For every season, tern, tern, tern

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

The cool bite in the breeze that blows off the ocean signals that

autumn has arrived. In Central Park and on the Bolsa Chica mesa, the

glossy pastels of tender spring leaves have given way to lusty greens

and dusty brittle browns. With fall comes a sense of urgency. Change

is in the air.

Although autumn doesn’t arrive officially until next Tuesday, the

summer season is over. Some birds have left town already, while many

others are arriving. A few weeks ago, the thousands of elegant terns

that nest at the Bolsa Chica became restless. During summer, only the

sight of a peregrine falcon or other predatory bird could send them

wheeling skyward in screaming flocks. But by early September, it was

hormones rather than predators that caused them to take flight.

Hormonal responses to shortening days cause migratory birds to put

on fat in preparation for their long journey. Hormones also cause

them to become jumpy and nervous. Instead of acting as individuals,

they began acting as a group. By late August, the elegant terns were

flying in tight flocks. The slightest disturbance would send them

into the sky. They were getting ready to leave us.

The elegant terns are without a doubt our noisiest terns. There is

no missing their presence as they scream from sunup to sundown.

Summer at the wetlands is punctuated by their calls and screeches.

Then one day last week the wetlands fell silent. The screaming flocks

had not simply gone up in the air, circled and settled back down. The

birds had begun their annual journey south.

Two weeks ago, there were over 4,000 elegant terns at the Bolsa

Chica. Last week, only a few stragglers remained behind. They too

will leave soon. By October, it will be difficult to find an elegant

tern anywhere around. They will all have gone to their wintering

grounds off the coast of South America. While we “endure” another

grueling winter of slightly lower temperatures and an occasional

rainstorm, our terns will spend their days on sunny Peruvian and

Chilean shores, searching for anchovies and sardines.

The Bolsa Chica hosts one of only five known elegant tern breeding

colonies in the world. The largest colony is on Isla Rasa in the Gulf

of California. With about 22,500 breeding pairs, the Isla Rasa colony

represents the bulk of the known population. Other colonies are at

Isla Montague in the Colorado delta, San Diego Bay and Los Angeles

harbor.

The elegant tern breeding population seems to be expanding

northward. The San Diego colony was first reported in 1959. The Bolsa

Chica colony started in 1986. It grew from 17 pairs in 1987 to 2,000

pairs by 1993. The Los Angeles colony was founded in 1998, and is

probably composed of individuals from the Bolsa Chica and/or San

Diego colonies.

During restoration of the Bolsa Chica in the late 1970s, the

California Department of Fish and Game constructed two sand islands,

intending them as nesting habitat for the endangered California least

tern. Tidal flushing was restored to Inner Bolsa Bay in 1978.

According to plan, the least terns began nesting on the islands. But

with suitable tern breeding habitat becoming more and more scarce

with development, other tern species began using the islands as well.

In addition to the elegant and least terns, the islands also are home

to royal, Caspian and Forster’s terns. While some of these latter

terns will remain through the winter, all of the elegant and least

terns head south.

The absence of elegant terns is just one example of the change in

season. Fall migration always brings a few stragglers, which delight

birders. Vic found a Pacific golden plover at the Bolsa Chica this

weekend. They normally migrate from Alaska to Hawaii, but every year

a few stray off course and land at the Seal Beach National Wildlife

Refuge, the Bolsa Chica or Upper Newport Bay. Other birders report

Lucy’s warbler and Tennessee warbler at Central Park. A western

tanager and a Pacific slope flycatcher are lingering at Shipley

Nature Center, probably stocking up on fat juicy grubs and

caterpillars before continuing south.

All the Neotropical migrants are heading south. But at our local

wetlands, the water and mudflats have turned from nearly empty to

full as tens of thousands of ducks and shorebirds return from Alaska

and Canada. Our breeding birds have left, and many migrants are

flying through, but our wintering bird population is just arriving.

The number of birds at our wetlands in summer is nothing compared to

the abundant richness of bird life in the winter.

For us, it has been thrilling to watch the number and diversity of

bird species increase at the Bolsa Chica each year. We’re excited

about the restoration that is to come. The health of the wetlands and

its ability to support wildlife will increase even more.

With restoration of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, Bolsa Chica mesa,

Huntington Wetlands and Shipley Nature Center in Central Park, the

birds that breed and feed in Huntington Beach will have better

habitat than they have had in decades. While we can’t compensate for

the huge losses of habitat that occurred here with development, we

can save and improve what little is left. These are exciting times

for local nature lovers.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].