Common terns vanished from the Isles of Shoals some 60 years ago — destroyed by hunters, hatmakers and a proliferation of seagulls. Today, human technology and ingenuity have helped to restore critical habitat at the Isles of Shoals for common terns.
Program Objectives
Students will:
Explain why the common tern population almost disappeared from the Isles of Shoals.
Describe the role the black-backed gull and the American herring gull played in declines in the common tern population.
Explain the strategies scientists are using to discourage gulls from nesting on the Isles of Shoals.
Describe some of the techniques scientists are using to encourage the common tern to nest on the Isles of Shoals.
Pre-Viewing Activities
Have students list reasons why the population of common terns might have declined in New Hampshire.
Post-Viewing Activities
Have students discuss why non-lethal methods were used to drive gulls away from the Isles of Shoals.
Have students contact NH Fish and Game and find out what the current population of common terns is on the Isles of Shoals.
Image Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Image Caption: A Common Tern
Vocabulary
Refuge
Census
Onslaught
Seed Money
Tenuous
Vigilant
Dissuade
Non-lethal
Pyrotechnics
Plundered
Finesse
Decoys
Blind
Threatened Species
Predator
Out Compete
Breeding Ground
Fledged
