Record-breaking numbers of UK's rarest seabird return to island after near extinction

118 pairs of roseate terns successfully raise chicks off coast of Northumberland after nearly being wiped out in 1970s

Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent 

Record numbers of roseate terns have nested off the coast of Northumberland, raising hopes for this once critically endangered bird.

Populations of these terns crashed as low as 16 breeding pairs in the 1970s due to demand for their beautiful plumage, which was used to make hats.

Though still considered the country’s rarest seabird, roseate tern numbers have bounced back thanks to a concerted effort by conservationists, and this year saw 118 pairs raising chicks on Coquet Island.

The small island, just a kilometre from the mainland, is host to the last sizeable breeding population of the tern – which was once widespread across the whole of the UK.

Their success there has been largely the result of a scheme to create rows of “terrace houses” for the birds to live in, which recreate the crevices that the terns like to lay their eggs in.

The RSPB constructed these special nest boxes on the island in 2000 when the population still only numbered 34 pairs, and since then numbers have consistently climbed.

“For the past three years we’ve been consistently attracting more than 100 pairs of roseate terns to the island, who have fledged more than a 100 chicks each year,” said Paul Morrison, warden at RSPB Coquet Island.

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Breeding Roseate Terns return to Wales

RSPB Cymru have announced that two Roseate Tern chicks were born at The Skerries this summer – with one chick having successfully flown the nest for the first time since 2006.

Funding provided by the EU Roseate Tern Recovery Project allowed for a two-week extension on the islands’ wardening season, along with newly designed nest boxes being placed strategically around the islands. The wardens also placed lures playing Roseate Tern calls and hand-made decoys with the aim of attracting passing Roseate Terns to the colony.

Once widespread across Wales, Roseate Terns nearly became extinct in the 19th century because their plumage was prized for fashionable hats. Sadly, Roseate Terns continue to face many challenges, including food shortages, eroding nesting habitat and predation. To address this challenge, 2015 saw the launch of an ambitious five year EU-funded Roseate Tern LIFE Recovery Project bringing together conservationists from the RSPB, BirdWatch Ireland and North Wales Wildlife Trust on the three breeding colonies (two in Ireland and one in the UK). The project is also focused on creating further Roseate Tern-friendly sites across the UK and Ireland in the hopes of re-establishing thriving colonies.

Currently in 2018, there are only 116 breeding pairs of Roseate Terns in the UK, restricted to just Coquet Island in England. With their incredibly pale plumage with slight rosy flush and long tail streamers, they are considered the most elegant of the five breeding terns to visit our shores. These endangered birds migrate each spring from western Africa to breed at only a handful of colonies in the UK and Ireland.

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