Attracting endangered species to 'safe' habitats: responses of fairy terns to decoys

Published source details Jeffries D.S. & Brunton D.H. (2001) Attracting endangered species to 'safe' habitats: responses of fairy terns to decoys. Animal Conservation, 4, 301-305.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use vocalisations to attract birds to safe areas Action Link
	Use decoys to attract birds to safe areas Action Link

Use vocalisations to attract birds to safe areas

A small controlled trial on a shell and sand beach in northern North Island, New Zealand (Jeffries & Brunton 2001), found that New Zealand fairy terns Sterna nereis davisae (formerly S. antillarum) were no more likely to land in experimental plots on eight days when a tape of fairy tern calls was played, compared with eight days when calls were not played. No data on reproduction were provided. All plots were 120 x 55 m and one of four plots had three decoy models in. The experimental plot was rotated each day for a total of 16 days. This study also describes the effect of the decoys on bird behaviour, discussed in ‘Use decoys to attract birds to safe areas’.
Use decoys to attract birds to safe areas

A small controlled trial on a shell and sand beach in northern North Island, New Zealand (Jeffries & Brunton 2001), found that New Zealand fairy terns Sterna nereis davisae (formerly S. antillarum) were significantly more likely to land in experimental plots with tern decoy models in, compared to control plots, with 80% of all landing episodes were in experimental plots. No data on reproduction were provided. All plots were 120 x 55 m and one of four plots had three decoy models in. The experimental plot was rotated each day for a total of 16 days. This study also describes the effect of using vocalisations to attract birds, discussed in ‘Use vocalisations to attract birds to safe areas’.