Biologists Hope Decoys Will Lure Terns to Refuge

Biologists on Friday showed off wooden decoys and recorded mating calls they hope will lure the endangered California least tern to a man-made breeding site at Dockweiler State Beach.

The least tern, marked by its black cap, black eye band and golden beak, migrates from Central America to breed on beaches from Tijuana to San Francisco. The bird’s population has shrunk to about 3,400 as coastal development, beach-goers and predators crowd out its habitat and destroy its nests.

Biologists are setting aside breeding areas for the bird to keep it from becoming extinct. One of these areas is the Dockweiler site in Playa del Rey, a sandy parcel the size of a football field and enclosed by 10-foot-high fence to keep out predators. The fact that the site is almost directly under the flight path of planes taking off from Los Angeles International Airport will not bother the birds, biologists said.