Great Lakes report, achievement and disappointment

[Donnie Dann]

Birders,

What a year! We were optimistic at the beginning of the nesting season since we had multiple nests and good numbers of eggs. Our first disappointment came from the loss of all the eggs, one night from of all unexpected predators, a goose got on the platforms and ate all the eggs.

Fortunately, it was early enough in the breeding season for the birds to re-nest and in spite of attaching wires to the top of the platforms to keep the geese out (and wide enough apart to let the smaller birds in), the terns weren't especially interested in re-laying in the situation where they lost all their eggs.

Instead, they elected to use the sandbars in the harbor, which developed due to the lower lake levels, to build nests and raise young. The problem with that is that there was no predator protection of any kind. Yet, miraculously we can confirm that 18 juvenile Common Terns, flight capable, successfully fledged. 

All in all, the year could well have produced as many as 30 to 40 young birds, rather than 18, but we were delighted that given the long lifespan these birds have (20 to 25 years) we were pleased that things turned out as well as they did. We can't do much about storms, but there are some precautions we can take and plan to do so in 2027.

Donnie Dann

Highland Park/Lake County

[M.Bernat]

Donnie,

Thank you for the traditional common tern wrap-up. It was a good breeding season.

I think I learn something new from you every year about the challenges the common terns face due to their site fidelity to Great Lakes and the adaptations DNR has made for their safety. The predatory goose? That was out of the ballpark new to me and I’m a little surprised the terns apparently had no defense against a single goose. 

Mary Bernat

South Cook County

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