This is the case with South Island. Several of the species on this is- land used it almost exclusively as a nesting place. According to Becky Gwynn, deputy director for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resource, royal terns and sandwich terns nested on South Island and nowhere else in Virginia, and about 50 percent of black skimmers and common terns nested on the island. As a temporary solution, the team worked together to create a habitat for these birds on Fort Wool, a former Army post on an eight-acre island connected to South Island by a stony jetty. They converted the old post’s parade ground into a 1.5-acre nesting habitat. To increase the available nesting area, three barges were anchored adjacent to Fort Wool, providing an additional acre, for a total of 2.5 acres of nesting habitat overall. They cleared vegetation on the island to make it attractive to the sea- birds and then placed 1,700 cubic yards of barged-in sand over the entire parade ground to provide an appropriate habitat for these spe- cies. Dredged sand and mud will be used in future work. These birds like a habitat that mimics a beach island environment, so the team spread a coarse sand on the parade ground and a sand/pea gravel mixture onto the barges and created gentle slopes that mimic a barrier island. They also placed short sidewalls around the tops of the barges to prevent young chicks from running off the edges. To lure the birds to the new habitat, bird call recordings were played and decoys of several tern species and black skimmers were placed on the island. Their work was successful. “In one site visit the first year, we recorded 3,500 royal tern chicks. We also documented 200 sandwich terns, 1,000 common terns, 150 black skimmers, and thousands of laughing gulls. Only one pair of gull-billed terns was documented on the barges during the first nesting season, but anglers and other observers spotted more in the air. And the gull-billed terns produced two fledglings – chicks that survived to take flight,” said Gwynn. “In 2021, we documented 6,283 In July 2022, thousands of birds can be seen nesting on Fort Wool and its adjacent barges. Parent birds have been observed protecting their nests, incubating their eggs, and brooding and feeding their young. Photo: Jessica Ruthenberg, Virginia Department of Wildlife Services.
Royal tern chick and adults on Fort Wool. Photo: Meagan Thomas/DWR.
royal tern nests, 663 common tern nests, 139 black skimmer nests, and 15 gull-billed tern nests – a real success.” Not only is this habitat beneficial for birds, but also for coastal com - munities. Providing these birds a home keeps them away from cars and planes, reducing potential car collisions and bird strikes with aircraft from a nearby airfield. The team has plans for this bird colony. Hamor said, “We are conduct- ing a feasibility study to investigate opportunities to create 10-12 acres of permanent habitat using dredged material from federal navigation channels for existing and future seabird colonies, specifically to in - crease the value and quantity of habitat for shorebirds, wading birds and migratory species.” In addition, this new habitat may encourage the growth of clams, oysters, red drum, seatrout, summer flounder, and striped bass, which can lead to increasing opportunities for commer- cial and sport fishing. The Hampton Roads Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Project and the Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab are both successfully restoring vanishing bird habitats using dredged sand and mud while at the same time helping coastal communities. Tedesco sums up the importance of these projects. A few years ago, she was once again looking out her window at The Wetlands Institute and saw something that absolutely delighted her. She saw a rare gyrfalcon wander into the area and perch on the high grounds of one of the newly restored marshes. If the marsh had not been restored, that bird would not have had a habitat to forage. Not only was Tedesco excited, but also the hundreds of people who flocked there with telescopes and binoculars for an opportunity to get a glimpse of this bird. Tedesco said, “This represents an important example of the multiple benefits of these projects that provide habitats for birds and social and recreational benefits for people.”
DR. JOANNE CASTAGNA is a public affairs specialist and writer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division. She can be reached at joanne.castagna@usace.army.mil.
29
October 2022 csengineermag.com
Made with FlippingBook Annual report