| Birds |
California Least Tern
Sterna antillarum browni
| Conservation Status: Endangered - Protected
- Courtesy of USFWS
- Least Tern chick with a parent
California Least Terns are in the gull family, Laridae. The smallest of the North American terns, they are migratory seabirds that breed primarily along the California coast. Their swallow-like flight gave them their earlier common name, Sea Sparrows. Their flight is very light, graceful, and buoyant. When it increases in speed, their wing beats are so rapid they cannot be counted, in contrast to the slower ones of larger terns that can be.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Breeding: San Francisco Bay and a few areas along the California coast from San Luis Obispo to San Diego Counties, including southern California’s Seal Beach, San Pedro Bay, Camp Pendleton, and Ballona Creek. Also extreme northern Baja California, Mexico Winter: locations unknown but may be in western Mexico or Central America
- Amazing Facts
The US Navy, Marine Corps, and US Fish and Wildlife Service have teamed up on California’s coast to manage a large number of breeding sites on military lands. Because these places are usually off-limits to the public, human impact is minimized. Today because of this protection, over one-third of California Least Tern populations breed on US military bases with the largest at Camp Pendleton near Oceanside, California.
- At the Aquarium
The California Least Tern is illustrated on The Wave's mosaic tile mural, Rios de la Vida (Rivers of Life). The fountain, mural, and accompanying graphics illustrate the story of our Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers.
Since 2001 the Aquarium of the Pacific has partnered with the US Navy, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Friends of the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge to annually restore a 13 acre electrified fence enclosed nesting habitat for the migratory California Least Terns, an endangered species. The refuge is located eight miles from the Aquarium on the US Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach.