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Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects Friday I visited Wedge Island in St. Margaret's Bay. Nesting there are Great Black-back Gulls and Herring Gulls, and also a great infestation of Double-crested Cormorants. The later have killed all the spruce trees which used to form a small wooded area. I had thought that after several years, having killed the trees, the cormorants would move on. Instead, they are thicker than ever. Their nests are so dense that they make it look as if the dead trees had growth. Furthermore, the cormorants have been nesting since last year on increasing areas of the treeless ground, and of course are killing all vegetation there. A new event this year, and most surprising in view of the ruination wrought by the cormorants, is the appearance of a sizable number of Common Terns, which are apparently nesting at a well defined space along the east side of the island. It has been at least a decade since any terns have nested on Wedge Island. (I avoided having a close look, because nesting terns are well known for their sensitivity to visitors.) Whether this tern colony will survive is in doubt, because both Herring Gulls and Great Black-back Gulls prey on terns and their eggs and young. Great Black-back Gulls elsewhere have been filmed catching and eating terns in mid-air: they can swallow adult terns whole. Also, at least one muskrat has been seen on the island, and muskrats are known predators on nesting seabirds. Herring Gulls also prey on terns, and prey on young of their own species. I observed a pair of adult Herring Gulls ferociously attacking a nestling, which was valiantly defended by another adult pair of Herring Gulls, presumably the parents of the intended victim. I would be interested to hear from anyone who was involved with the former effort to promote tern-nesting on Wedge Island. It is a tragedy that the NRC does not seem to understand that, in the modern world, wildlife protection means wildlife management. If you wish to visit Wedge Island, which is private property, please seek permission from the owners beforehand.
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Index of Subjects