Isles of Shoals Terns Restoration Project

Dan (Unity College grad '95) and Melissa Hayward talked about their work on the Isles of Shoals Terns Restoration Project. They contract with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Dan and Melissa discussed the history of tern populations, noting that in the 19th and early 20th Centuries the birds were over-hunted for their feathers. The restoration project's first year saw successful recolonization. The project seeks to provide a safe breeding environment, with efforts to control predators through both lethal and non-lethal methods. While the biggest predators are gulls (Herring and Great Black-backed), recently a Snowy Owl was spotted, and Terns started to abandon at night. Dan sat in a blind for several nights watching for the bird and finally captured it without injury; it was subsequently released into the wild. They also engage in habitat management and outreach. Dan and Melissa spend their summers working with the tern populations on White Island (above).