COASTAL OBSERVER

The least tern colony at Huntington Beach State Park grew from 30 nests to 137 in a single year, surpassing Litchfield Beach as the second-largest colony in South Carolina.

The southern tip of Litchfield Beach saw 105 nests this year, down from last year’s total of 113.

Mike Walker, interpretive ranger at the park, manages the colony that fills the area between the beach and salt creek near the south jetty at Murrells Inlet. It’s the largest colony he has seen at the park.

He’s seen colonies at the park before, averaging about 70 nests. One of the earliest he could recall was in 1989, the summer before Hurricane Hugo. 

“It’s been on and off for decades,” he said. “Just the fact that we have so many chicks already, it’s pretty amazing.”

This is the second consecutive year that the seabirds have taken a liking to the area where sand was placed when the Army Corps of Engineers did maintenance dredging of the navigation channel between the jetties.

It’s now a newly-created habitat, said Felicia Sanders, who heads the Coastal Bird Project with S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

She said she’s glad to see colonies persist despite the bird’s threatened status.

“It’s phenomenal. To see so many birds there, it’s just exciting,” Sanders said. “The fact they came back, that’s a good sign that they probably had success last year.”

The state’s largest least tern colony is at Bird Key-Stono Seabird Sanctuary south of Charleston. It’s managed by DNR and closes from March 15 to Oct. 15 to protect nesting birds.

There are approximately 1,000 least tern nests across the entire state, Sanders added.

Least terns, a highly territorial species of seabird, favor flat, bare areas. Low vegetation is key in order for the terns to spot predators from long distances.

When the least terns sense danger, the adults soar above the area to alert the others, which triggers a group effort to attack predators.

Walker said the least terns got a head start this year and began nesting halfway through April. They typically start nesting in May.

“They caught me off guard,” Walker said.

Least terns do not lay all their eggs at the same time. There were birds still incubating eggs during Sanders’ latest visit to Litchfield in May.

“They’re pretty asynchronous,” she said. “That probably means some of them have failed and they relaid eggs.”

A least tern can lay eggs three times, Sanders added.

Walker wrote grants for equipment meant to help protect the birds. Most of the funding came from the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation, he said.

The colony, stretching across a large area of the sand, is protected by a double-layered electric fence. It was a single layer until a colony was lost to a coyote one year, Walker said. 

Cellular trail cameras surround the fence. Walker can monitor predators by connecting his cellphone to the cameras.

Dogs, one of the tern’s predators, must be kept on leashes throughout the state park no matter how friendly they are, he added.

“It’s not about the dog. It’s about the bird and how the bird sees the dog,” Walker said. “Having a huge predator in your home is very stressful.”

At the north end, dogs aren’t allowed at all.

The sound of birds chirping gets louder as beachgoers get near the colony, but it’s not the nesting birds. It’s a solar-powered audio system that plays recorded bird calls on a loop. It’s known as the Murremaid system and is commonly used by wildlife managers.

That’s combined with visual components, such as decoys of terns that were made by fifth-grade students. There is also the occasional dead crow decoy. 

Crows are among the least tern’s avian predators. The decoys convince them and other predators that there’s a disease  in the area. 

Signs let the public know about the colony. Spikes on top of the sign posts keep crows from scoping out the colony.

Wooden shelters that were made by eighth-graders during Bunnelle’s Pathways to Possibilities career program provide shade and a hiding spot from avian predators.

“It is a really good management tool,” Sanders said.

The park also has a Shorebird Steward Program that has helped to spread awareness of the birds. Volunteers spend weekends monitoring the least tern colony at the park.

“We’re able to use a lot more tools that most people might not have at their disposal, but ultimately, obviously being a park, this is our mission,” Walker said.

He attributed the colony’s success so far to the community’s support.

He encourages people to share the beach with the nesting birds, keep dogs on leashes and – most importantly – take a moment to appreciate the least terns.

“There’s more exciting wildlife at the beach than just sea turtles. Be open to that experience,” Walker said.