September 2009

TOPIC:  Black Terns in Wisconsin: Is There Hope for Recovery?

SPEAKER:  David Shealer

WHEN:  Tuesday, September 15

TIME:  7:00 pm Refreshments
TIME:  7:30 pm Program

WHERE:  Capitol Lakes Retirement Community -- click for map
333 W. Main Street, Madison

PARKING:  Free – ramp across the street
Lower levels – must use unmarked spaces or those labeled “DNR”

PRE-MEETING DINNER:  You are invited to join Madison Audubon board members and friends at the pre-program dinner with our speaker beginning at 5:15.

Paisan's 131 West Wilson Street

QUESTIONS?:  Please call the MAS office at (608)255-2473.

Have Black Terns continued their spiraling decline in Wisconsin, or is there hope for recovery?

The Black Tern is a nomadic, enigmatic—though certainly not secretive—summer inhabitant of Wisconsin’s marshes. Historical records and anecdotal accounts suggest that Black Terns once were much more abundant in Wisconsin than they are now. The decline may have been as great as 64% between the early 1980s and the late 1990s. Additionally, the number of wetlands that Black Terns use for nesting has apparently declined precipitously.

Since 1999, Dr. Dave Shealer and his students have been studying Black Terns in Wisconsin. Through intensive banding efforts, frequent nest monitoring at several colonies in southeastern Wisconsin, and genotyping analysis, Dave has sought to answer some of the basic questions to aid in the recovery of Black Terns in Wisconsin.

Dr. Shealer will summarize a decade of work on Black Terns in the marshes of Wisconsin. He also will unveil the results of the 2009 Roadside Transect Survey he coordinated this summer for the Wisconsin DNR.

Dr. Dave Shealer is Associate Professor of Biology at Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa and the current president of the Waterbird Society, an international organization devoted to the scientific study and conservation of aquatic birds.