Friday's Foto

Despite its "common" moniker the New York State Department of Environment Conservation has list the status of the Common Tern as "threatened" in the state. Like many other bird species, this tern was almost wiped out in the early 20th century by plume hunters. Current issues causing decline include competition for nest sites by Ring-billed Gulls and increased human activities along their preferred breeding habitat - coastal beaches. One locally successful annual colony is on the unused Yankee Pier at Governor's Island on Buttermilk Channel. I posted about it here, here and here. NYC Audubon will have a Tern Festival here on July 19, 2015.