Five years ago the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set a five-year goal of 500 adult Least Terns and 125 fledglings per year along the Arkansas River in Oklahoma. A recent survey found 619 adults and 211 fledglings, which is simply great! And, if you happen to be visiting Tulsa, Oklahoma, you can apparently see breeding Least Terns on islands just south of the 11th St bridge.
It’s really heartening how well this species and Piping Plover are doing on the eastern Great Plains–quite in contrast to their situation on the east coast. Just hope they can stay out of the oil.