sampling plots. .......................................................................................... 12 Figure 8. Song Meter 4 and Song Meter 2 units used to monitor tern colonies in 2018. ................................. 12 Figure 9. Map of tern colony locations accessible along the road system of Kodiak Island. .......................... 14 Figure 10. Map of the tern nesting habitat at the head of Middle Bay ................................................................... 16 Figure 11. Aleutian tern chick near its nest bowl at Middle Bay. ............................................................................ 17 Figure 12. Nest camera image of an Aleutian tern with sheep grazing in the background .............................. 17 Figure 13. Map of the tern subcolonies at the head of Kalsin Bay .......................................................................... 19 Figure 14. Four-wheel drive vehicle on tern nesting habitat at the head of Kalsin Bay. .................................. 20 Figure 15. Map of Aleutian tern nests found at the head of Womens Bay. .......................................................... 22 Figure 16. Aleutian tern at nest in sedge meadow subcolony, Womens Bay ....................................................... 23 Figure 17. Aleutian tern nest in Womens Bay being depredated by a brown bear. ........................................... 23 Figure 18. Map of tern colony locations surveyed in 2018 in East Kodiak .......................................................... 25 Figure 19. Red fox walking through Aleutian tern nesting habitat at Akhiok Bay ............................................ 26 Figure 20. An Aleutian tern unsuccessfully attempting to fend off a glaucous-winged gull from depredating its nest at Sheep Island ................................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 21. Map of tern colony locations in the Afognak Island region of the Kodiak Archipelago ............. 28 Figure 22. Aleutian tern hatch year and two small Arctic tern chicks at Three Spruce Island ....................... 29 Figure 23. Map of tern colony locations in Foul Bay, Afognak Island. ................................................................. 30 Figure 24. Arctic tern chick a few hours before its death, Viekoda Bay Island, 2018. ..................................... 32

Refuge Report 2019.1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

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Aleutian and Arctic Tern Colony Monitoring, Kodiak Archipelago, 2018

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 by 80% over the past three decades. The much more abundant and widely distributed Arctic tern also appears to have declined by an estimated 90% regionally in coastal locations in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Tern colonies in the Kodiak Archipelago have been the focus of monitoring and research periodically since the 1970s, providing valuable information on the status and ecology of both species in the GOA. During the 2018 breeding season we collected count data for terns at 39 of the 53 known colony sites in the archipelago and searched for new colonies. Aleutian terns were confirmed nesting at 12 colonies (four colonies were monospecific), and Arctic terns nested at 16 colonies (nine monospecific colonies). Arctic terns were suspected to have nested at an additional six sites. Aleutian terns varied in the maximum number of individuals from 1 to 62 per colony. Arctic terns varied in the maximum number of individuals from 1 to 129 per colony. Trail cameras were placed on the nests of Aleutian and Arctic terns to determine nest survival rates, causes of nest failure, and identify prey being provided to chicks. A total of 60 tern nests were monitored with trail cameras, including 51 Aleutian tern nests and nine Arctic tern nests. Five camera nests survived to the hatching stage (four Aleutian and one Arctic tern). None of these nests successfully fledged chicks. The cause of death was known for two chicks but could not be determined for the other three chicks. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were the most common nest predator of both species. We documented brown bears (Ursus arctos) and a short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) depredating Aleutian tern eggs for the first time since the camera study was initiated in 2015. In addition to monitoring nest status, we collected 74 habitat points and nest-site habitat data at 61 Aleutian tern, 11 Arctic tern, and six mew gull nests, continuing the project that began in 2017. Analyses of these data are ongoing. Acoustic data were collected at 11 colonies for a total of 657 recording days, as part of an Alaska-wide project to standardize tern monitoring methods. Pilot tests of drone colony surveys paired with ground-based direct and photography counts were conducted in partnership with multiple other agencies and organizations at four colonies in Kodiak. The analysis for this study will be completed by collaborators.

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]


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Introduction Recent trend analysis of numbers of Aleutian tern at documented colonies in Alaska indicates that this poorly known seabird 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 locations from year to year. The Arctic tern is circumpolar in distribution and in Alaska there may be several hundred thousand, most nesting inland. However, coastal colony counts and at-sea surveys in Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island indicate that Arctic terns have also declined by more than 90% regionally in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) in recent decades (Denlinger 2006). Due to population declines, terns were a target for monitoring by Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) biologists and 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 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 and reindeer-herding activities (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 2015-2017 to test the feasibility of using digital game cameras to monitor terns at nesting colonies during the 2018 breeding season.

Arctic terns were a major focus of monitoring efforts because comparing and contrasting 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. This is in contrast to Aleutian terns, which have a reputation for being easily disturbed, nest at lower densities in thick vegetation, and have chicks that often remain concealed in dense vegetation throughout the pre-fledge period.


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Goals for Monitoring Aleutian and Arctic Terns in the Kodiak Archipelago Our primary goals for the 2018 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 the differences in Aleutian and Arctic tern nesting habitat 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) 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.

Figure 1. An Aleutian tern in flight, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2018 (Kristy Lapenta/USFWS).


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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 by the National Weather Service in northeastern Kodiak Island indicated a long-term (1981-2010) mean annual temperature of 2.08° 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-2017 identify at least 53 sites with a history of tern nesting activity in the Archipelago. Marine bird surveys in 2018 were conducted along the coastlines of Afognak and Shuyak Islands in the northern part of the Kodiak Archipelago, which enabled us to make multiple visits to tern colonies in this region over the course of the summer. Remote colonies on the east side of the island were accessed via refuge floatplane three times, once at the beginning, middle, and end of the nesting season. 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 seabird colony surveys conducted in summer 2018 by Kodiak NWR. The North Pacific Seabird Colony database and recent colony surveys from 2008-2010 (Corcoran 2013) indicate there are 184 documented seabird colonies in nearshore marine waters surrounding the Afognak and Shuyak Island survey region. From May to August, 2018 we surveyed 180 of these colonies for breeding seabirds following protocols in the Beringian Seabird Colony Catalog Manual for Censusing Seabird Colonies (USFWS 1999). 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. For designated colony surveys every effort was made to visit each colony in the North Pacific Seabird Colony database plus all other observed 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 have been 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 that were surveyed on foot, 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


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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. When possible, observers tried to take advantage of these opportunities to count. The high count for the day was recorded.

We used behavioral cues to confirm nesting when possible to reduce 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. Older chicks are often guarded by adults that chased away intruders, 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 the 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 site. 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 53 locations with a history of tern nesting activity in the Kodiak Archipelago. In 2018, Aleutian terns were confirmed nesting at 12 colonies (four colonies were monospecific), and Arctic terns nested at 16 colonies (nine monospecific colonies) (Figure 2,3). Arctic terns were suspected to have nested at an additional six sites, but we were unable to search for nests or see chicks to positively confirm nesting. Remote tern colonies were visited from 1-7 times across the season, and accessible tern colonies along the Kodiak road system that could be reached on foot were counted on a near-weekly basis. Most of the undocumented colonies we discovered were near historic nesting sites, many of which did not have nesting terns this season. Counts at colonies varied in the maximum number of individual Aleutian terns from 1 to 62, and Arctic tern counts ranged from 1 to 129 individuals (Appendix A). In 2017, the high count of Aleutian terns at a colony was 212 individuals, notably higher than any colony counts in 2018. However, a total of 75 Aleutian tern nests were located in 2018, which is almost four times as many as found in 2017 (n = 19).


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Figure 2. Locations of Aleutian terns from May-August, 2018 from colony surveys in the Kodiak Archipelago, AK. All known breeding colonies are illustrated and information is provided on results of 2018 surveys including colonies: 1) where breeding was confirmed, 2) terns were present but we did not confirm a nesting attempt, 3) no terns were present, and 4) we did not visit/count.


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Figure 3. Locations of colony surveys conducted for Arctic terns from May-August, 2018 in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska. All known breeding colonies are illustrated and information is provided on results of 2018 surveys including colonies: 1) where breeding was confirmed, 2) terns were present but we did not confirm a nesting attempt, 3) no terns were present, 4) we did not visit/count.


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Count Results Intra and inter-annual 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 ranged from 0.33 – 2.66 for Aleutian terns, and 0.44 – 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 Archipelago, Alaska, 2016-2018 (n = the number of counts conducted from June 1 – August 1).

Aleutian Tern Arctic Tern Site 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018

Kalsin Bay 1.31 (n=15)

2.66 (n=12)

0.95 (n=11)

0.44 (n=5)

1.41 (n=11)

0.46 (n=11)

Middle Bay 0.41 (n=7)

0.33 (n=9)

0.75 (n=9)

1.37 (n=4)

1.76 (n=10)

1.23 (n=9)

Figure 4. High counts for Aleutian (ALTE) and Arctic (ARTE) terns at nesting colonies at the head of Kalsin (top) and Middle Bays (bottom), Kodiak Island, Alaska, from 2016-2018.

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Game Cameras Used to Monitor Tern Nests Methods During the 2018 nesting season we continued the nest monitoring project initiated in 2015 to determine if time-lapse digital game cameras could be used to monitor activities at Aleutian tern colonies. We used Reconyx Hyperfire PC900 cameras and one Reconyx XP9 Covert Video camera that were painted green for better concealment. Nest cameras were placed approximately 0.5-1.0 meter from the 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. The cameras were set to record images at two minute intervals and to take three images at one second intervals when motion was detected. This was the first season that we used the video camera, and the recording scheduled varied between deployments to evaluate storage and battery capabilities.

Results We monitored a total of 51 Aleutian tern nests with game cameras at seven colonies and nine Arctic tern nests at five colonies. Similar to last season, red foxes were the most common nest predator for both tern species (Tengeres and Corcoran 2018). Brown bears and short-tailed weasels were confirmed as nest predators of Aleutian terns this season. Glaucous-winged gulls, mew gulls, black-billed magpies, and northwestern crows were also photographed depredating nests. Five camera nests survived to the hatching stage (four Aleutian and one Arctic tern). None of these nests successfully fledged chicks, and we were unable to identify cause of death for all five chicks. Two chicks disappeared from the camera images and were not seen again, while the remaining three chicks were either found dead near the nest or observed dying in the camera images. Both tern species only hatched one egg per nest, even in nests with a clutch size of two.

Nest abandonment for unknown reason was the leading cause of nest failure in 2018, resulting in the loss of 24% of Aleutian tern camera nests. Additionally, at least 22% of Aleutian tern nest failures were directly related to nest flooding, which was documented at three colonies. Nests at the sedge meadow subcolony at Womens Bay, the Olds River subcolony at Kalsin Bay, and berm-nesting birds at Grassy Island experienced flooding around the new moon on 13 June, and nests at the Russian River subcolony at Womens Bay were flooded around the new moon on 11 July (Figure 5). Unfortunately, all nests in the Russian River subcolony and many in the sedge meadow and Russian River subcolonies were in areas regularly flooded by these high new moon tides. We believe that colony-wide more nest failures were caused by flooding than we were able to document, due to eggs being washed away from nest sites or because flooded eggs that were not washed away would often continue to be incubated after the water receded. Newly found nests at Womens Bay often contained eggs that appeared dull or faded, which we believe in hindsight was an indication that the eggs had been submerged at least once prior to our locating the nest. Once adult terns did abandon these flooded nests, often the drowned eggs were depredated by foxes, mew gulls, and glaucous-winged gulls.

At the three hatched Aleutian tern nests and one Arctic tern nest, we were able to identify 43 individual chick provisioning events while the chicks were still hiding near the nest bowls (Figure 6). Image review is on-going and prey species identification will be reported in a comprehensive multi-year report.


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Figure 5. An Aleutian tern at the Russian River subcolony at Womens Bay hovers over its nest that has been submerged by a new moon high tide, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2018.

Figure 6. Aleutian tern delivering a Pacific sand lance to its chick at Middle Bay, Kodiak, Alaska, 2018.


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Colony Monitoring with Game Cameras Methods Plotwatcher Pro and Cuddeback game cameras were placed at colony sites to test the usefulness of colony-view camera monitoring. At two colonies, Akhiok Island and Foul Bay 9, we set up one camera of each type to compare battery life, sensitivity to motion, and image quality. At a new colony in Foul Bay (known as Foul Bay 9NW), we deployed a Plotwatcher and a Reconyx camera. Plotwatcher Pro cameras were placed on Viekoda Island and Three Spruce Island. Cameras were placed above the vegetation height and pointing in the direction of potential tern nesting habitat. Results Though image review is not complete at this time, an initial scan through the camera images provided insight into the fate of some colonies. For example, at Akhiok, both humans and a red fox were photographed visiting the tern colony at peak nesting. The placement of the colony-view camera allowed us to see one Aleutian tern nest. This nest continued to be active after people visited the island and were photographed within a few feet of the nest. However, four days later a red fox was photographed on the island very close to the nest, after which we never saw an Aleutian tern return to the nest site. Upon our next visit to the colony, we located empty nest bowls and depredated eggshells indicating further that the cause of Aleutian tern nesting failure at this site was due to fox predation. In general, both the Plotwatcher and Cuddeback cameras had extended battery life and memory storage. The Plotwatcher on Three Spruce Island failed completely for unknown reasons. We plan to standardize settings for colony camera deployments beginning in 2019.

Vegetation Sampling Methods Habitat data were collected at active nests of Aleutian and Arctic terns, as well as at paired habitat points five meters from each nest (Figure 7). 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, distance to nearest shrub/tree, and the distance to the high tide line (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 2018, we collected 61 Aleutian tern nest-site habitat plots from seven colonies, 11 Arctic tern nest-site habitat plots at four colonies, and six mew gull nest site habitat plots from one colony. In association with the nest-site habitat plots, 74 paired habitat plots were measured. Data analysis is ongoing, and we plan to compare the difference between the first nesting attempts by Aleutian terns to the second wave of nesting on the road system. At Womens Bay, and to a lesser degree at the head of Kalsin Bay, the second wave of nesting was in habitat atypical of Aleutian terns in the Kodiak Archipelago. There appeared to be a shift from tall graminoid and forbs typical of Aleutian tern nesting habitat in previous seasons to areas of more exposed sand and gravel locations, more typical of Arctic tern nesting habitat. Aleutian terns are known to nest in more exposed habitats (i.e. Yakutat), but this has not commonly occurred in Kodiak.


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Figure 7. 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), Middle Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2017.

Acoustic Recording to Monitor Colony Occupancy We initiated a pilot project in 2017 testing the feasibility of using passive acoustic recorders to monitor colony occupancy and behavior at remote sites. During the 2018 season, we deployed Song Meter 2 and Song Meter 4 units (Figure 8) at a total of 11 colonies, with recording deployments lasting from 6 - 115 days (Table 2). A total of 657 days were acoustically sampled across all 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 8. Song Meter 4 units (left, photo credit Lisa Hupp/USFWS) and Song Meter 2 units (right) were used to monitor tern colonies in 2018.


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Table 2. The locations and number of recording days for Song Meter 4 units (SM4) and Song Meter 2 units (SM2) deployed across the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska, 2018.

Location # SM4 recording days # SM2 recording days Akhiok Bay 59 -- Burton Ranch 33 -- Foul Bay 9 59 13 Foul Bay NC -- 6 Grassy Island -- 14 Kalsin Bay -- 51 Middle Bay (berm + NW field) 115 -- Middle Bay (SE field) 70 -- Pasagshak (marsh) 68 -- Pasagshak (field) 32 -- Sheep Island 50 19 Three Spruce Island -- 17 Womens Bay 51 -- Total 537 120


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Notable Details of Tern Colony Visits

Road System Colonies (Figure 9)

Figure 9. Map of tern colony locations accessible along the road system of Kodiak Island. Colonies highlighted below are indicated on the map.


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Head of Middle Bay (34100): Counts of terns at Middle Bay were conducted on 16 days from 1 May to 23 August, 2018. The number of Aleutian terns counted at Middle Bay was similar to the number of birds observed in 2017. In 2017, the high count was 41 Aleutian terns seen 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 27 July was 18 individuals (n = 12 counts). Over the course of the season we located 12 active and two abandoned Aleutian tern nests in the fields at the head of the bay, and five Arctic tern nests along the berm (Figure 10). We placed cameras at 12 Aleutian tern and two Arctic tern nests. Both Arctic tern camera nests were depredated by red foxes, and the number of Arctic terns present at the colony decreased to very low numbers around the time we first observed sheep outside of the adjacent fenced pasture. By the end of the field season, heavy grazing by sheep was obvious along the berm and throughout the field. Three of the 12 Aleutian tern camera nests hatched one chick (Figure 11), but none of these chicks successfully fledged. One chick died at the nest less than two days after hatching. We believe that the chick died from exposure after being left in the nest alone for three hours on a wet morning. The chick was fed at least three times, but we suspect there were more prey deliveries that were missed by the camera due to the chick wandering out of the field of view or the adults landing at an angle that was impossible for us to determine if they were carrying a prey item. The fate of the other two hatched nests remained unknown because the chicks moved out of the view of the camera a few days after hatching. We do not believe that the chick from either nest survived to fledging, because no fledgling birds were observed at Middle Bay this season. By 27 July, all known nests had failed, and adults were not observed behaving in a manner that indicated they were attending to chicks. No Aleutian terns were observed after this date. Four of the camera nests were abandoned for unknown reasons, but since adult terns returned to these nests and incubated for five to 13 days after camera deployment we think it is unlikely that the cameras caused any of these abandonments. We suspected a fifth nest had already been abandoned when we first located it based on the egg’s faded coloration and the fact that the egg was cold to the touch, indicating it was not being incubated regularly. Since we are concerned that the camera might attract predators to the nesting locations, we placed a camera on this nest to see how long it might take an abandoned egg to be located by predators. Three nests were depredated by red foxes and one nest was consumed by a short-tailed weasel. This was the first documented case of a short-tailed weasel directly depredating an Aleutian tern nest since we began camera monitoring. Though we believe Middle Bay is a less disturbed site than Kalsin or Womens Bay, anthropogenic disturbances most likely affected nesting success at this site. As mentioned earlier, sheep grazing in this area is an important factor (Figure 12). By mid-July, heavy grazing affects were obvious in the field where the Aleutian terns were nesting. Well-used sheep trails often were only a few feet from nests. We did not document any nest failures caused directly by sheep predation in 2018, but it is very possible this occurred at unmonitored nests. The sheep walk along the upper berm and beach frequently, which possibly has prevented Arctic terns from successfully nesting at this site during the last two breeding seasons. Because access is more limited to Middle Bay than Kalsin or Womens Bay, it is less used for recreation by the public. However, human disturbance is still a factor. On 4 June we saw a person walking dogs off-leash on the hay road that runs through the center of the Aleutian tern nesting area and then down the beach through Arctic tern nesting habitat. Apparently in response to the owner and his dogs, the


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majority of terns were noted flying high above the colony. One nest camera captured an image of a four-wheeler being driven down the beach.

Figure 10. Map of the tern nesting habitat at the head of Middle Bay showing the locations of Aleutian tern, Arctic tern, and mew gull nests found from May to July, 2018, Kodiak Island, Alaska.


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Figure 11. Aleutian tern chick near its nest bowl at Middle Bay on 4 July, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2018.

Figure 12. Nest camera image of an Aleutian tern incubating in an alert posture while sheep graze in the background on 13 June, Middle Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2018.


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Head of Kalsin Bay (34101): Counts of terns at Kalsin Bay were conducted on 22 days from 4 May to 23 August, 2018. The average count of Aleutian tern adults from 31 May to 3 July, the time period when terns were attending the colony, was 28 individuals (n = 9 counts). The 2018 high count was 62 Aleutian terns on 6 June. The average count of Arctic terns was 39 individuals (n = 22) from 10 May to 7 August. The high count for Arctic terns was 86 individuals on 1 June.

Tern nesting occurred in three different subcolonies at the head of Kalsin Bay in 2018 (Figure 13). These subcolonies were referred to as the berm, high tide island, and Olds River subcolonies. The highest number of nests of both species of terns were located in the berm subcolony, which was the area between the gravel road and the high tide line on the beach. Only two tern nests survived to hatching at Kalsin, one of each species, and both were located in the berm subcolony. One Arctic tern chick was observed, and it fledged successfully. The Aleutian tern chick was visible in nest camera images for two days before disappearing. Inland from the berm colony and on the other side of an intertidal area was the high tide island subcolony, named because it was an island in the tidal wetlands behind the berm that was only surrounded by water at the high tide. Both Aleutian and Arctic terns attempted to nest at the high tide island subcolony. Aleutian terns also attempted to nest at the Olds River subcolony, which was located further inland from the high tide island subcolony in the floodplain of the Olds River. A depredated adult Aleutian tern carcass was found in this area on 12 June, which was the day nesting failure for the Olds River subcolony was confirmed. Mew gulls were documented nesting at the berm and high tide island subcolonies, and suspected to nest at the Olds River subcolony.

A total of 21 Aleutian tern and 4 Arctic tern nests were located at the head of Kalsin Bay in 2018. We placed nest cameras on 15 Aleutian tern nests. Six nests failed due to abandonment, some possibly before the cameras were set. We suspect that flooding may have caused the abandonment of at least one nest in the Olds River subcolony. The suspected nest was found two days before the peak high tides of the month, and the nest was flooded during the first night of its deployment. It seems likely that a slightly lower high tide the previous night could have inundated the nest. As mentioned above, one nest located in the berm subcolony successfully hatched a single chick which was visible for two days before disappearing. The area around the nest was trampled by cattle the day after we last observed the chick from camera images, and we never saw any other signs of activity at that nest again. Three Aleutian nests were depredated by black-billed magpies and one by a northwestern crow. The remaining four nests failed but we could not identify the reasons for failure due to camera malfunctions or poor camera placement. Two cameras were placed on Arctic tern nests. Both nests failed, one was depredated by a black-billed magpie and the other by a northwestern crow.

The head of Kalsin Bay is a high-use recreation area on Kodiak’s road system (Figure 14). Often people camp along the beach in the same area where Arctic and Aleutian terns nest in the berm subcolony. Dog walking and fishing are also common activities at Kalsin Bay. ATV use is frequent, and though it is against the regulations of the landowner, Leisnoi Inc., to drive motorized vehicles in areas off of roads and other designated trails, the practice still occurs in nesting tern habitat. We were granted permission to post informational warning signs on the edges of the colony asking people to avoid the nesting area, but unfortunately this did not prevent people from parking RV camper vans and other motorized vehicles in the tern nesting habitat.


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Figure 13. Map of the tern subcolonies: (A) berm subcolony; B) high tide island subcolony; C) Olds River subcolony at the head of Kalsin Bay with the locations of Aleutian tern, Arctic tern, and mew gull nests located from May to August, 2018, on Kodiak Island, Alaska.


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Aleutian tern nest

Figure 14. Recreational and four-wheel drive vehicles, like the one pictured in the above Aleutian tern nest camera image, frequently drive near or on tern nesting habitat at the head of Kalsin Bay.

Womens Bay (34106): Counts of Aleutian terns at Womens Bay were conducted on 23 days from 8 May to 23 August, 2018. The high count for Aleutian terns was 58 individuals on 22 June and the average count from 23 May to 17 July was 21 individuals (n = 20 counts).

In 2018, Aleutian terns were confirmed nesting in Womens Bay for the first time since 1978 (Figure 15). In August 2017, we observed a fledgling Aleutian tern and a group of adults at Womens Bay, but we assumed these birds had relocated from the nearby Middle Bay colony. However, we may have missed tern nesting at this site in 2017 and the Aleutian tern chick observed in August could have fledged from a nest at Womens Bay. In 2018, we located more Aleutian tern nests (n = 30) at this colony than any other tern colony in the archipelago. We noticed birds were sometimes present over the sedge meadow located between the mouths of the Russian River and Panamaroff Creek in late May. On 4 June, we were able to locate two active Aleutian tern nests and we placed a camera on one of these nests (Figure 16). When we first arrived at the sedge meadow, there was only one Aleutian tern visible. After waiting ten minutes, a group of 15 birds appeared and we were able to see birds dropping down into the vegetation. This phenomenon was a common theme this season across sites – Aleutian terns often did not appear to be present until a disturbance occurred within the colony boundaries. The terns would then circle above the nesting area while calling, and individuals from the surrounding areas would fly in from over the bay and join the circling group. Observing these cryptic behaviors in

Aleutian tern nest


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2018 made us speculate that we may have missed nesting at this location in 2017. It is possible that at least one tern nest was present in the sedge meadow last summer. This highlights the difficulty of determining presence and activity level at small Aleutian tern colonies, despite multiple visits to a site.

All tern nests that we located in the sedge meadow had failed by 28 June. One nest contained a day old deceased chick, but the cause of death was unknown. A second nest was suspected to hatch, based on the aggressive behavior of two adult birds in the area. This chick was never seen, however, and after a week the area was abandoned by all terns. We observed a brief drop in colony attendance before nesting resumed in force again, only this time at the mouth of the Russian River about 600 m northeast of the sedge meadow. We found our first nests at the Russian River on 28 June, and Aleutian terns continued to attempt to nest in this area until about 17 July. No hatching was documented at this new subcolony, and nesting habitat was strikingly different than the sedge meadow site. Not surprisingly, nests in the meadow were in tall vegetation and moss, and incubating birds were difficult to spot even from a short distance. Russian River nests were on gravel and sand, with little to no surrounding vegetation. Some of the nests in the sedge meadow site were inundated with water several nights in a row by high tides around the new moon (12-15 June, high tides from 2.9-3.2 m), and nests in the Russian River subcolony were affected by new moon tides the following month (10 – 15 July, high tides from 2.8-3.3 m). Based on camera images, adult birds at some of these nests would resume incubation almost immediately after the nest was above water.

In total, we deployed 18 nest cameras on 19 nests (one camera had two nests in view), with five cameras in the sedge meadow subcolony and 13 cameras in the Russian River subcolony. Flooding of nests during the peak in tidal height in June and July was the major cause of nest failure. Ten nests failed when either the adult abandoned the egg after flooding or the egg was washed away from the nest site as the tide receded. Both nests at the camera monitoring two nests were abandoned when the camera was set, probably due to flooding the previous night. The remaining nests were depredated by red foxes (n = 4), brown bears (n = 2), and a mew gull (n = 1). This was the first documented brown bear nest predation on Aleutian terns (Figure 17), but not the only case of this happening during 2018.

More brown bears and fresh bear sign were observed at seabird colonies this year than in recent memory, and we speculate this may have been related to the failure of the summer sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) run on Kodiak Island. The timing of the failed sockeye run may explain why the terns were able to attempt nesting at Womens Bay in 2018. Normally, both bear and human activity would be much higher at the mouth of the Russian River because of the large salmon returns. Due to the fishery being closed human activity at the site was minimal, and with few returning salmon for the bears to feed on, disturbance pressures for nesting Aleutian terns were possibly lower than in typical years. Once late sockeye and other salmon species began to run, it was possible that increased human, bear, and eagle activity at the mouth of the river contributed to the terns abandoning their remaining nests. Bears may have been opportunistically consuming eggs to supplement their diets in the lean times. We observed bears at ten seabird colonies this summer, with all but four of these being active tern colonies in the past four years.


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Figure 15. Map of Aleutian tern nests found at the head of Womens Bay in two distinct subcolonies. The sedge meadow subcolony was south of the Russian River subcolony, 2018.


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Figure 16. Aleutian tern at nest in sedge meadow subcolony, Womens Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2018.

Figure 17. Aleutian tern nest in the Russian River subcolony, Womens Bay, being depredated by a brown bear on 28 June, 2018.


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Pasagshak River (N/A): We did not document any nesting activity at Pasagshak by either species of tern in 2018, which was the largest Aleutian tern colony in the Kodiak Archipelago during the previous two seasons (though a fledgling has not been seen there since 2015). There was one report of Arctic terns visiting the nesting area during May, and no records of terns visiting throughout June and July. Preliminary scanning of the acoustic data from Pasagshak indicates that both Aleutian terns and Arctic terns were present for a short window of time in mid-May, but this analysis is still ongoing. We observed a brief fly-over of 10 Aleutian terns, possibly post-season prospecting, on 7 August.

Burton Ranch (N/A): We believe that Aleutian terns attempted to nest at Burton Ranch for the first time since 2013. Terns were observed prospecting over the fenced hay field and bathing in the nearby lagoon on 23 May and 30 May, but none were seen landing or flushing from the ground. On 5 June, we observed one Aleutian tern flush off the ground to chase away three crows, and at least one other tern land in a nearby area. We did not look for nests because of the high potential that flushing the birds would result in nest predation. There was a group of 20 northwestern crows in the field near where we observed the terns, and also an active bald eagle nest in a spruce tree near the vantage site where we made observations of the colony. When we returned to the field on 8 June, the Aleutian terns were still present, but they were not observed landing. They circled high above the colony, and then would disappear for a short time, before returning to repeat the behavior. There were many bison and corvids in the field near where the terns had been observed landing. No terns were observed at Burton Ranch the rest of the summer.


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East Kodiak Region Remote Colonies (Figure 18)

Figure 18. Map of tern colony locations surveyed in 2018 in East Kodiak. Colonies highlighted below are indicated on the map.

Akhiok Bay (32004): Both Aleutian and Arctic terns attempted to nest at Akhiok Bay this season, though none of the nests successfully hatched. During our first visit to the island on 22 May, both species of terns were actively prospecting. The next time we visited the colony, on 23 June, we found 13 Arctic tern nests on the gravel edge of the island. Many of the nests were only one or two egg clutches, indicating that the birds were early in the laying stages. Since empty nests bowls were also present, we think this was the Arctic terns second attempt at nesting this summer. The remains of three Aleutian tern nests were also found, but it appeared they were not actively nesting at that time. Review of colony-wide camera images indicated that a group of people visited the island on 10 June, and a red fox was photographed in the Aleutian tern nest habitat on 14 June. Aleutian terns continued to land in the vegetation near the camera after the people visited on 10 June. Nest cameras in the Arctic tern nesting area documented a red fox depredating all tern nests on 13 July (Figure 19). When we arrived for our final visit on 20 July, only three Arctic terns were observed flying by the colony.


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Figure 19. Red fox walking through Aleutian tern nesting habitat at Akhiok Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2018.

Sheep Island (34004) On 22 May, both species of terns appeared to be prospecting on Sheep Island. We did not see any terns land, but both species were making group flights overhead and carrying fish. Mew gulls and glaucous-winged gulls were in the nest building stage. When we returned to the island on 11 June, there were very few terns of either species attending the colony. No terns were observed landing in the vegetation, and no alarm calls were given by the birds. Surprisingly, we found two Aleutian tern nests about three meters apart in tall grass at the southwest end of the island, with a mew gull nest almost directly in between the tern nests. Cameras were placed at both nests. Both nests failed; one nest was depredated by a glaucous-winged gull while a tern was incubating (Figure 20) and the other nest was abandoned for unknown reasons four days after the camera was set. We could not confirm nesting by Arctic terns on the island. No chicks or hatch year terns of either species were observed. Upon our arrival on 1 August, a brown bear was seen leaving Sheep Island and swimming to mainland Kodiak Island. Many puffin burrows had been excavated by the bear, and large chunks of sod from the cliff tops were on the beach. We do not know how long the bear was on the island or if it had any influence on tern nesting failure.


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Figure 20. An Aleutian tern unsuccessfully attempting to fend off a glaucous-winged gull from depredating its nest at Sheep Island on 18 June, 2018.


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Afognak Island Region Colonies (Figure 21)

Figure 21. Map of tern colony locations in the Afognak Island region of the Kodiak Archipelago. Colonies highlighted below are indicated on the map.

Three Spruce Island (N/A): Three Spruce Island was the only colony in the Kodiak Archipelago that we surveyed this season where we observed recently fledged Aleutian tern chicks (Figure 22). When the colony was first visited on 23 June we located three depredated mew gull and six depredated tern nests, and there was abundant sign of river otter on the island (runs and latrine sites). We located three active mew gull nests, and two active Aleutian tern nests on 23 June, and had an Arctic tern return to a nest nearby to resume incubating while we were still placing a camera at one of the Aleutian tern nests. On our last visit to the island on 15 August, we counted at least four fledgling Aleutian terns, with two flushing from the tall grass on the island and the others spotted loafing on exposed kelp adjacent to the colony. We suspect there were more chicks hidden in the vegetation that we were unable to find. We saw four Arctic tern chicks and one mew gull chick, all of which were not yet capable of flight. A river otter was seen on the island during our visit on 15 August. We suspect that a river otter ate the egg at our single camera nest, but the motion trigger failed on the camera, and we were unable to document the source of predation. Given the wide disparity in ages of tern chicks observed in August (from approximately 2 days old to fledging;


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Figure 22), it is likely there were multiple nesting attempts across the breeding season at this location. This was not a known colony site, but it does get surveyed regularly due to its close proximity (within 1.5 km) to other documented tern colonies, including Island 10 and Too Triangle.

Figure 22. One of four Aleutian tern hatch year birds (top) and two small Arctic tern chicks (bottom) present at Three Spruce Island on 15 August, 2018.


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Foul Bay Terns may have attempted to nest at five colonies in Foul Bay in 2018 (Figure 23), but we were only able to confirm nesting at Foul Bay 9 and Foul Bay 9NW (43109 and 43109NW respectively). Foul Bay 9 had the greatest number of terns of any colony in Foul Bay, and we placed song meters and multiple cameras at this location. Nest failure was high but at least one Aleutian tern nest hatched, a 2-day old chick was found on 27 June. Tern activity steadily declined at this site as June progressed and we did not have any terns here on 11 August when we visited. Based on colony view cameras we believe there were three Aleutian tern nests on Foul Bay 9NW, an island not documented previously as a tern nesting site. At least two adult terns were photographed regularly bringing small fish back to the nest sites. We did not find any fledgling terns in Foul Bay when we surveyed on August 11-12.

In addition to the colony locations a single pair of Arctic terns nested on a small island with a pair of mew gulls and black oystercatchers. This island is on a transect-based marine bird survey conducted every three years since 2012 and this solitary nesting location was also used by an Arctic tern pair in 2012, but based on multiple visits was not used in 2015. This nest had two eggs when located on 13 June, and the adults were defending the nest and carrying small fish on 27 June, indicating the eggs may have hatched.

Figure 23. Map of active tern colony locations in Foul Bay, Afognak Island, 2018.


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Alligator & Grassy Islands (34096-97): Aleutian terns were present at Alligator Island when we surveyed on 12 June, 27 June, and 16 August. Tern activity was concentrated on the NE side of the island. This colony is located 3.5 km from mainland Afognak Island and its steep sides make if a challenge to access so we did not go ashore to nest search, but suspect a small number of Aleutian terns may have been able to nest successfully. We observed two Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) in the area during the August survey. One falcon was observed in Shuyak Straits and the second falcon at Pete Triangle, about 4 km from Alligator and Grassy Islands. It is possible that these predators could have affected tern nesting success. Grassy Island is about 2.5 km south of Alligator Island and is much closer to mainland Afognak Island (> 1.5 km). We visited Grassy Island on 12 June and located one Aleutian tern nest in the vegetation about 40 m from the beach on the south side of a small pond where we placed a camera. Despite spending almost an hour on the island nest searching we did not have terns return and attempt to land at their nests and we did not locate a second Aleutian tern nest. We did locate two Arctic tern nests on the beach on the south side of the island and placed a camera at one of these nests. When we returned to the island on 27 June there were fresh bear tracks and most of the cameras and the song meter were lying on their sides. Camera images revealed the Aleutian tern nest had been depredated by a brown bear on 23 June. During this visit we did not see any terns fly over the nesting habitat although they were still foraging at sea nearby. Southeast Viekoda Bay Islands (34132): During our first visit to this colony on 16 June, Arctic terns were observed flying high above the colony and continually dreading, but did not appear to be nesting. When we returned on 28 June the minimum high count based on photographs of the birds flushed from the island while we nest searched was 160 terns. Tern nests were clumped densely on a rock outcropping on the northwest side of the northern island and extended uphill into the dense vegetation. Two cameras were placed at Arctic tern nests. We do not know what caused nest failure at one of the camera nests because the camera’s battery failed on 4 July while the bird was still incubating. At the second camera nest, the A egg hatched the day after the camera was set, 29 June (Figure 24). In less than nine hours, the chick died in the nest bowl due to unknown reasons. Camera images documented the chick being fed three times, and every feeding consisted of one Pacific sand lance. This sudden chick death is consistent with the death of Kittlitz’s murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) chicks from saxitoxin in sand lance documented at Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in 2011 and 2012 (Shearn-Bochsler et al. 2014). Unfortunately, we were unable to collect this dead Arctic tern chick for testing, but two Aleutian tern chicks that were found dead at other sites were sent to the National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin for necropsy and saxitoxin testing (results pending).

The colony was abandoned when we returned for a final visit on 10 August. We found the remains of two chicks and many eggshells in the Arctic tern nesting area. No Aleutian terns were seen at this site in 2018.


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Figure 24. Arctic tern chick begging from parent a few hours before its death, Viekoda Bay Island, 2018.

Acknowledgements We sincerely thank the seasonal avian monitoring interns Emily Johnson and Kristy Lapenta who volunteered to help with field work this summer, we immensely appreciate their hard work and sense of humor in a summer full of the uncertainties involved with pilot field work. 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. A big thank you goes to Kirsten Bixler for her assistance with fish identification. 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 would also like to thank The National Geographic Society (EC-356C-18), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (SWG) for providing support for monitoring Aleutian terns in the Kodiak Archipelago.


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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.

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.

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.

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.

Shearn-Bochsler, V., E.W. Lance, R. Corcoran, J. Piatt, B. Bodenstein, E. Frame, and J. Lawonn. 2014. Fatal Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning in Kittlitz's Murrelet

(Brachyramphus brevirostris) Nestlings, Alaska, USA. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 50(4), 933-937. doi:10.7589/2013-11-296

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

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


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Tengeres, J. E. and R. M. Corcoran. 2018. Aleutian and Arctic tern colony monitoring, Kodiak Archipelago, 2017. Unpubl. Refuge Report 2018.1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak, Alaska.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1999. Manual for censusing seabird colonies. Beringian Seabird Colony Catalog. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Anchorage, AK. 24pp.


1

Appendix A. Counts of adult and hatch year Aleutian (ALTE) and Arctic (ARTE) terns by date at colonies in the Kodiak Archipelago during the 2018 breeding season. Photo counts include both ALTE and ARTE, indistinguishable in photographs.

Colony Number Colony Name Date No. ALTE No. ARTE Photo

Count Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

10036 New 36 Outer Rocks BWB

6/10/2018 0 0 19 0 6/25/2018 0 0 21 0

8/20/2018 0 0 0 0

32004 Akhiok Island 5/22/2018 4 0 29 0 Found 3 ALTE depredated eggshells on 6/23 and

empty nest bowls in grassy area, possibly fox predation. ARTE nests all failed on 6/13 due to a fox.

6/23/2018 4 0 20 0 7/20/2018 0 0 3 0

34004 Sheep Island 5/22/2018 2 0 10 0 Two ALTE nests were found on 6/11 by chance, we

did not think the birds were nesting there. Nesting was not successful.

6/11/2018 5 0 3 0 8/1/2018 7 0 2 0

34034 Naugolka Point Island

6/16/2018 0 0 8 0 We observed a bear on the island on 6/28. 6/17/2018 0 0 8 0

8/10/2018 0 0 0 0

34047 Kalsin Island 7/5/2018 0 0 2 1

ARTE chick was banded on 7/6 and observed flying on 7/11. 7/6/2018 0 0 2 1

7/11/2018 0 0 4 1

34097 Anton Larsen Bay Islands

6/17/2018 0 0 2 0 Islands outside of skiff entrance to bay. 8/23/2018 0 0 0 0

34100 Middle Bay

5/1/2018 0 0 0 0

5/10/2018 0 0 6 0 5/21/2018 2 0 39 0 5/30/2018 7 0 44 0 6/4/2018 17 0 7 0 6/7/2018 55 0 1 0 17

6/13/2018 21 0 2 0 6/22/2018 14 0 0 0


2

Appendix A. (cont.)


Count Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

34100 Middle Bay (cont.)

7/4/2018 14 1 2 0

First ALTE chick found on 7/4, and second chick was found on 7/12. Neither chick was ever re-sighted. A dead

ALTE chick was found in a nest bowl on 7/27, and no other signs of active tern nesting could be found.

7/7/2018 8 0 0 0 7/12/2018 24 1 4 0 7/17/2018 32 0 1 0 7/27/2018 2 0 0 0 8/3/2018 0 0 0 0 8/8/2018 0 0 0 0

8/23/2018 0 0 0 0

34101 Kalsin Bay

5/4/2018 0 0 2 0

Dead ALTE adult found in Olds River subcolony on 6/12, probably depredated by a fox. A piping ALTE egg was

found on 6/25 at a nest on the berm, where all tern nesting was concentrated in late June. The chick was never seen

again, nest failed. One successful ARTE chick was fledged from the colony.

5/10/2018 0 0 50 0 5/13/2018 0 0 41 0 5/14/2018 0 0 42 0 5/14/2018 0 0 40 0 5/16/2018 0 0 14 0 5/16/2018 1 0 12 0 5/19/2018 0 0 40 0 5/21/2018 0 0 12 0 5/31/2018 30 0 60 0 6/1/2018 38 0 86 0 197 6/4/2018 32 0 50 0 6/6/2018 62 0 66 0

6/12/2018 15 0 45 0 6/19/2018 20 0 60 0 6/25/2018 18 0 20 0 6/27/2018 30 0 40 0 7/3/2018 6 0 20 0


3

Appendix A. (cont.)


Count Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

34101 Kalsin Bay (cont.)

7/10/2018 1 0 17 1

7/18/2018 1 0 57 1 7/27/2018 0 0 60 1 8/3/2018 0 0 9 1 8/7/2018 0 0 27 0

8/23/2018 0 0 0 0

34106 Womens Bay

5/8/2018 1 0 16 0

First two ALTE nests were found on 6/4 in sedge meadow subcolony. By 6/25, ALTE prospecting over mouth of the

river, where the colony relocated to by 7/2. One dead ALTE chick found, no successful fledging.

5/23/2018 6 0 10 0 5/24/2018 25 0 2 0 18 5/25/2018 40 0 36 0 6/1/2018 9 0 0 0 6/2/2018 14 0 0 0 6/4/2018 16 0 0 0 6/7/2018 17 0 1 0 6/9/2018 15 0 10 0

6/13/2018 41 0 0 0 6/22/2018 58 0 0 0 6/25/2018 42 0 0 0 6/26/2018 32 0 15 0 6/29/2018 12 0 0 0 7/2/2018 40 0 0 0 7/6/2018 1 0 0 0 7/9/2018 5 0 0 0 7/9/2018 11 0 0 0

7/10/2018 7 0 1 0 7/17/2018 6 0 2 0


4

Appendix A. (cont.)


Count Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

34106 Womens Bay (cont.)

7/27/2018 0 0 0 0 8/3/2018 0 0 6 3

8/8/2018 0 0 40 0 8/23/2018 0 0 0 0

34132 SE Viekoda Bay Islands

6/16/2018 0 0 70 0 98 ARTEs attempted to nest here, and we found multiple nests on one rocky ledge. No terns successfully fledged

chicks. 6/28/2018 0 0 129 0 160 8/10/2018 0 0 0 0

43075 Too Triangle 6/23/2018 5 0 14 0 8/15/2018 0 0 54 8

43077 Dark Island 6/23/2018 0 0 15 0 8/15/2018 0 0 24 1

43079 Shag Island Complex 6/23/2018 0 0 2 0 Birds appeared to be on nests on 6/23. 8/16/2018 0 0 0 0

43096 Alligator Island 6/12/2018 10 0 0 0 19

21 unidentified terns counted on 6/12; 22 unidentified terns counted on 6/27. 6/27/2018 8 0 0 0 16

8/16/2018 3 0 0 0

43097 Grassy Island 6/12/2018 10 0 16 0

Nest camera documented a bear depredating an Aleutian tern nest on 6/23. 6/27/2018 1 0 20 0

8/16/2018 0 0 0 0

43099 Isl. W. of Devil's Inlet

6/12/2018 0 0 0 0 8/16/2018 0 0 0 0

43100 Black Cape Islets 6/12/2018 0 0 0 0 8/16/2018 0 0 0 0

43102 Foul Bay 2 8/11/2018 0 0 0 0

43105 Foul Bay 5 6/13/2018 0 0 1 0 ARTE flew in with fish and left without fish -possibly 1 nest with small chick present on 6/13. 8/12/2018 0 0 0 0


5

Appendix A. (cont.)


Count Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

43107 Foul Bay 7

6/12/2018 2 0 8 0 Terns on smaller NE island of island pair, on the SW

side of the island, appeared to be nesting earlier in June but no sign of birds later that month.

6/14/2018 3 0 4 0 6/27/2018 0 0 0 0 8/11/2018 0 0 0 0

43109 Foul Bay 9

6/1/2018 2 0 35 0

Three ALTE nests within 2m of SM4 on 6/13; two ARTE nests on rock; on 6/27 found 2-day old ALTE

chick at NW side of island plus two one-egg nests, camera nests destroyed.

6/12/2018 2 0 40 0 6/13/2018 5 0 30 0 55 6/14/2018 1 0 36 0 6/27/2018 4 0 14 0 8/11/2018 0 0 0 0

43110 Foul Bay 10 6/13/2018 0 0 2 0

2 ARTE perched in tall spruce, others prospecting on outer island in group on 6/28. 6/28/2018 0 0 6 0

8/12/2018 0 0 0 0

43113 Paramanof Bay 3 6/13/2018 0 0 3 0 8/13/2018 0 0 6 0

43118 Island B Malina Bay 6/15/2018 0 0 11 0

Bear observed on colony and then swimming away on 6/16. 6/28/2018 0 0 12 0

8/11/2018 0 0 11 0

N/A Burton Ranch

5/23/2018 9 0 4 0

On 6/5 we observed 1 ALTE flush off nest to chase 3 nearby NOCR and saw a second bird land in the field; only time we observed birds landing in the nesting habitat this season.

5/30/2018 13 0 0 0 6/5/2018 7 0 0 0 6/8/2018 6 0 0 0

6/14/2018 0 0 0 0 8/3/2018 0 0 0 0


6

Appendix A. (cont.)


Count Comments

Adult HY Adult HY

N/A Foul Bay 9 NW

6/12/2018 5 0 1 0 ALTE landed in grass with a small fish and rapidly

departed without fish, small chick probably present on 6/27. Colony view cameras confirmed ALTE w/fish

dropping into vegetation.

6/13/2018 5 0 1 0 6/14/2018 6 0 1 0 5 6/27/2018 1 1? 0 0 8/11/2018 0 0 0 0

N/A Mini-island Ban Island

6/13/2018 0 0 1 0 ARTE nest with two eggs present. 6/14/2018 0 0 2 0

8/12/2018 0 0 0 0

N/A Pasagshak River

5/4/2018 0 0 0 0

ALTE observed on 8/7 were flying high over the field and were only present for a few minutes.

5/14/2018 0 0 12 0 5/23/2018 0 0 0 0 5/30/2018 0 0 0 0 6/5/2018 0 0 0 0

6/14/2018 0 0 0 0 8/3/2018 0 0 0 0 8/7/2018 10 0 0 0

N/A Roads End Island Anton Larsen

5/27/2018 0 0 6 0 ARTE appeared to be prospecting on 5/27. 6/17/2018 0 0 0 0

N/A Three Spruce Island 6/23/2018 16 0 20 0 This was the only colony in the archipelago where we documented successfully fledged ALTE chicks. 8/15/2018 21 4 40 4 89

N/A Womens Bay Barges

7/11/2018 ? ? ? ? On 7/24 we noticed that the second barge was gone, along with the pre-fledged chicks on board. Fledged

chicks seemed to relocate to the head of Womens Bay in August.

7/17/2018 0 0 100 0 7/19/2018 0 0 67 13 97 7/24/2018 0 0 23 1


1

Appendix B. Location, date found, and egg number of Aleutian (ALTE) and Arctic (ARTE) tern nests in colonies on the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska, June-August, 2018. FAIL = failed to hatch; HATCH = at least one egg at hatched.

Colony Nest # Latitude Longitude Date

Found Clutch

Size Camera Nest Fate

Akhiok Bay AHI15_ALTE_18 56.94382 -154.13872 07/20/18 unk no FAIL

Foul Bay 9 FB1_ALTE_18 58.33178 -152.81712 06/13/18 1 yes FAIL FB2_ALTE_18 58.33178 -152.81714 06/13/18 1 no FAIL FB3_ALTE_18 58.33176 -152.81714 06/13/18 2 yes FAIL

Grassy Island G1_ALTE_18 58.44875 -152.78331 06/12/18 2 yes FAIL

Kalsin Bay

K7_ALTE_18 57.59346 -152.46033 06/01/18 1 yes FAIL K8_ALTE_18 57.59207 -152.46066 06/01/18 1 yes FAIL K9_ALTE_18 57.59056 -152.46315 06/01/18 1 yes FAIL

K10_ALTE_18 57.5904 -152.46381 06/04/18 1 yes FAIL K11_ALTE_18 57.59051 -152.46429 06/04/18 1 yes FAIL K12_ALTE_18 57.59287 -152.45662 06/04/18 1 yes HATCH K13_ALTE_18 57.59054 -152.46419 06/12/18 2 yes FAIL K14_ALTE_18 57.59156 -152.45943 06/12/18 2 yes FAIL K21_ALTE_18 57.59289 -152.45676 06/12/18 2 yes FAIL K22_ALTE_18 57.59297 -152.45692 06/12/18 2 yes FAIL K25_ALTE_18 57.59327 -152.45808 06/25/18 2 yes FAIL K26_ALTE_18 57.59334 -152.45833 06/25/18 1 yes FAIL K27_ALTE_18 57.59334 -152.45837 06/25/18 1 no FAIL K29_ALTE_18 57.59332 -152.45818 07/03/18 1 yes FAIL K30_ALTE_18 57.59345 -152.45825 07/03/18 1 yes FAIL K31_ALTE_18 57.59349 -152.45837 07/03/18 2 yes FAIL K32_ALTE_18 57.5934 -152.45824 07/03/18 1 yes FAIL K33_ALTE_18 -- -- 07/03/18 1 no FAIL K34_ALTE_18 -- -- 07/03/18 1 no FAIL K35_ALTE_18 57.59338 -152.45853 07/03/18 2 no FAIL K36_ALTE_18 -- -- 07/03/18 2 yes FAIL


2

Appendix B (cont.)


Found Clutch

Size Camera? Nest Fate

Middle Bay

M3_ALTE_18 57.6468 -152.50226 06/04/18 1 yes FAIL M4_ALTE_18 57.64682 -152.50224 06/04/18 1 yes FAIL M10_ALTE_18 57.64803 -152.50221 06/13/18 2 yes FAIL M11_ALTE_18 57.64733 -152.50224 06/13/18 2 yes FAIL M9_ALTE_18 57.64926 -152.50296 06/13/18 2 yes FAIL M12_ALTE_18 57.64954 -152.50356 07/04/18 1 no FAIL M13_ALTE_18 57.64988 -152.50623 07/04/18 2 yes HATCH M14_ALTE_18 57.64937 -152.50627 07/12/18 1 no HATCH M15_ALTE_18 57.64938 -152.50648 07/12/18 2 yes HATCH M17_ALTE_18 57.64938 -152.50743 07/12/18 2 yes FAIL M16_ALTE_18 57.64947 -152.50661 07/12/18 1 yes FAIL M18_ALTE_18 57.64938 -152.50742 07/12/18 2 yes FAIL M19_ALTE_18 57.65025 -152.50771 07/12/18 1 yes FAIL M20_ALTE_18 57.650484 -152.50771 07/27/18 1 no FAIL

Sheep Island SH4_ALTE_18 57.21496 -153.24486 06/11/18 1 yes FAIL SH6_ALTE_18 57.21492 -153.24493 06/11/18 1 yes FAIL

Three Spruce Island

TSI1_ALTE_18 58.59366 -152.51344 06/23/18 1 yes FAIL TSI2_ALTE_18 58.59365 -152.51345 06/23/18 1 no UNK TSI5_ALTE_18 58.593678 -152.513699 08/15/18 unk no UNK TSI6_ALTE_18 58.593635 -152.51367 08/15/18 unk no UNK

Womens Bay

WB1_ALTE_18 57.70211 -152.57204 06/04/18 2 yes FAIL WB2_ALTE_18 57.7015 -152.57103 06/04/18 1 no FAIL WB3_ALTE_18 57.70211 -152.57201 06/07/18 1 yes FAIL WB4_ALTE_18 57.70179 -152.57225 06/13/18 2 yes FAIL WB5_ALTE_18 57.70094 -152.57141 06/13/18 1 yes FAIL WB6_ALTE_18 57.70125 -152.57059 06/13/18 1 no FAIL


3

Appendix B (cont.)


Found Clutch

Size Camera? Nest Fate

Womens Bay cont.

WB7_ALTE_18 57.70142 -152.57257 06/22/18 1 no FAIL WB8_ALTE_18 57.70199 -152.57106 06/22/18 2 no FAIL WB9_ALTE_18 57.70248 -152.57133 06/25/18 1 yes FAIL WB10_ALTE_18 57.70133 -152.57329 06/28/18 unk no HATCH WB11_ALTE_18 57.70567 -152.56779 06/28/18 2 yes FAIL WB12_ALTE_18 57.70584 -152.56845 06/28/18 1 yes FAIL WB13_ALTE_18 57.70552 -152.56772 07/02/18 2 yes FAIL WB14_ALTE_18 57.70506 -152.56769 07/02/18 2 yes FAIL WB15_ALTE_18 57.70502 -152.56755 07/02/18 2 yes FAIL WB16_ALTE_18 57.70641 -152.56665 07/02/18 1 no FAIL WB17_ALTE_18 57.70652 -152.56706 07/02/18 1 no FAIL WB18_ALTE_18 57.70641 -152.56667 07/02/18 1 no FAIL WB19_ALTE_18 57.70655 -152.56717 07/02/18 1 yes FAIL WB20_ALTE_18 57.70638 -152.56657 07/02/18 1 yes FAIL WB21_ALTE_18 57.70638 -152.56659 07/02/18 1 yes FAIL WB22_ALTE_18 57.70693 -152.56621 07/02/18 1 no FAIL WB23_ALTE_18 57.70691 -152.5661 07/02/18 1 no FAIL WB24_ALTE_18 57.7062 -152.56653 07/03/18 1 no FAIL WB25_ALTE_18 57.70678 -152.56674 07/03/18 1 yes FAIL WB26_ALTE_18 57.70625 -152.56825 07/03/18 1 no FAIL WB27_ALTE_18 57.7062 -152.56804 07/03/18 2 no FAIL WB28_ALTE_18 57.70621 -152.56839 07/03/18 1 no FAIL WB29_ALTE_18 57.7069 -152.56625 07/09/18 1 yes FAIL WB30_ALTE_18 57.7063 -152.5685 07/09/18 2 yes FAIL


4

Appendix B (cont.)

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

Akhiok Bay

AHI1_ARTE_18 59.944 -154.13884 06/23/18 1 yes FAIL AHI10_ARTE_18 56.94407 -154.13902 06/23/18 1 no FAIL AHI11_ARTE_18 56.94406 -154.13904 06/23/18 2 no FAIL AHI12_ARTE_18 56.94402 -154.1391 06/23/18 1 yes FAIL AHI13_ARTE_18 56.94401 -154.13914 06/23/18 1 no FAIL AHI2_ARTE_18 56.94399 -154.13887 06/23/18 2 no FAIL AHI3_ARTE_18 56.94399 -154.13885 06/23/18 1 no FAIL AHI4_ARTE_18 56.944 -154.13889 06/23/18 1 no FAIL AHI5_ARTE_18 56.94402 -154.13893 06/23/18 1 no FAIL AHI6_ARTE_18 56.94402 -154.13898 06/23/18 1 no FAIL AHI7_ARTE_18 56.94403 -154.13896 06/23/18 2 no FAIL AHI8_ARTE_18 56.94404 -154.13899 06/23/18 1 no FAIL AHI9_ARTE_18 56.94402 -154.13904 06/23/18 2 no FAIL

Foul Bay 9 FB4_ARTE_18 58.28743 -152.78139 06/13/18 unk no UNK FB5_ARTE_18 58.33178 -152.81718 06/13/18 unk no UNK

Grassy Island G2_ARTE_18 58.44861 -152.78284 06/12/18 2 yes FAIL G3_ARTE_18 58.44851 -152.78293 06/12/18 2 no UNK

Kalsin Bay

K4_ARTE_18 57.59273 -152.45558 05/23/18 1 yes FAIL K5_ARTE_18 57.5929 -152.45627 05/29/18 1 yes FAIL K19_ARTE_18 57.59105 -152.45779 06/12/18 3 no FAIL K20_ARTE_18 57.5911 -152.4579 06/12/18 2 no FAIL

Middle Bay

M1_ARTE_18 57.6494 -152.50279 05/24/18 2 yes FAIL M2_ARTE_18 57.65088 -152.50464 05/30/18 3 yes FAIL M5_ARTE_18 57.64959 -152.50301 06/04/18 1 no FAIL M7_ARTE_18 57.6482 -152.50078 06/13/18 2 no FAIL M8_ARTE_18 57.65049 -152.50424 06/13/18 3 no FAIL

Viekoda Bay Island

VB1_ARTE_18 57.83352 -153.07709 06/28/18 3 yes UNK VB2_ARTE_18 57.83366 -153.07709 06/28/18 2 yes HATCH

Aleutian and Arctic Tern Colony Monitoring, Kodiak ......determine nest survival rates, causes of...

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