The Brothers are two tiny islands about 1 km west of Lower West Pubnico, Nova Scotia, Canada.
They are owned by the province and were designated a wildlife management area in April 2007.
Access to them during nesting season (April 1 to Aug. 31) is by permit only.

My work on these islands is done in cooperation with Canadian Wildlife Service and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.

THE BROTHERS, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia

THE BROTHERS, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia

SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS AND ACTIVITIES:

The following is a synopsis of the tern status in southwest Nova Scotia for the 2012 nesting season. My "tern" work and observations deal primarily with the tern colony on The Brothers. These two tiny islands are located about 1 km offshore from Lower West Pubnico in Yarmouth County.

The first terns were seen at North Brother on May 3, 2012. About 10 terns flew above as we were anchoring.

Total tern nests on The Brothers was 658 (only on North Brother again in 2012). This was down from 725 in 2011. (Down from max of 880 in 2001). No terns nested on South Brother in 2012.

Breakdown by species: ROST 34 nests (5.2%), ARTE approx. 50 nests (7.6%), COTE approx. 574 nests (87.2%).

The 34 Roseate Tern nests on The Brothers in 2012 was down from the 38 in 2011 and the 38 in 2010. The maximum number of ROST nests on The Brothers was 90 in 2002.

43 ROST chicks were documented. All in all, with low or no mortality. Great weather, plenty of food, no predators.

I believe a primary ROST foraging area was located in 2012. An area 10 km SSE from North Brother in a cove on the eastern side of St. John's Island, 5 km south of Pubnico Point.

Only one gull nest was destroyed on The Brothers in 2012. It was an unfinished nest on South Brother.

There was the usual amount of erosion on the southwest end of the island, mostly about 1/3 metre, a few spots about 2/3 metre.

July 3, 2012, 23 ROST chicks were banded, each with two bands. One of the bands was the usual metal type; the other, a red plastic band with three characters in white. The first character of each plastic band was a "B" followed by two numerals. A 24th chick was too young for banding. No ROST chick mortality was found. Note: 44 ROST chicks were banded in 2002.

Eleven field-readable Roseate Tern leg bands were read in 2012. (See below)

Eleven field-readable Roseate Tern leg bands were read in 2012

It appears the Meadow Voles were not totally extirpated from the island as previously thought. Single voles were photographed by the trail cameras on two occasions.

The last ROST chick to be seen was one captured by the trail cameras being fed by an adult on August 2, 2012. The chick was about 10 days old at the time. It was never seen again. However, on August 7, an adult ROST was seen carrying food at North Brother.

One thing I must mention was the lack of small herring seen near The Brothers in 2012, even along the shore of the mainland (and perhaps all of Lobster Bay). Pubnico Harbour, on the other hand, was full of small herring, therefore no apparent tern chick starvation in 2012.

All in all a great year on North Brother even though the ROST numbers could have been higher. No ROST mortality, although some normal Common and Arctic Tern chick mortality. Only one adult COTE found dead.

OBSERVATIONS:

North Brother  (2005 photo)

The Brothers as seen from Lower West Pubnico. (2005 photo)

April 26, 2012 - North Brother. My first visit to N. Brother for 2012. On arrival, we first noticed our mooring was gone or missing. We usually tie to an orange balloon anchored to a concrete block with a stout rope. It is possible the rope and the block are still there under water and only the balloon is gone or perhaps the whole thing may be gone. I will have to use my SCUBA gear to find out, when the water gets warmer. Anyway, we anchored about 30m from shore and used the Zodiac as landing craft.

We brought with us 12 new 16"x 16" Roseate Tern (ROST) nesting shelters, a couple of buckets, a shovel, a rake, and some tarp material.

The island was in very good condition. The nest shelters were mostly still in place where they were left last fall and still no evidence of Meadow Voles. The grass transplants of last spring are growing very well.

We removed the two strips of "AstroTurf". We had no success with it last year except for one very approachable Common Tern nesting on it. The weeds had no problem anchoring their roots in the material. Even dead weeds from last season were hard to pull out from it. We replaced them with impervious tarp material, reusing the gravel as much as possible for use as a base for the ROST nesting shelters. The strips of "AstroTurf" were towed behind the boat to Abbott's Harbour to clean them from dirt. They were then taken to my boat shed and rolled up.

There was the usual amount of erosion on the southwest end of the island, mostly about 1/3 metre, a few spots about 2/3 metre. The beach on the northeast side of the island looked longer than usual. Maybe it actually was, or maybe it looked longer because the tide was quite low at the time of our visit.

My crew and assistants: Rémi d'Entremont, Alix d'Entremont and Jean Bernard d'Entremont.

The photos below chronicle our visit.

Some new ROST nesting shelters, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

Monitoring the erosion on North Brother: A year ago, in April 2011, the blue pegs were placed one metre from the eroding edge; a year earlier, the yellow pegs were placed one metre from the edge - Alix d'Entremont photo, April 26, 2012

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

Weed sprouts growing on the "AstroTurf" - North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

North Brother, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

Abbott's Harbour, Middle West Pubnico, Nova Scotia, April 26, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

April 29, 2012 - North Brother. Two objectives today. Placing orange stakes one metre from the eroding edge of the island and spot testing for effectiveness of a propane weeding torch on sprouting Wild Radish, Knotweed, and Ragweed. In a few weeks we should know if heat zapping the sprouting weeds will have the desired effect. See photos below.

My Assistant: Nigel D'Eon.

Orange stakes placed 1 metre from the edge - North Brother, April 29, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Yellow stakes - 2010, blue stakes - 2011, orange stakes - 2012. North Brother, April 29, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Testing propane weeder on Wild Radish - North Brother, April 29, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

May 3, 2012 - North Brother. The terns have arrived. About 10 terns flew above N. Brother as we were anchoring.

Today we brought to the island three new ROST nesting shelters. They were placed at the north-west side of the island.

The two 9' x 12' tarps were removed from the island. Water was collecting on them as the area they had been placed on was too flat. The remaining tarp is more on a slant. The nest boxes are placed on the higher spots and on gravel. They should be all right. There are also cuts in the tarp at critical locations to let rain water drain through. The tarps I had used years ago, worked better than the landscape fabric or the "AstroTurf". I expect the ROST to nest on it this time also.

The nest shelters which had been on the tarps we removed, were moved to the north-west area where some shelters had washed or rotted away.

The island is ready.

My crew and assistants: Alix d'Entremont, Jean Bernard d'Entremont, Andrew D'Eom, and Aldric d'Entremont.

Removing the two 9' x 12' tarps - North Brother, May 3, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Alix, Andrew, Jean Bernard, and Aldric - North Brother, May 3, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

May 5, 2012 - This morning at 7:45am, we motored by N. Brother. About 50 terns greeted us. They stayed high above the island. We did not land. We were on our way to "the Mud Islands", 25 km to the south west.

Of great interest was the number of puffins we found - about 75 at Round Island, about 75 at Noddy Island, and about 15 at Mud Island. At least two of the Round Island Puffins were banded. One with its band on the left leg, the other on the right (or maybe it was the same bird with a band on each leg?). See the photos below.

Banded Puffin - Round Island, May , 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Banded Puffin - Round Island, May , 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Some of the many Puffins - Round Island, May , 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

May 8, 2012 - The terns have settled on The Brothers. I viewed The Brothers this morning from the mainland in Lower West Pubnico. There were between 300 and 400 terns at North Brother, but just as important, a small number of terns appeared to have settled on South Brother. Whether they will stay on S. Brother, time will tell.

Also of note is that I think I could make out some Roseate Terns at the water's edge on the east side of N. Brother. The "white" on some of those birds certainly looked rosey.

May 12, 2012 - The Brothers. Today we were checking out both islands for the presence of gull nests. No gull nests on N. Brother, but the start of one gull nest on S. Brother. It was destroyed.

One unfinished Gull nest was removed from The Brothers in 2012

We arrived at N. Brother around 9 am. There was a small number of terns at the water's edge, including three Roseates and a few Arctics, but they were mostly Common Terns. One of the Roseates was banded. It was too far away to be read. There were only about 100 terns at N. Brother during our brief visit, but earlier in the morning severel hundred terns were seen over the island from the mainland.

Two of the Roseate Terns with two Common Terns - N. Brother, May 12, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

A banded Roseate Tern - N. Brother, May 12, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

On S. Brother, there were only 4 or 5 terns above the island.

A Common Tern flying overhead - S. Brother, May 12, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Pretty well all that is left of S. Brother, May 12, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

On N. Brother, the Common Terns had begun to make nesting scrapes at their nesting area. It is still too early for egg laying.

My crew and assistants: Rémi d'Entremont, Israel d'Entremont, and Alix d'Entremont.

May 15, 2012 - North Brothers. Today, I reinstalled the two Reconyx trail cameras. Placement is only temporary at this time. I will move them again once the ROST begin laying.

Several hundred terns but I could only count about 6 Roseates. More ROST to come, I am sure.

My crew and assistants: Nigel D'Eon, Missie Murphy, Ingrid D'Eon and Orson Deveau.

Common Terns mating on N. Brother, May 15, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

A banded Common Tern on N. Brother, May 15, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Orson, checking our a Common Eider nest on N. Brother, May 15, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Missie, Nigel, Orson, and Ingrid - N. Brother, May 15, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

May 24, 2012 - Andrew D'Eon and I went to North Brother to change the batteries and chips on the trail cameras. The island was busy with terns but there still seemed to be only a small number of Roseates.

The terns have started nesting, and with a quick walk around the island we counted 221 tern nests, 3 Common Eider nests, and one Great Black-backed Gull nest, The gull nest contained one cold and dirty egg. The nest and egg were destroyed.

The Roseates have not started laying yet, but quite a few Arctic Tern nests on the north and north-east edge on the island.

Note: Last year at this time there were only 141 tern nests, but by June 11, 2011, there were 725.

We found one recently dead Common Tern. No apparent cause of death. My intentions were to bring it back with me and freeze it until it could be taken for necropsy but it was forgotten on the island.

The trail cameras were very busy over the last 9 days. Over 10,000 photos on one camera and over 7,000 on the other. The Roseates were very prominent in the photos so their numbers may be higher than I thought. And talk about sex! The terns were very busy!

Battery change - Note the Common Tern to the right - N. Brother, May 24, 2012 - Andrew D'Eon photo

For a number of years, there has been a very territorial and approachable Common Tern nesting within a metre or two of where this one is in these photos. I assume the same bird each year.

Andrew D'Eon with Common Tern - N. Brother, May 24, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

May 31, 2012 - North Brother. Battery and memory card change to the two trail cameras.

The Roseate Terns have begun laying. We only checked the nesting shelters near the trail cameras and there must have been a dozen or so ROST nests; almost all containing two eggs. We moved the cameras so they aim more directly on ROST nests.

The colony looked great!

A couple of notes. As we landed on the island Rémi found what looked like a freshly cooked 1.5 lb lobster. We did not eat it but I would bet it would have been fine to do so. Today was the last day of lobster fishing season on our area and the fishermen sometimes have friends and family aboard their boats as they haul out their lobster traps. I suspect someone was cooking lobsters aboard a boat and one got away - somehow.

Washed up cooked lobster - N. Brother, May 31, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Deer tracks in the mud - N. Brother, May 31, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Deer track next to Common Tern nest - N. Brother, May 31, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Rémi examining the deer tracks - N. Brother, May 31, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Nothing strange to report in the 10,000 Trail camera photos.

My crew and assistants: Rémi d'Entremont and Alix d'Entremont

June 2, 2012 - Green Island, known locally as "Green Rock" (43°41'21"N 66°08'36"W).

This is the only place I know in South-west Nova Scotia where the Razorbills nest. Their numbers have been creeping up over the last 15 years or so. I used to see only a few among the 50 or 60 Puffins. Today, there were about 60 Razorbills among the 30 or so Puffins.

Green Rock, as viewed from the south, June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

One of the many Razorbills of Green Rock on June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Puffin and Razorbills of Green Rock on June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Puffins and Razorbills of Green Rock on June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Puffin and Razorbills of Green Rock on June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

As ahown in the photos below - evidence of predation on Puffins, Black Guillemots, Common Eiders and their eggs, and many GBBG eggs. There was evidence that owls are one of the predators. I suspect the Ravens were the primary egg predator.

Concentrated evidence of predation at the north end of Green Rock - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Evidence of predation at the north end of Green Rock - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Owl pellet found at the north end of Green Rock - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Evidence of predation at the north end of Green Rock - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Evidence of predation at the north end of Green Rock - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Evidence of predation at the north end of Green Rock - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The crew: Ronnie, Sharon, Alix, Bertin and Denny - Green Rock - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

On our way to Green Rock, we motored by a couple of the Bald Tusket Islands, These two islands are owned by The Nova Scotia Bird Society. First, the Little Bald and then, the Little Half Bald Tusket Island.

The Bald Tusket Islands (from Government Marine Chart 4244)

Both islands had the presence of Common Eider, Great Blacked-back Gull, Herring Gull and Black Guillemot. I assume these to be nesting there. The Little Half Bald Tusket Island also had at least 6 Double-crested Cormorant nests and a few terns (not sure if they were Commons or Arctics) overhead attacking the ever-present gulls. I suspect there were at least a few terns nesting there.

Three of the Bald Tusket Islands (l. to r., Little, Inner, and Outer Bald) - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The Little Half Bald Tusket Island, as viewed from the east - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

North-west corner of The Little Half Bald Tusket Island (Note the Cormorants nesting) - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

We made a pass by Holmes Island before heading out to Gannet Rock. I remember, years ago, when there was a thriving colony of Common and Arctic Terns here. The Commons were on the higher grassy slope and the Arctics on the flat beach area on the east end. Now, no terns at all, but a high presence of Herring Gulls among the lower numbers of GBBG. There are Common Eiders and Black Guillemots also on most of these islands.

Also of note were the two adult Bald Eagles in a tree on Spectacle Island. Again, I assume they were nesting there.

Gannet Rock, Nova Scotia, as seen from the east - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Ten years ago, Arctic Terns nested in small numbers on Gannet Rock. Today, we saw no tern activity.

D-c Cormorants at the south end of Gannet Rock, Nova Scotia - June 2, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

My crew: Ronnie d'Entremont, Sharon Marlor, Alix d'Entremont, Bertin D'Eon, and Denny d'Entremont.

June 8, 2012 - North Brothers. The official nest count day. Also, battery and memory card change to the two trail cameras.

Today, I had the pleasure of having Andrew Boyne and Karen Potter, two Canadian Wildlife Service biologists, to assist Alix d'Entremont, Nigel D'Eon and me with the annual official tern nest count on North Brother.

Andrew, Nigel and me counting tern nests on N. Brother, Nova Scotia - June 8, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

The results: 658 tern nests total including 25 Roseate Tern nests. Most of the tern nests were of Common Tern, but there were also 50 to 60 were Arctic Tern nests.

This is down from the 725 of 2011. Also, at the 2011 count we had 34 ROST nests. The 25 ROST nests this year is concerning. I expect a few more nests in the next couple of weeks but I fear we will not get last year's number of 38.

The number of tern nests on The Brothers - A yearly comparison

At least three ROST were returnees from last year. See below.

Banded ROST No. 1, North Brother, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Banded ROST No. 1, North Brother, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Banded ROST No. 2, North Brother, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Banded ROST No. 2, North Brother, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

"Banded" ROST No. 3, North Brother, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

"Banded" ROST No. 3, North Brother, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The ROST with the blue ring on its left leg has been seen on N. Brother several times before.

For those who may be interested in the camera and lens I am using to record these leg bands, it is a Nikon D7000 with a Sigma OS 150-500mm F5-6.3 lens. This combination works very well for leg bands as well as bird photography in general. Last year, I had the same camera but with a Nikkor 70-300mm. The results were nowhere near as sharp (especially around 300mm) as my present configuration. My general purpose camera is a Panasonic Lumix FZ35. I have had it for a few years. It serves its purpose very well , but it has too much shutter lag to be a great "bird-in-motion" camera.

Nikon D7000 with Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 lens - Ted D'Eon photo

After leaving N. Brother we mototed by South Brother. There was no "tern" activity there. A few gulls were present on the island.

We then continued 25 km southwest to the Mud Island group of islands. Our first stop was Round Island where we counted about 80 Puffins, about as many Black Guillemots and a Black-crowned Night Heron.

Puffin flying by at Round Island, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

B-c Night Heron flying by at Round Island, June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Nigel, Andrew, and Karen checking marine chart near Mud Island, Nova Scotia - June 8, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo

After Round I., we motored by Mud I. and counted about 20 Puffins there and then to Noddy where we found about another 20 Puffins. I expected to see more like 60 to 80 Puffins at Noddy I.

Flat Island, Nova Scotia - June 8, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

We then made land and tied to the decrepit wharf at Flat Island. Black Guillemots were nesting under the wharf. Barn Swallows were going in and out of the abandonned buildings and we could see an hear the small tern colony to the west of the houses. We did not have time to investigate too much before heading back to Abbott's Harbour.

It was a good day.

June 15, 2012 - North Brother. Leg band identification, plus battery and memory card change to the two trail cameras.

Three more ROST nests were found. Now we are up to 28. Click to download nest list (MS Word .doc format).

Alix d'Entremont and I added five more ROST leg bands to the three we already had.

A few photos.

Banded ROST 5V77, North Brother, June 15, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo - note the right band

Banded ROST 5V77, North Brother, June 15, 2012 - Alix d'Entremont photo - note the right band

Blue ringed ROST, North Brother, June 15, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

June 16, 2012 - North Brother. Ronnie d'Entremont and I went with our telephoto cameras to get a few more tern leg band IDs. We saw some of the same IDs as before, but also added two new ones. See below.

I also got a great photo of a Roseate Tern. See below.

Roseate Tern, North Brother, June 16, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Also of note: I got struck on the top of my head (through my hat) by a Common Tern and I was bleeding profusely for a while. But, no harm done. Ronnie got a photo, but I won't show it here.

June 21, 2012 - North Brother. Today, adult ROST trapping and banding with Andrew Boyne and Karen Potter, two wildlife biologists from Canadian Wildlife Service, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

All went well. The birds were caught with a homemade treadle trap placed at the entrance at a ROST nesting shelter. See below.

Karen Potter setting up the treadle trap - North Brother, June 21, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Karen Potter and Andrew Boyne banding an adult ROST - North Brother, June 21, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Banding an adult Roseate Tern - North Brother, June 21, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Six or seven unbanded adult ROST were caught and banded.

We did not have time to do a battery and memory chip change to the trail cameras so I will revisit the island in a few days to do so.

We had also hoped to trap the 5V77 tern with the misplaced band. I knew the nesting shelter it was nesting in. The tern we trapped there must have been its unbanded mate. We may try again at a later date.

June 24, 2012 I searched my photo database for my photos of 5V77 in 2007. The Bird Banding Fraternity can set their minds at ease now. See photos below. The bird was properly banded at that time. Possibly a little loose? It seems hard to believe it got that claw above that band on its own.

Roseate Tern 5V77 - North Brother, July 18, 2007 - Ted D'Eon photo

Roseate Tern 5V77 - North Brother, July 18, 2007 - Ted D'Eon photo

June 25, 2012 - North Brother. This morning, Israel d'Entremont and Alix d'Entremont assisted me in doing a thorough ROST nest and chick count. We also changed the batteries and memory cards of the two trail cameras.

Four not-previously-counted ROST nests were found to bring the total count now to 32.

39 ROST chicks were counted. (mean age - around 5 days)

16 nests had 2 ROST chicks

7 nests had 1 ROST chick (some of these nests still had an unhatched egg).

No ROST chick mortality (although one ROST chick appeared very weak)

At least 11 ROST eggs yet to hatch.

Of Note: Many Common Tern chicks are using ROST nesting shelters to hide into.

We had a heavy rain June 23 and the evidence of Common and Arctic Tern chick mortality was there - substantial numbers but nothing out of ordinary after such a downpour.

Click to download ROST nest/chick list as of June 25, 2012 (MS Word .doc format).

Something odd. Looking through the trail camera photos for June 25, 2012. I came across the image below (time stamped at 5:11 pm).

Roseate Tern carrying a Common? Tern chick - North Brother, June 25, 2012 - Trail camera photo

Roseate Tern carrying a Common? Tern chick - North Brother, June 25, 2012 - Trail camera photo

I don't know what is going on here.

July 03, 2012 - Roseate Tern chick banding on North Brother.

Andrew Boyne, biologist with the Species at Risk Recovery Unit of Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and his crew of Karen Potter, Carina Gjerdrum and Haley Guest (a summer student with CWS) arrived this morning to do the banding.

All went well, and 23 ROST chicks were banded, each with two bands. One was the usual metal band, and the other, a red plastic band with three characters in white. The fitst character of each plastic band was a "B" followed by two numerals. A 24th chick was too young for banding. No ROST chick mortality was found.

Two more ROST nests were found each containing one egg. This brings the ROST nest number now to 34.

Roseate Tern nest numbers - The Brother, 1991 to 2012

Carina, Karen, Haley and Andrew - North Brother, July 03, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Banding Roseate Tern chicks - North Brother, July 03, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The leg bands - N. Brother, June 28, 2011 - Ted D'Eon photo

Unusual tern food was found in the Roseate Tern/Common Tern nesting area - a fair-sized squid. See below.

Squid - N. Brother, July 03, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

After the banding session, we motored towards the wind turbines. Roseate Terns with fish in bill had been seen arriving at North Brother from that direction. Also, ROST had been observed flying over the water below the wind turbines.

Below the turbines, we saw a few ROST flying by but they did not appear to be feeding. We continued in a southerly direction until we reached St. John's Island ("John's Island" on the modern marine charts). We could see some terns feeding there, in the shallow cove to the east of the island. Some looked like ROST from the distance but we were too far for me to get a good positive I.D.

I will have to check this out again in greater detall later. We may have found the ROST foraging ground!

July 04, 2012 - North Brother. Battery and memory card change to the two trail cameras.

My crew: Stephen d'Entremont with Henri and Anne d'Entremont and their grand-daughter, Sierra.

After servicing the trail cameras, we continued 10 km to the SSE to St. John's Island where it looked like ROST were feeding the day before.

We were not dissappointed. Even though there were not many terns there (3 or 4), they were all ROST! They were diving into about 3 meters of water at high tide; diving in at every 30 to 60 seconds. It was wonderful to observe their manner of fishing - no hover whatsoever, just fly, dive, fold the wings back and plunge in. Common and Arctic Terns hover before the dive (Arctics, more so than Commons).

N. Brother to St. John's Island, 10 km SSE - Google Earth photo

St. John's Island foraging area, 10 km SSE of N. Brother - Google Earth photo

St. John's Island foraging area, 10 km SSE of N. Brother - Canadian Hydrographic Chart 4210

A note from biologist Jeffrey A. Spendelow (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center), July 6, 2012: "In some years the ROSTs that nested at Falkner Island, CT went about 25 km "one way" to cross Long Island Sound and forage along the north shore of Long Island. Hard to raise two to fledging when a foraging trip to bring one food item for a chick is 50 km or more!"

July 10, 2012 - North Brother. Memory card change to the two trail cameras with assistance by the members of the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation (BCAF) Mahone Bay Roseate Tern Recovery Project's Danielle Pernette and Tracy Pagenhardt, and one of their volunteers, Nancy Covington, and by my good friend, Ronnie d'Entremont.

We also searched the ROST nesting area for banded and unbanded ROST chicks.

Seven banded chicks were located (B16, B20, B22, B24, B25, B30, and B33). Four unbanded ROST chicks were also found.

The BCAF members also got some pointers on identifyimg the three species of terns in the field.

After our N. Brother visit, we motored south to St. John's Island to where we had seen foraging ROST 6 days earlier. No ROST were seen there this time. It was a little disappointing.

Danielle Pernette searching for ROST chicks - N. Brother, July 10, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Tracy Pagenhardt holding ROST chick - N. Brother, July 10, 2012 Nancy Covington looking on - Ted D'Eon photo

A Roseate Tern flying above North Brother, July 10, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The crew: Nancy, Ronnie, Tracy and Danielle - N. Brother, July 10, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

July 11, 2012 - North Brother. Today, I visited the island with members of the Nova Scotia Piping Plover Conservation Program (Bird Studies Canada). This included Avery Nagy-MacArthur, Chris Curry, David Wamback and their co-ordinator, Sue Abbott.

The colony looked superb; a very vibrant tern colony with lots of adult terns bringing in fish for their chicks. We saw a few ROST chicks and a few ubhatched ROST eggs still being incubated.

There were still very young Common Tern chicks, and one COTE nest with three eggs had all three eggs in the process of hatching.

Still very little mortality and no predators.

I am, however, a little disturbed by the obvious lack of food fish for the terns in the area near the tern colony. Almost no terns are feeding from Abbott's Harbour to The Brothers. I have not seen any of the small herring at Abbott's Harbour this season. Some years, there are (or used to be) billions.

Pubnico Harbour, on the other hand, seems to be full of small Herring.

Roseate Tern bringing in food - N. Brother, July 11, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Actually, before making land on N. Brother we first motored to St. John's Island to check out the supposed ROST foraging area. This time we were not totally disappointed.

We watched four ROST foraging in the area for almost a half hour. We saw them dive in many times but we never saw any with food-in-bill. Whether they were catching anything is difficult to say. I assume they could have been swallowing their prey before we could see it, but it sure did not look like that.

The crew: Sue, Avery, Chris, and David - N. Brother, July 11, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

July 18, 2012 - North Brother. Battery and memory card change to the two trail cameras.

The colony still looks great. Lots of terns in the air carrying herring. I don't think I saw any carrying sandlance. I must again note the lack of terns foraging between Abbott's Harbour and The Brothers, and the lack of herring and mackerel in the area.

One more ROST with a field-readable leg band. See below.

Banded ROST 91/5N - N. Brother, July 18, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

We also located three ROST chicks. Two were banded (B20 and B30) a one was unbanded.

For your interest, see the following photos of an adult Common Tern eating a butterfly or moth. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. I thought they only ate fish and marine invertebrates.

Common Tern eating butterfly or moth - N. Brother, July 18, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Common Tern eating butterfly or moth - N. Brother, July 18, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Common Tern eating butterfly or moth - N. Brother, July 18, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

August 3, 2012 - A note from biologist Jeffrey A. Spendelow (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center)."I'm not an expert on insects, but we recorded COTEs eating Catocola moths at Falkner Island, CT, and it looks like one of those moths in your picture."

My crew and assistants today were Rémi d'Entremont, his older brother, Laurent, and the warden of the municipality, Aldric d'Entremont.

My crew: Aldric, Rémi, and Laurent - N. Brother, July 18, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

July 25, 2012 - North Brother. Battery and memory card change to the two trail cameras.

Lots of adult terns carrying fish; mostly herring.

Of note was a two day old ROST chick in nest No. 33. This nest was first seen on July 3 and contained one egg.

The two day old Roseate Tern chick from nest No. 33 - N. Brother, July 25, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Roseate Tern Nest Summary - North Brother, NS - (43 ROST chicks documented) - Ted D'Eon

One of the trail cameras was repositioned to photograph the activities in nest No. 33. We shall see what ensues.

The photos below show how the bill of the adult ROST is changing from the all black bill they arrived with in May.

Adult Roseate Tern flying by - N. Brother, July 25, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The changing bill of the adult ROST - N. Brother, July 25, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The changing bill of the adult ROST - N. Brother, July 25, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

The bill of the adult ROST in early June - N. Brother, June 6, 2005 - Ted D'Eon photo

Assistant: Henri d'Entremont.

Looking through the trail camera photos, I was very disappointed to see there are still voles on N. Brother. I thought the storm of December 2010 had drowned them all. No voles had been seen in the thousands of trail camera photos until now, See below.

The first appearance of a vole since Dec. 2010 - N. Brother, July 22, 2012 - Trail camera photo

An enlarged area from above photo - N. Brother, July 22, 2012 - Trail camera photo

Also in the trail camera photos was a juvenile Willet (at least that is what I took it for) feeding on sow bugs and possibly sand fleas. It fed in front of the camera from about midnight to 3:30 am on July 21 and also for some time the following night. See photo below.

Juvenile Willet - N. Brother, July 21, 2012 - Trail camera photo

An enlarged area from above photo - N. Brother, July 21, 2012 - Trail camera photo

July 27, 2012 - North Brother. Battery and memory card change to the two trail cameras.

The now four day old ROST chick was still alive and looked well. Its chances of surviving much more than another week, however, are slim, as its parents will soon head south whether it's fledged or not. There were also some very young COTE and ARTE in the same predicament.

Still lots of large herring being brought in by the adult terns; very few sandlance.

Most of the tern chicks are being fed by their parents along the beach or have left the island altogether. I saw at least one banded ROST chick flying around.

My crew and assistants: Vicki and Blake Daley.

July 27, 2012 - An exciting note from biologist Jeffrey A. Spendelow (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center). "Since it is nearly 3 weeks earlier than colorbanded HY ROSTs from Country Island showed up in 2009 & 2010, yesterday (26 July) I was pleasantly surprised to see Red "B36" in the Race Point/Hatches Harbor area (the western-most part of the outer tip of Cape Cod)."

This is one of the Roseate Tern chicks we banded on North Brother on July 3, 2012! It already found its way to Cape Cod! And there was at least one banded ROST chick still at N. Brother on July 27.

August 3, 2012 - Another note from note from biologist Jeffrey A. Spendelow. "As of yesterday, I've seen six ROSTs from North Brother: B13 (adult), B18, B23, B26, B34, and B36. I've also seen six from Country Island (much earlier this year than in years past). -Jeff"

August 7, 2012 - North Brother. I was again on the island this morning, and removed the two trail cameras. There were still 2 or 3 adult ROST flying around; one with fish in bill. I did not see any ROST chicks. No tern chicks in the centre of the island but still dozens around the edge of the island. Adult Commons and Arctics also bringing in food.

Upon checking the trail camera photos I came upon the photo below.

Roseate Tern feeding young - N. Brother, Aug. 2, 2012 - trail camera photo

Roseate Tern feeding young - N. Brother, Aug. 2, 2012 - trail camera photo

August 2, 2012 was the last day the trail cameras photographed any ROST chicks on N. Brother in 2012. This chick was hatched on or about July 23 making it about 10 days old on Aug. 2. We never saw it again.

Roseate Tern carrying sandlance - N. Brother, Aug. 7, 2012 - Ted D'Eon photo

Most of the terns have already left the island.

My crew and assistant: Roland D'Eon

October 19, 2012 - My good friends, Rémi d'Entremont and Aldric d'Entremont assisted me with the removal of our temporary mooring at North Brother. It is now safely stowed away on the mainland.

Marine Chart of Lobster Bay, Nova Scotia

Click on the chart to enlarge.

Ted C. D'Eon