Some success for Little Terns
10 Nov 2016
Along with Roseate Tern, Little Tern is one of the most threatened seabirds breeding in Britain and Ireland. Preferring to nest in loose colonies on sand and shingle beaches, they face a variety of threats, from accidental disturbance to predation by the likes of Kestrels and larger mammals.
Several colonies are the focus of dedicated conservation efforts and receive 24 hour wardening. Despite this, the colonies can have widely fluctuating breeding success. The famous colony in Kilcoole, eastern Ireland, raised 293 chicks in 2015, but only 50 this year. On the other side of the Irish Sea, 170 Little Tern chicks were fledged at the colony in Gronant, Flintshire, the most since 2010.
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