Unsung Birders

is a developing art-focused conservation project that celebrates the powerful bird-to-human connection that inspires communities to protect the endangered California Least Tern (Sternula antillarum browni) in the United States and Mexico. 

The California Least Tern (El Charrán Mínimo) is a subspecies of the smallest tern in North America that has experienced a 56% population decline. It has been listed as endangered at both the state and federal levels in the United States since the early 1970s and is now considered a conservation-reliant migratory species. Each summer, California Least Terns return to breeding colonies along the Pacific Coast ranging from Northern California to Baja California, Mexico, where the species is under Special Protection by the Mexican Official Standard 059-Semarnat-2010. Conservation efforts include seasonal nest site monitoring, increasing public awareness, banding studies, and protecting breeding habitats such as coastal wetlands and public beaches.