HUNTINGTON BEACH : Help Needed to Clean Tern Nesting Islands

Volunteers are needed today to help clear brush and other debris from islands used by migrating least terns that nest in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.

The least terns, an endangered species, return annually to their historic breeding grounds in the saltwater marsh near Huntington Beach. The birds nest on the muddy flats and islands in the reserve.

Overgrown brush and plants need to be removed and thinned to create attractive nesting spots for the birds, who migrate in winter as far south as Central America.

Those interested in helping should meet at 8 a.m. in the ecological reserve parking lot on Pacific Coast Highway, about a mile south of Warner Avenue.