SHIP ISLAND
Ship Island is an 11-acre island in the town of Tremont, Hancock County, Maine, three miles southwest of Mount Desert Island in Blue Hill Bay and has been actively managed for terns since 1993. Although the colony has been successful in recent years, mink and raccoon reside on nearby islands and may swim to Ship Island at any time. Active gull harassment, mink, and owl trapping are required to protect the Ship Island tern colony.
Ship Island is closed to public use during the seabird nesting season: April 1 to August 31. Informational signs alerting visitors to this closure are in place.
Terns on Ship
Information provided by Ship Island 2025 Field Report
Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge has actively managed the Ship Island common tern colony for 28 seasons: 1993-2004 and 2010-2025. The Refuge suspended the project from 2005-2009 after excessive mink predation caused the colony to abandon. The Refuge resumed restoration in 2010 after gaining considerable mink trapping experience. During the 2018-2021 breeding seasons, the Ship Island tern colony abandoned the island in late May or early June but then returned in mid to late June to nest successfully. The Refuge has not been able to determine the cause of this behavior, although owl predation has been suspected.
The height and density of the vegetation on Ship Island discourages terns from nesting in the interior of the island. As a result, the birds generally nest along the sandy beach on the western shore of the island. Unfortunately, depending on the profile of the beach this area can be susceptible to flooding during storm events. To enhance nesting habitat in areas protected from flooding, the Refuge has used prescribed fire, mowing, herbicides, and hand pulling to control invasive/noxious plants in the tern nesting area.
In 2025, 1,705 pairs of Common Terns nested on Ship Island. This was the largest number of nesting terns ever observed on Ship Island, and an increase of nearly 300 nests compared to the previous record, which was 1,394 pairs in 2023.
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