Hello,
As many of you may know, in mid-May of this year the colony of Elegant Terns at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Orange County abandoned its nests and took up residence on two debris barges in Long Beach Harbor. The birds re-nested on the barges, but once hatched it was found that the nestlings repeatedly wandered off the barges and, due to the height of the barges above the water, were unable to climb back up and were drowning. As a result, International Bird Rescue (IBR), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and other groups assisted in over 3200 rescues of juvenile Elegant Terns. These young birds had fallen off the barges and were unable to recover. The birds were either placed back on the barges after a full body exam, or transferred to the care center and later released. Early on, birds were marked with temporary pink in highly visible places (heads and breasts) and later approximately 1000 birds were both marked with pink and banded with metal and color bands.
These birds represent a great opportunity to better understand Elegant Tern migration, dispersal, and life span, as well as providing a better mechanism for estimating survival and productivity.
IBR and CDFW requested that I share the following links with instructions on how to report a banded Elegant Tern to either the IBR website or the USGS Bird Banding Lab (BBL), particularly if away from Long Beach Harbor. If you do not want to take the time to report in both locations, any bird reported to the IBR website will be reported to the BBL website by IBR staff.
Thank you!
https://www.birdrescue.org/contact/found-a-bird/reporting-a-banded-bird/
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eesc/science/bird-banding-laboratoryqt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects

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Ryan Winkleman
Rancho Santa Margarita, (the crown jewel of) Orange County