Endangered birds successfully nest for first time since 1960s on Presque Isle

( WJET/WFXP ) — The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) announced Wednesday that a species of bird found along Presque Isle State Park successfully nested at the park for the first time in roughly 60 years.

The PGC announced two common tern chicks fledged successfully at Presque Isle’s Gull Point Saturday for the first time since an effort began in 2012 by wildlife officials. Presque Isle is the only place where common terns nest in Pennsylvania.

Officials from the PGC, Presque Isle, Erie Bird Observatory and Western PA Conservancy have long worked together to improve Gull Point so more birds like terns can nest there but haven’t had any luck with successful nestings until this past weekend.

Human interference at nesting spots caused common terns to leave the Commonwealth by 1985 and subsequently reclassified them as “extirpated” — or completely lost — until 1999 when one couple was spotted moving them up to “endangered” and are still there, according to the PGC.

Common terns started to nest along Gulf Point again in 2012 after invasive plants were removed with 21 nests being attempted but none successful due to wildlife officials staying away and natural predators like seagulls.

“It was time to try something new in the recovery of this species,” said Lisa Williams, chief of the PGC’s Wildlife Recovery Division.

This time, wildlife officials built a predator guard, described as an open-roofed fort, around the nest over the course of four days to keep predators out while monitoring the eggs and eventual hatchlings.

The PGC said they don’t ordinarily interfere with predators during conservation, especially when there are over 480 species of birds to account for in the park. However, this time they deemed human interference was necessary to test their partnerships and potentially have terns re-colonize the area.

“It was a dicey plan,” said Patti Barber, project lead and endangered bird specialist. “With only a single nesting pair on the beach, these birds do not tolerate disturbance and are very likely to abandon the nest. It’s amazing the things we can achieve when partners work together!”

The PGC called the successful nesting a landmark event for conversation and protection efforts.

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