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(photo by Dashiell Feierabend)
Arctic Terns nest on sparsely vegetated, gravelly ground, such as islands and river bars. The best nesting habitat is close to food sources and protected from land predators. From the 1990s until 2016, a small nesting colony has used parts of the Skagway Ore Peninsula, to the delight of those who watch downy chicks become svelte adults. In 2017 the majority of the colony moved to gravel bars in the Skagway River, next to the airstrip. The main colony nested there until the bar was flooded in 2021.
The Ore Peninsula is a heavily used industrial and tourist area. Human activities and breeding terns often co-exist, but can easily come into conflict. In June of 2015, a number of birders who frequented the colony site reported a dramatic drop in tern presence at the colony, at about the same time that two large, unusual disturbances happened: ground surface grading and gravel stockpiling. This prompted Skagway Bird Club (SBC) to research and publish a 2015 press release to summarize the situation.
In April of 2016, SBC created a citizen-science monitoring project designed to better understand the Arctic Tern colony. The monitoring project was open for anyone to participate. The results of the 2016 monitoring program are presented in the report: 2016 report
No thorough organized Arctic Tern monitoring project has happened after 2016. However, SBC has collected observations to document tern presence and breeding.
All are invited to participate. Bird Club members can post to our forum. Others are welcome to email observations (see instructions on the documentation pages below). We'll also check eBird and the Skagway Bird Club and Skagway, Naturally! facebook pages.
2020 documentation volunteers helped haze terns and gulls away from airstrip riverbar colony site
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