Bird conservationists are hailing the recovery of the Elegant Tern, an endangered bird species that has relocated its primary nesting site to Mission Bay.
But some area residents aren’t thrilled with the birds’ success.
Beginning in 2021, the Elegant Tern shifted its main nesting location during the spring and summer from a nature preserve at south San Diego Bay to West Ski Island in Mission Bay. That means by this year, an estimated one-quarter of the species’ entire worldwide population, or 15,000 terns, were raising their chicks at the site.
During the Nov. 20 Pacific Beach Town Council meeting, residents of the Crown Point neighborhood across the water from West Ski Island complained about the around-the-clock ear-piercing shrieks and constant cleaning required due to the birds depositing their feces on homes, vehicles and sidewalks that accompanied their influx.
Reading unattributed remarks and questions compiled in advance of the meeting, council President Charlie Nieto said, “The constant noise and disruption caused by the presence of these birds … has severely impacted the quality of life for residents like myself. The noise, which persists 24/7 for up to half of the year, creates an atmosphere of near constant unrest, making it difficult to find peace and quiet in our homes.”
Two of San Diego Bird Alliance (formerly San Diego Audubon) and a city conservation employee could not pinpoint an exact reason for the Elegant Terns’ move to Mission Bay, but noted that habitat loss, lack of food availability, increased predation and excessive disturbance by humans and their dogs generally cause birds to relocate nesting sites.
“It’s the first time they’re nesting outside of their typical homes in south San Diego Bay,” said Cristina Santa Maria, conservation manager for San Diego Bird Alliance. “That is also the early detection of any nesting taking place at West Ski Island.”
From a few “stragglers” in 2021, the nesting population reached 1,300 in 2023, then exploded to the estimated 15,000 this season.
Mark Berninger, natural resource manager for the San Diego Open Space division of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, gave a scientific explanation for why birds of a feather flock together.
“As communal nesters, they create a very raucous environment, as we all know,” he said. “But they’re also there, communally nesting like a school of fish to keep themselves safe. It’s really hard (for a predator) to pick out one individual when you have 8,000 or 15,000 birds swirling around, which actually protects those nestlings.”
Nature preserves around Mission Bay such as West Ski Island, Kendall-Frost Marsh and the San Diego River’s mouth restrict public access from April 15 to Sept. 15 to accommodate protected species during nesting. The Elegant Tern nesting season approximately runs from late April to August.
Although appreciating the information, some in the audience found little consolation in it.
PB Town Council board director and Crown Point resident Cathie Jolley said she has been accosted by numerous neighbors complaining about the birds.
“It’s a very hard four months,” she said. “The noise is making people crazy. A lot of people work from home and if you don’t have AC, people are going nuts because they can’t open their windows because the birds are screaming. So they’re locked in the house without AC. Cars are filthy. Sidewalks are filthy. I can tell you that it’s making some of the residents’ lives … miserable. There are many residents that are at their wits’ end.”
Finding themselves in an absurd position, residents occasionally posed equally absurd questions. When asked if the birds could be directed to nest at another site, Berninger quipped, “This population of terns; we can’t direct them. They don’t get our memos. They don’t get our cellphone calls.”
“I would ask all of you to be really understanding that these birds don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Lesley Handa, vice president of San Diego Bird Alliance and lead ornithologist.
“We can’t really direct them. … Ultimately, they’re responding to whatever is their environment, which places additional importance on trying to protect what we’re doing here at Mission Bay because there are a lot of other sites up and down Southern California that are not doing so well,” Handa said.
Pressed to take action against the terns under the ploy of degraded water quality resulting from the bird feces, Santa Maria flipped the entire point around.
“I’m glad people are worried about that,” she said. “The biggest concern, and I’m saying if you have to worry about pollution in our water, is heavy metals and trash washing down from the stormwater; down Rose Creek. Those places really need our help. Those places really need restoration.”
Because the Elegant Terns’ relocation from their old haunts at San Diego Bay is a recent development, Berninger said there is no certainty the bird will return to Water Ski Island. Should the situation persist, he suggested that people take the same action they would for any other nuisance.
“If it becomes a chronic issue, I believe that reaching out to your council member would be a great opportunity to bring this to the city council and maybe the mayor’s office, and then we can address this from a citywide standpoint from the top down,” he said. “That might help.”
Yet even if an order could be obtained to relocate the terns’ nesting site as effectively as feasible, Berninger said the massive development of San Diego’s coast in the past century leaves few spaces to place them.
In addressing the fecal problem, he argued that changing one’s perspective might be easier and more rewarding than altering one’s surroundings.
“These are wild animals that are going across development that wasn’t here 5,000 years ago when they were evolving in Mission Bay or in the coast of California,” Berninger said. “For us to have this population of birds here — and again, one of the few places in the entire world where they nest and breed and they feel safe — that’s something real special. The burden of cleaning up our cars is a pain and I understand that. But maybe we can couch it as this is something special that’s happening to us and maybe look at it with some rose-colored glasses.”
That advice resonated with other audience .
“Being on Crown Point Drive and watching those birds fly around, it was absolutely magnificent,” said PBTC board director Denise Friedman. “Yes, they were loud. Yes, I had poop all over my yard. But it’s an amazing experience to be in the middle of it.”
