Hello, seekers. A report of a single black tern has become welcome news
in Ohio. We can hope Ron's tern reaches Canada. Back in the late 19th
century--forgive me for nostalgia--Langdon called this species "a very
common summer resident in the marsh [Ottawa County], nesting or rather
laying its eggs on the islands of decaying vegetation and and mud formed
by sunken muskrat houses." Farther south, in 1940, Trautman wrote that
at Buckeye Lake their migrant numbers peaked in late May and early June,
and "on the average migration day between 10 and 50 birds were noted,
and during the period of maximum abundance from 300 to 700 were recorded
in a day" They did not nest so far south as Licking County, however.
Later, in his 'Birds of Western Lake Erie,' he described the draining of
the northern marshes, followed by planting in grain, then flooding
during the spring and fall waterfowl seasons. This destroyed the tern's
nesting habitat and its food supply. By 1960 "only a small remnant of
the original tern nesting population remained." It's extirpated now.
Agriculture and duck-hunting were the winners. For similar reasons,
black terns are vanishing from places in Michigan, I hear. No doubt a
few more will straggle through Ohio in weeks to come.
Bill Whan


On 5/10/2016 2:09 PM, Doreene Linzell wrote:
> Ron Sempier just texted me the following message about Killdeer Plains:
>
> Black  bellied  Plover  at corner  of CH 71  &  TH108.  Black  Tern there
> as  well. Also  Black  Tern at pond  3. Good group  of shorebirds  on CH
> 67 at the end of Marseilles  rd across from  cell  tower.
>
> Doreene Linzell
>

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