— 2007 Season —
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| Metinic Island. Credit: USFWS |
In 1994 and 1995, the Service acquired 149 acres of the 330 acre Metinic Island from the Conservation Fund. The island, located 12 miles southeast of Rockland, has been grazed by sheep for generations. Approximately 120 sheep remain on the island. Although Arctic and common terns continued to nest on the island in small numbers, the presence of nesting gulls significantly limited the productivity of the colony.
In 1998, the Service began a tern restoration project on the north end of the island. A five acre “peninsula” was fenced to allow the vegetation to recover from grazing and provide some shelter for the terns. The Service set up tern decoys and a sound system, playing the sounds of an active tern colony, to draw birds back to the island. Although terns landed among the decoys, no terns nested within the restoration area in 1998. However, in 1999 one pair of common terns and two pairs of Arctic terns nested adjacent to the decoy area. Later in the season, nine additional pairs of terns nested near the decoy area.
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| Common Eider Duckling Credit: USFWS |
By 2004, the colony had grown to over 700 pairs of terns. As did many of the other tern colonies in Maine, Metinic Island experienced a significant decline in 2005 due to extreme weather events. The colony recovered in 2006, and in 2007 the island supported 321 pairs of common terns and 338 pairs of Arctic terns.
No roseate terns nested on the island this season.
In 2002, the refuge, MDIFW, and U.S. Geological Survey began a survival and recruitment study of common eiders on Petit Manan, Green, and Metinic Islands. During the first six years of the project, over 9,800 eiders were banded. The island is managed by the Service.
Common and Arctic Tern Recovery on Metinic Island: 1996 – 2007
