Road Ecology Center

Large numbers of Royal Terns (Sterna maxima) from breeding colonies in North Carolina and Virginia migrate to Sebastian Inlet, Florida for a winter residence. A road and two-lane bridge at the site result in many roadkills from collisions with motor vehicles. At least 148 Royal Terns have been killed in this manner since formal surveys were initiated in 1989; while opportunistic collection of dead, banded birds has been sporadically conducted since 1979. Recoveries of 82 bands during the 23-year period 1979 to 2001 have supplied considerable demographic data. Eleven Royal Tern breeding colonies were differentially represented among the band recoveries. Most banded mortalities were 0.5 yr age class juveniles, with an overall range of 5 months to 12 yr 7 months. Most mortalities occurred December through February. These trends and additional data are discussed.