Terns are nesting on Green Island," said Tom Pugh, a hiking buddy and Land Trust member. "Let's paddle out there and take a look." And so we did.

It was a perfect, sunny day. A breeze out of the northwest made little ripples that slid under the canoe as we made our way several hundred yards past Short Beach and Killam's Point.

Green Island was given to the Land Trust many years ago by Alex Murphy and his late wife, Shirley, long time residents of Killam's Point. It gets its name from its green cap of poison ivy and other plants hardy to the rigorous salty environment located above its granite shore.

As we approached the island, a swarm of terns suddenly took to the air in pursuit of a pair of ospreys flying by. Apparently, terns don't realize that ospreys eat only fish. To them, any nearby hawk means trouble and should be chased away. The ospreys fled, and the terns came back.

Surprisingly, they didn't dive bomb us. Had we come this close to their nests earlier in the season, we, too, would have been driven off like the ospreys. But hungry chicks had to be fed, and the parents instead devoted their energy and attention to diving into the water and bringing them small shiny fish in their bright red bills.

The terns were not alone on Green Island. Sharing the granite ledges with them were pigeons - the same species that pick up crumbs on the New Haven Green! They weren't breeding; maybe they were simply spending their summer vacations there.

Tom and I paddled around the island, and, judging from the number of robust chicks we saw, figured that 10-15 pairs nested on its rocky ledges. We headed back home, grateful to Alex and Shirley Murphy, and pleased that the Land Trust is protecting the homes of the beautiful, graceful and sometimes roguish Common Tern.