A one-meter rise in sea level will impact as much as 85 percent of the Least Tern’s coastal nesting areas, and man-made structures (lacking flat gravel roofs that some birds will select for nesting) along the shoreline will impede breeding birds searching for suitable areas on higher ground. As storm intensity increases with global warming, mortality of young will increase. The Least Tern is considered “highly vulnerable” when it comes to climate change, even with its wide distribution and amazing mobility.

Jay Jermyn Johnson   South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA

Title:   Least Tern

Species:   Least Tern (Sterna antillarum)
Date:   2007
Medium:   oil on linen mounted on hardboard
Dimensions:   30 cm X 51cm (12” X 20”)
unframed

See also:     Johnson page in Artists For Conservation