Little Tern

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Little Tern, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	Yes
Birds Directive Annex 1	Yes
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(I), WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

The Little Tern is monitored by Seabird Monitoring Programme (JNCC 2022 or link to wesbite) and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel. The Atlas maps show range losses since 1968–72 (Balmer et al. 2013). The population fluctuated between 1969 and 1975 when numbers peaked at 2,800 pairs, but subsequently declined (Ratcliffe et al. 2000), with a mean of 1,375 breeding pairs counted over the five-year period 2015–2019 (Eaton et al. 2021). However, numbers have been stable over the 15 years to 2019 (Eaton et al. 2021)

UK winter population

-9% decrease (1995/96 to 2020/21)

Little Terns nest mostly on beaches on mainland Britain & Ireland. In Britain, c.75% of the population breeds in England, the majority on three sections of coast: the Humber/Lincolnshire, East Anglia and the Solent.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	102
% occupied in breeding season	3.4

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

The breeding range change map principally captures a picture of colony loss, particularly from the Thames Estuary and Kent, Anglesey, the Solway, the outer parts of the Firths of Forth and Tay, and throughout the Irish coast. The most significant gains since the 1988–91 Breeding Atlas have been the cluster of new colonies in northeast England and northeast Scotland.

% change in range in breeding season (1968–72 to 2008–11)

-30.9%

Little Terns are localised summer visitors from April/May onwards, departing in August and September.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	25 years 0 months 8 days (set in 2018)
Typical Lifespan	12 years with breeding typically at 3 year
Adult Survival	0.899
Juvenile Survival	0.578 (in first year)

Ring size	B+
Field Codes	2-letter: AF | 5-letter code: LITTE | Euring: 6240

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

Population decline has been linked to reduced productivity; the main drivers behind this are unclear but disturbance, predation and flooding may have contributed (Ratcliffe et al. 2000). Little Terns nest on beaches which can change substantially from one year to the next and the species can shift colony location in response to predation and habitat change and is also highly susceptible to disturbance (JNCC 2012). Intensive management across major UK colonies, including protection and habitat restoration and creation, has been successful at increasing breeding productivity, but population models suggest that this increase will not be sufficient to reverse population declines and that further solutions are needed (Wilson et al. 2020).