Piping plover. - Photo Credit: USFWS

Least tern with three chicks. Incubating piping plover in background. - Photo Credit: USFWS

Least tern chick being fed by parent. - Photo Credit: USFWS

Least tern chick being fed by parent. - Photo Credit: USFWS

Great-horned owl. - Photo Credit: USFWS

Quonnie Beach was home to Rhode Island’s 2012 nesting season’s largest least tern colony. A total of 111 least tern chicks fledged with an outstanding productivity of 1.35. USFWS staff utilized unique placement of camouflaged trail cameras at Quonnie Beach in order to document predator activity and the foraging and nesting behavior of least tern and piping plovers. Natural elements such as wrack, driftwood, and the quintessential New England washed up lobster trap were used to disguise the cameras and reduce disturbance. Up close and intimate photographs of least tern chicks being fed by dedicated tern parents were taken and are being used by visitor services for public outreach and education. In addition the photographs have allowed USFWS staff to develop a more informed management plan due to the better understanding of how least terns and piping plovers respond to human disturbance. These photographs have also aided our knowledge of predator presence, movement, and influence upon the least tern colony at Quonnie Beach. Predators such as Coyote, great-horned owl, Virginia opossum, and great black backed-gull were documented.

Funding for this program comes from a cooperative agreement with the State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. This state wildlife grant is an agreement that funds piping plover management and is made possible through a match provided by landowners and volunteers.