It’s fast becoming an annual tradition for wife Leslie and myself – heading to rice country on the Fourth of July to visit a firecracker group of birds.
Our journey to a rice farm in the Colusa area allowed us to observe and photograph birds that are about as cantankerous as you will find. Black Terns are extremely protective of their nests and this time of the year is when the next generation is being raised.
It took a bit of searching but we came across several pairs of terns who made it clear they weren’t happy to see us.
My video is a little shaky because frankly I was a little shaky as I was getting read the riot act.
Leslie fared better, taking about 800 photos and coming up with some real winners, like this one.
Black Terns are one of nearly 230 wildlife species that benefit from California rice fields. In fact, research by Point Blue Conservation Science indicates that Sacramento Valley rice fields have provided a tremendous boost to their population. The number of nesting terns took a big hit with the loss of historic wetlands in the state. Rice fields have filled in nicely and the Black Tern population has rebounded well.
One of the big benefits of the rice fields was impossible to miss – an abundance of food. There were dragonflies everywhere. (One even hitched a ride on my steering wheel.) To a tern all of those insects flying around translates into an all-you-can-eat buffet!
It was gratifying to see the population of this swift and vocal bird has taken such a positive turn.
Jim Morris is Communications Manager for the California Rice Commission. Jim has worked in communications for more than 20 years. When he’s not on the job, he enjoys his family, faith, football, outrageous monster stories and running marathon
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