Birds on the Islands
Field surveys have identified more than 200 bird species including gulls, terns, herons, ducks, geese, hawks, plovers, sandpipers, doves, owls, woodpeckers, and perching birds. During migration, large numbers of shorebirds utilize the mudflats and salt marshes around the harbor, while transient hawks and songbirds regularly make use of the more remote islands, or those with suitable habitat. In late fall and winter, great flocks of waterfowl gather in harbor waters.

Inventory & Monitoring
Birds are an important component of park ecosystems, and a good indicator species of local and regional ecosystem change. Researchers finalized a protocol in 2010 to obtain information on the relative abundance of coastal breeding species at Boston Harbor Islands. With the assistance of volunteers, they estimated or directly counted all nests, incubating adults, or territorial nesting pairs on all islands where waterbirds have been known to nest in the past. The final long-term monitoring protocol adopted by the park will incorporate periodic surveillance for new nesting locations. Coastal Breeding Bird Monitoring field season summaries and resource briefs are listed below:

Field Season Summaries:
   » 2010 Field Season Summary (Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NETN/NRTR-2011/459) [PDF 774KB]

   » 2009 Field Season Summary (Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NETN/NRTR-2010/336)

   » 2008 Field Season Summary (Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NETN/NRTR--2009/209)

   » 2007 Field Season Summary (Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NER/NRR--2007/16)

Resource Briefs:
   » October 2011 [PDF 300KB]

What Happened to the Terns on Lovells Island?
Historically, Lovells Island supported a breeding colony of Least Terns (Sternula antillarum), but during the 2007 breeding season the colony suffered a complete decimation. Volunteer monitors noticed that some nests had been attacked by predators. In an effort to uncover the culprit, motion sensing and infrared detection remote cameras were set near the nesting area, where scientists placed dummy nests baited with domestic quail eggs. It appears both mammalian and avian species, including American Crow, rats and European Rabbits were identified as nest destroyers and predators. The terns did not return to Lovells in 2008 or 2009, but in July 2010, scientists counted 35 Least Tern nests. On August 1, 2010, 10 fledglings were counted near the nests. The colony remains active in 2011. 

» Tern Predation Study (PDF - 448kb)