The Least Tern that nests in Los Angeles at Malibu, Venice Beach and the Port of Los Angeles has been the subject of intense conservation measures since the 1970's. Recovery efforts helped build the population back up, however, intensively managing them at small reserves has its risks. Increasing predation and less reliable foraging has caused their numbers to decline since 2008. Fewer adults are returning to the colonies. We have documented the problems on the nesting ground, but have few clues as to where these birds are the rest of the year. This has led researchers to two major questions, where do they winter? and are adults that nest in California nesting elsewhere? This second question is especially interesting because least terns nest along the Baja California Peninsula and throughout the Gulf of California from Sonora (<150 miles from San Diego) through Sinaloa and Nayarit. We are partnering with local biologists, birdwatchers, and community naturalists to answer these questions.

Thomas Ryan is a local birder and ornithologist who grew up in Claremont with the Pomona Valley Audubon Chapter. He completed his Master's degree at Long Beach State with Charlie Collins. He has studied movements of Least Terns since 1997 and managed colonies since 2004. Since 2012 he has deployed geolocators and GPS on least terns as well as alphanumeric bands to study movement and population ecology. In 2021, he began his doctorate with Eduardo Palacios at CICESE in Ensenada, Baja California.

The meeting will be presented online at: https://bluejeans.com/687621091/2054

Cover art: Stacey Vigallon