How to Use least tern in a Sentence

least tern

noun
  • Signs also warn that the area is a habitat for the plover and the least tern.
    — Saumya Gupta, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Care will be taken to avoid grunion runs and least tern nesting areas.
    — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024
  • The sea turtles are nesting and so are shorebirds such as snowy plovers, Wilson’s plovers and least terns.
    — Robin Soslow, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • The interior least tern was once hunted for feathers for hats and hurt by the damming of major rivers.
    — Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2019
  • Thomas said the least terns have an innate fear of predators such as dogs, and that being chased by them reinforces that fear.
    — Saumya Gupta, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
  • While the least tern preserve is fenced off, other nesting areas for species such as the snowy plover are found around the sandy areas.
    — Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 3 July 2025
  • There are three populations of least terns in the United States.
    — Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2019
  • Last summer, researchers found three of them in the nesting area of least terns, small seabirds with black caps and smoky gray plumage that are declining in parts of the US.
    — Benji Jones, Vox, 21 May 2024
  • In 2018 volunteers found dozens of least tern eggs stacked in piles, moved out of the way for a volleyball game in Alabama.
    — Lisa J. Huriash, sun-sentinel.com, 5 July 2021
  • The islands also are used as nesting sites by least terns, Forster’s terns, oystercatchers and other waterbirds.
    — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, 10 May 2018
  • The day before, a drone went down in Bolsa Chica near nesting sites of the California least tern and the snowy plover.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2021
  • The group pointed out that the Dowses Beach estuarine system shelters at least two species of vulnerable birds – plovers and the least tern.
    — James Freeman, WSJ, 19 Dec. 2022
  • Environmental groups raised concerns that unleashed canines could cause harm to rare and at-risk western snowy plovers and California least terns that roost nearby.
    — Hillary Davis, Daily Pilot, 6 Sep. 2019
  • Piping plovers and least terns require protection throughout their nesting season, which runs from April through August, officials said.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2026
  • The beach also provides a nesting sanctuary for endangered and threatened bird species, including the California least tern and snowy plover.
    — Greg Mellen, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Nearly 200 species of birds have been spotted in the wetlands, including the endangered California least tern.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024
  • California least tern Head to Mission Bay for a chance to see the California least tern, the world’s second smallest tern at about 9 inches long.
    — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
  • Environmental mitigation work for the project includes the restoration of nesting sites for the California least tern, a native bird in danger of extinction.
    — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2026
  • The island is a key spot for least tern nesting, said Andrew Meyer, conservation director for the Audubon Society’s local chapter.
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2019
  • Several species, including black skimmers, least terns, roseate terns and American oystercatchers, have taken to nesting on the plentiful gravel rooftops of buildings near the waterfront.
    — Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024
  • Another reason some boats aren’t immediately destroyed and removed is that such work is prohibited part of the year by environmental protections in place for a bird called the California least tern.
    — David Garrick, sandiegouniontribune.com, 11 Oct. 2017
  • For birders, this beach is heaven — home to elusive and endangered species such as the California least tern — especially because it's located across from a 114-acre wetland reserve.
    — Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2020
  • Piping plovers, least terns, American oystercatchers, herons and egrets are particularly vulnerable.
    — USA TODAY, 3 July 2019
  • Of those species, 23 have special status, including the California least tern and Ridgway’s rail, which are endangered, and the Western snowy plover, which is classified as threatened.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2021
  • According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, there are fewer places for shorebirds like piping plovers and least terns to nest.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2026
  • Birds that use the island as a stopover include the American oystercatcher, for which the Boston Harbor Islands are one of their northernmost breeding sites, and the islands host several colonial nesting species, such as the least tern.
    — Cheryl Maguire, Washington Post, 22 July 2022
  • The California least tern is a white-and-black bird less than 10 inches long that breeds only in a few areas along the bays and lagoons of California and Mexico and is in danger of extinction because of coastal development.
    — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
  • New requirements to avoid construction during the Californian least tern nesting season, from April 15 to July 31, have extended the project’s schedule from two-and-a-half years to four years, also adding to the cost.
    — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2024
  • About 8,000 cubic yards of the sand was used to expand a nesting area for California least terns just east of Carlsbad Boulevard, also known as Coast Highway 101 or the Pacific Coast Highway.
    — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'least tern.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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