Meet the endangered little birds fighting for survival in Wichita
Above the dirt banks near a housing development in northwest Wichita, four white birds with gray wings and long yellow bills take turns diving at a scientist trying to protect one of the last nests in their colony.
Least terns are between 8 and 9 inches long and weigh about as much as a golf ball, but the little birds don’t hesitate to dive at threats that venture too close to their nests, often pooping on them as a deterrent.
“I normally get it every day,” said Bob Gress, the former director of the Great Plains Nature Center. Gress usually checks on the birds late in the day, so he can immediately go home and shower.
“I admire their spunk,” Gress said. “I find their parenting traits somewhat admirable. In the face of a gigantic predator, they’re willing to do what they can to protect their next chicks.”
The birds, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act, are known among biologists for their mating ceremony. The male tern will present a minnow to the female and if she is impressed, the least terns make small depressions in the dirt, pick one to make a nest and lay two to three dark speckled cream-colored eggs, a little less than an inch long. Usually, they nest on riverbanks or sandbanks, feeding on tiny fish nearby while they wait for their eggs to hatch.
The past few years, they’ve made their homes in housing developments in Sedgwick County, and this year, nested on slopes overseeing the water, unknowingly putting their eggs at risk. This giant man that dared to walk near their nests is trying to help them.
For the past 20 years, Gress and Charles Kopp, wildlife biologist with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, along with other scientists have watched over these birds in Kansas and done what they could to protect them. They put up signs warning people away, and check on them nearly every day, writing reports about their health and numbers.
At this site, which, as of now, is the only known nesting site this year in the state, there are at least 12 least terns, according to Gress. They’re difficult to count as they are small, incredibly fast and their color allows them to almost disappear against the backdrop of the sky.
In other states, least tern populations are doing well and are in consideration to be removed from the endangered species list, according to Cope. In Kansas, however, their numbers have not reached recovery status.
Least Terns are one of four bird species in Sedgwick County that is considered most vulnerable to losing its habitat due to climate change, according to a study by the Audubon Society.
Last week, the least terns had 16 eggs in six nests, but with Friday’s rain, water rushed down the side of the bank, carrying several of the eggs away and wiping out four of the nests.
Gress spent Saturday morning carefully checking each nest. He made new nests, re-scraping the ground and meticulously replacing the eggs, their points to the center, in the hope that the mothers would retake the nests.
“I don’t know if she’ll take it back, but at least I’ll put them back where the scrape was,” Gress said. “If they have spent all night and chilled, the chick may have died.”
Biologists don’t reveal the nest sites to discourage visitors from disturbing the nests. Violators could face several thousands of dollars in fines and jail time.
“We used to post a plain white sign that’s got our logo and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Endangered Species and a black light graphic of least terns,” Cope said. “We would post those for years but people, especially on the river, ran their ATV through the site.”
After they posted signs warning about $100,000 fines and confiscation of vehicles, people paid more attention.
“The nests are not obvious. All we can really do is try to reduce human activity and then to record what goes on,” Gress said. “We’ve never been able to incubate the eggs and we know nothing about being a parent tern.”
In his 20 years, Gress has seen years where terns have had as many as 14 successful nests. He’s also seen years where the entire colony was wiped out with a flood in one night.
“The female was sitting on the nest and as the water ran into the nest, she was frantically, with her beak and her throat, trying to pull the eggs back underneath her,” Gress said. “She put up that battle for a while, and it washed the nest out....She tried to sit down on the egg as it was floating. It was heartbreaking. It happened to nest after nest.”
Gress and the other scientists are working with the developer to hold off on construction and mowing until the birds hatch their young and fly elsewhere.
“But in spite of trying to protect them from humans, then the rain comes,” Gress said.
This year, there was a little hope on Monday, when Gress went back to the site. While two of the nests he tried to fix were gone, the other two were being incubated by the parents. The two pairs of parents without a nest could lay more eggs, but they won’t know for another week.
As of Tuesday afternoon, one chick hatched and there is a second suspected hatching, both from the nests that were left intact.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
