"Common Terns and Peregrine Falcons" will be the presentation at the Audubon Center and Sanctuary's upcoming First Friday Lunch Bunch gathering.
At 11 a.m. on Friday, Connie Adams, a state Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife biologist, will compare these two aerial predators, describing their life histories, habits and the way they make their living preying on aquatic and land-based prey.
Common terns are listed as a threatened species in New York state. In the early 1900s, common terns were almost exterminated by plume hunters. Protective legislation in 1918 allowed the species to make a comeback in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, common terns face a variety of threats.
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At the Audubon Center and Sanctuary’s First Friday Lunch Bunch on Friday, Connie Adams, a state Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife biologist, will compare two aerial predators, the peregrine falcon and the common tern.
Peregrine falcons are also listed as an endangered species in New York state. They were eliminated as a nesting species in the state by the early 1960s, due mainly to pesticide residues in their prey. The release of young captive-bred birds from 1974 to 1988 helped facilitate their return as a nesting species.
Adams has been a state DEC wildlife biologist since 2005. She works with colonial water birds, peregrine falcons, grassland birds, and migratory game birds, including waterfowl and woodcock.
Following the presentation, coffee and tea will be provided for a bring-your-own brown bag lunch. The fee for attending is $5 for Friends of the Nature Center and $7 for others. Reservations are not required.
The Audubon Center and Sanctuary is at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren.
For more information, call 569-2345 or visit jamestownaudubon.org.