— 2004 Season —
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| Ship Island. Credit: USFWS |
Ship is an 11 acre island within Blue Hill Bay, which is connected by a bar at low tide to the three acre Trumpet Island. Historically Ship Island supported over 300 Common Tern nests, while an additional 500 pairs nested on Trumpet Island. However, by the 1930's gulls had eliminated all nesting by terns. In 1993, a tern restoration project was initiated through a cooperative agreement with The Nature Conservancy. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquired Ship and Trumpet from TNC in 1994 and gull control continued through 1995. After more than a 50 year absence, terns returned to Ship Island in 1995 when a single pair of Common Terns nested. The colony continued to grow and in 1999, 558 pairs of Common Terns nested. For unknown reasons, the terns did not nest on Ship Island in 2000. Several pairs did initiate egg laying, but all nests were abandoned early in the season. In 2001, the Refuge set up social attraction equipment in an effort to draw the terns back to the site. The attraction equipment worked and during the GOMSWG census we counted 267 Common Tern nests. Shortly after the census a mink swam out to the island and caused wide-scale colony abandonment. Only four tern chicks fledged from Ship Island in 2001. The Refuge had numerous traps set around the island throughout the nesting season, but we were unable to trap the predator.
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| Tern on Ship Island. Credit: USFWS |
Mammal trapping efforts were continued throughout the 2002, 2003, and 2004 nesting seasons. Our goal was to make the island “predator free” before the terns arrived. Initial response by the terns looked promising, and approximately 120 terns were routinely visiting the island in 2002 and 2003. Unfortunately, a Short Eared Owl was observed on the island in 2002 and the terns completely abandoned. In 2003, a mink visited the island in June and once again eliminated all tern nesting efforts. Although several terns visited Ship Island in 2004, they did not attempt to nest. Considerable effort has been spent trying to trap the mink on Ship and Trumpet Islands, but it appears the animal(s) swim from nearby islands once the terns are nesting. The Refuge has decided not to place researchers on Ship Island this summer, and will continue efforts to locate another site for a tern restoration project. The island is managed by the Service.
