2020

Yakutat

Tern

Festival

Mike Denega

ALASKA AIRLINES

Yakutat, AK: Where nature is at its grandest.

Yakutat is one of Northwest Life and Travel's 52 places to get away!

NW Life and Travel Article

Yakutat Tern Festival registration and base is located at the Yakutat High School.

429 Forest Highway 10

Tern Fest Specials

Leonard's Landing

10% OFF DURING TERN FEST!

Monti Bay Lodge

15% OFF DURING TERN FEST!

EMAIL US FOR PROMO HERE!

Keynote SpeakeR: 2020 TBA

THANK YOU TO NED ROZELL,

our 2019

Tern Fest Keynote!

Photo: Ned Rozell and Cora in Wiseman, Alaska, on Ned’s second hike along the trans-Alaska pipeline.

Photo by Craig McCaa.

1/12

Yakutat Tern Festival

Registration open

Registration in advance is $40.

Registration during the festival is $50.

Advanced Registration is OPEN

for the Charter Boat Trip and the Kayak Trip.

We are excited to add your names to the list! Please be patient with us while we get some kinks worked out with our new site. Feel free to e-mail us anytime!

ABOUT

The TENTH Annual Yakutat Tern Festival is May 30-June 2, 2019.

The festival is a celebration of the natural and cultural resources of Yakutat, Alaska. Yakutat hosts one of the largest and southernmost known nesting colonies of Aleutian Terns, as well as Arctic Terns and up to 200 other bird species that nest in, or migrate through the area. The festival is family friendly and offers activities for birders as well as non-birders, including field trips, seminars, kid’s activities, evening banquets, bird banding demonstration, and other programs.

Other area activities include sight-seeing, hiking, fishing, surfing, canoeing and kayaking, wildlife viewing, and beach-combing.

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

@yakutat_Tern_Festival

our sponsors

Yakutat Tlingit Tribe

Yakutat Chamber of Commerce

STAY IN THE LOOP

TERNS

scroll

Aleutian Tern

Aleutian Terns are of special interest because we know very little about them and their breeding range is limited to Alaska and Eastern Siberia. They nest on the outer coast of Alaska from Glacier Bay to Barrow. They are by all accounts a rare bird, with a global population estimated at approximately 30,000 individuals. The breeding population estimate for Alaska is 5,500 birds.

Aleutian terns have a distinct white triangular patch on their forehead just above the bill. They also have black feet, legs, and bill. Aleutian Terns are similar in size to Arctic Terns, but stouter with a more deeply forked tail. Perhaps the biggest contrast between Aleutian and other tern species is in their call. Instead of a harsh cry, Aleutian Terns emit a musical whistling sound similar to a shore bird. Aleutian Terns are also much less aggressive in defending their nesting colonies; instead of dive bombing, they will generally hover high over the colony when disturbed by humans.

Besides limited colony counts, very little is known about the breeding ecology of this species, and information on their migration routes and wintering areas is only recently coming to light. This species is designated as a species of concern by several agencies and conservation organizations, primarily due to suspected population declines throughout their range. A dedicated group of researchers and managers are collaborating to learn more about this species including population status and trend, risks to the population as a whole, and potential future conservation actions.

Terns are small seabirds related to gulls. In contrast to the languid gull, terns contend for the title of most superb aerialists in the avian realm. Terns are capable of hovering in the air like a hummingbird, flipping over backwards, and then slicing down into the water like a pelican. Although they may scavenge occasionally, terns prefer to hunt small fish which they spot from the air and plunge into the water to catch.

Alaska is just one stop on the long journey for terns, but it is an important one. Terns come to Alaska to lay their eggs and raise their chicks. They nest on the ground on beaches, gravel bars, and lake shores, laying their eggs in shallow depressions called scrapes. The eggs are camouflaged to look like little rocks and are hard to see.

Terns breed in several areas around Yakutat, primarily in mixed Arctic and Aleutian Tern colonies, including the largest known colonies on Black Sand Spit and near the Italio river. The Aleutian tern colony on Black Sand Spit on the Yakutat Forelands is one of the largest in the world, historically supporting up to 3,000 Aleutian Terns; current population estimates are less than 1,000, but continue to represent a significant portion of the global population. Aleutian terns were documented on the Spit as far back as 1923, and the colony appears to be stable despite apparent declining populations elsewhere within Alaska. In part because of the large population of Aleutian Terns found there, Black Sand Spit is identified an Audubon Important Bird Area.