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