Although the Caspian Tern, about 22 inches tall with a forked tail has nearly world wide distribution, its only known breeding area includes only one site in Quebec.
This almost wholly white sea bird with a layer of grayish blue plumage displays a crown of greenish/ black. Its bill is vermilion in color with its feet colored black or brown has a white spot on the lower eyelids.
The Caspian Sea Tern does not build a nest like other birds. Their nest is a hollow scooped in the sand. It usually nests in colonies with other Caspian Terns, but may join the Common Tern or Ring-billed Gull colonies and nest with them. Sometimes they nest in isolated pairs.
After mating the female lays clutches from one to four eggs and incubation takes about 25 days. The young Caspian Terns fledge at 33 days.
Though seen elsewhere its main territory is in and around the Great Lakes. Its main diet consists of alewives and Rainbow Smelt, but occasionally will take Yellow Perch and Rock Bass.
Little is known about the Caspian Terns reproduction in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the fall, the Caspian Terns of the Great Lakes scatter along the Atlantic coast and winter on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean islands.
So far, they found only one Caspian Tern colony in Quebec, at l'île à la Brume on the Lower North Shore. Surveys conducted at this site show a significant fall in population numbers. Wild life managers must devote special attention to study this species' habits, to better understand the causes of its decline.
There is a plan to study and help bring the bird back to a healthy population.
To relocate the Caspian Tern colonies to wild life islands wild life people built a specially created raft to see if they can entice terns to relocate to other sites. They placed the raft near the existing Eastport Drive colony. This urges the Caspian Terns to nest and raise their young on the raft by using appropriate substrate and using tern attractants like decoys.
The new island habitat has fitting gull-free substrate, so the terns can prosper without obstruction from the gulls. The raft builders again used attractants. They relocate the raft between seasons and move it closer towards the new island. The hope is with terns will nest successfully on the raft and then move onto to the nearby island and establish a colony.
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