artificial dry sand mounds about 1 m in diameter 

 were distributed in the colony as an alternative 

 nesting substrate (Atwood et al. 1977). Elsewhere, 

 clay pipes, clay roofing tiles, and special concrete 

 blocks strategically placed in nesting areas have 

 been used successfully by chicks for shade and 

 protection (Atwood et al. 1977). 



Continued banding projects will be useful to 

 determine postbreeding movements to wintering 

 areas, to understand site-faithfulness, intercolony 

 aggregations, and age at sexual maturity (Rypka 

 1977). 



A recovery plan has been developed by the 

 California Least Tern Recovery Team and is 

 currently being reviewed by the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service. The plan lists proposed actions for each 

 colony. 



AUTHORITIES 



Sanford R. Wilbur 



Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 



California Field Station 



Ojai, California 93023 



Alan Craig 



California Dept. of Fish and Game 

 1416 Ninth Street 

 Sacramento, California 95814 



PREPARER'S COMMENTS 



It is unclear whether the number of California 

 least terns is actually increasing or if the apparent 

 increase is a function of the increased level of 

 research on this subspecies. Overall trends are 

 difficult to elucidate from the cursory survey data 

 that is currently available. Better coordination is 

 needed to standardize the censusing of colonies. 



Least terns are adaptable and even small 

 colonies could form the basis of substantial new 

 colonies. Thus all colonies, regardless of their size, 

 should be protected as much as possible from 

 human harassment and predation. At present, the 

 concentration of birds in a few breeding locations 

 (33% of the total population is at two locations in 

 San Diego County) makes the future of this 

 species precarious. 



LITERATURE CITED / SELECTED 

 REFERENCES 



Allen, A. 1934. The season: San Francisco region. 



Bird Lore 36(4):316. 



American Ornithologists. Union. 1957. Check Ust 

 of North American birds. 5th edition. 691 pp. 



Anderson, W. 1970. The California least tern 

 breeding in Alameda and San Mateo Counties. 

 California Fish and Game 56(2): 136- 137. 



Anonymous. 1970. Least tern. Wandering Tattler 

 17(9):4. 



Atwood, J. L., P. D. Jorgenson, R. M. Jurek, and 

 T. D. Manolis. 1977. Cahfornia least tern 

 census and nesting survey, 1977. California 

 Department of Fish and Game Nongame 

 Wildlife. Investigations, E-1-1, Job V-2.11, 

 Job Final Report. 35 pp. 



Bancroft, G. 1927. Breeding birds of Scammons 

 Lagoon, Lower California. Condor 29(1):29- 



57. 



Bender, K. 1973. California least tern census and 

 nesting survey, 1974. California Department 

 of Fish and Game Nongame Wildlife Investi- 

 gation W-54-R, Progress Report. 47 pp. 



. 1974. California least tern population 



and nesting survey, 1974. California Depart- 

 ment of Fish and Game Nongame Wildlife 

 Investigation W-54-R, Job Final Report. 17 

 pp. 



Bent, A. C. 1921. Life history of North American 

 gulls and terns. Nat. Mus. Bull. 13. 



Burleigh, T. D. and G. H. Lowery, Jr. 1942. An 

 inland race of Sterna albifrons. Occas. Pap. 

 Mus. Zool. Louisiana State Univ. 10:173-177. 



Chambers, W. L. 1908. The present status of the 

 least tern in southern California. Condor 10 



(6):237. 



Chandik, T. and A. Baldridge. 1967. Nesting, 

 middle Pacific coast region. Audubon Field 

 Notes 21(5):600-603. 



Chase, T. and R. O. Paxton. 1965. Middle Pacific 

 coast region. Audubon Field Notes 19(5): 

 574-576. 



Craig, A. M. 1971. Survey of California least tern 

 nesting sites. California Department of Fish 

 and Game Project W-54-R-4, Job II-5.1. Job 

 Completion Report. 55 pp. 



