1,500 Eggs Tern Left Behind After Hidden Drone Bird Dangers

About 1,500 tern eggs have been dropped on an island in southern California after a major plane crashed in fear of thousands of birds, Orange County Register and New York Times said this week.

Two drones were illegally operated on the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, a protected coastal area in Southern California, on May 13, according to the Register. When one of the Drones flew to the largest island reserve, several thousand terns fled their nests on the ground, fearing that the enemy would destroy them.

At about this time each year, the island is teeming with terns that prepare their eggs for hatching. But there won’t be any kids this year; instead, the island is littered with eggshells.

Environmentalist and conservationist Melissa Loebl said it was the largest loss of eggs the coast has ever seen, says the Register. Beautiful tern, that is confidential as an endangered species, it is home to about 800 species of plants and animals that depend on the area as a habitat.

In an interview with the Times, Loebl called the area “dangerous to see.”

“In my 20 years of working with wildlife and in the field, I have never seen such damage,” he said. “My intestines are in a ferment.”

California and Fish and Wildlife Office Nicholas Molsberry told the Times that no one had come looking for a drone in the three weeks since the accident. He also said he wanted a search warrant to allow him to re-examine his memory cards and hoped to return them to anyone who was driving the drone the same day. According to the report, authorities are planning to prosecute the destruction of eggs or nests, the abuse of wildlife, and the use of drones in nature reserves.

Speaking to the letter, Molsberry said drone incidents have become a major issue in the region, which is more frequently monitored than any other state government in Orange County because of its scenic location.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “Drone owners are attracted to birds’ nests, and then their actions are destructive.”

With the exception of drones, the swamps have also been disrupted by dogs and bicycles, all of which are prohibited. With a strong closure due to the coronavirus epidemic to drive large numbers of people to search outside, the Bolsa Chica reserve saw its visitors jump from 60,000 in 2019 to 100,000 in 2020, according to the Orange County Register.

Loebl told the Times that although California law prohibits drones in the region, he hopes the disaster will prompt the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a law requiring the government to regulate drones in the region.