Photo of a Least Tern incubating eggsThis washover pass, located on Mustang Island, Texas, attracted over 30 breeding pairs of Least Terns that had established nests by mid May in 1997. Audubon biologists located and marked 16 of these nests near the front of the pass, in coppice dune habitat, but all were gone after Memorial Day weekend, crushed by vehicles. Other waterbirds nesting in the pass include Wilson's Plovers, Snowy Plovers, Common Nighthawks, and Horned Larks. All are vulnerable to nest loss as a result of off-road vehicle traffic in the pass.
In 1998, under the Waterbird Watch program, Dee Baugher, a student at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, helped Audubon protect Newport Pass. Together, we erected a fenceline of signs and flagged twine to direct vehicle traffic away from the pass. The fence and signs were fairly successful. We observed many ORV's approach the pass to enter the nesting area, but subsequently turn around after reading our signs. When Least Terns do again nest in large numbers in the pass, they will have a better chance of raising young.
Photo of a Least Tern incubating eggs
Lee Elliott has been collecting waterbird count data at this site for the last 3 years as a participant of the Waterbird Watch program. Lee's data is also supporting the International Shorebird Survey Program administered by the Manomet Bird Observatory.
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