Welcome to our South East Christmas Countdown no.9.
Did you guess which species was keen to join the beach party? The little tern loves to be part of a large group! There’s a clue at the bottom to tomorrow’s story. If you missed no.10 in the Countdown, you can read it here.
Christmas is a time of celebration! In our countdown to Christmas, we would like to share with you some of this year’s success stories, about some of our most threatened birds in the South East. In September, the State of Nature 2016 report was published. It highlights the alarming decline of many UK species, but it also showed that we can turn the fortunes of our wildlife around, given determination, resources, public support and conservation action.
About little terns
Little terns are the UK's smallest tern, and they weigh no more than a tennis ball! These tiny terns migrate from Africa to breed in the UK, creating shallow nests (called scrapes) from shingle and shells on beaches and islands. Once the chicks hatch, tern parents stay close to the nest, only travelling about a kilometre to find food, so a healthy stock of fish near nesting sites is crucial for their survival.
Between 1986 and 2013, the number of little terns breeding in the South East of England plummeted by a staggering 89%. At some of our biggest colonies, a mixture of loss of habitat, human disturbance at nesting sites, storm surges, lack of food and increased competition with other species in the remaining areas had resulted in years of failure. Many of the smaller colonies were totally eradicated.
Good news from 2016
RSPB Langstone Harbour in Hampshire was once home to 162 pairs of little terns, but in 2013, after several years of complete failure, the population was down to just 26 breeding pairs. We embarked on an ambitious EU Life+ funded project to restore their shingle nesting areas, offering the colony safer, more secure nesting sites. Using over 1,500 tonnes of shingle, eight tonnes of crushed cockle shells, sand patches and a lot of effort, two nesting areas were restored to perfect nesting condition. We then placed “decoy” little terns, handmade and painted by local volunteers, community and youth groups, on the safe areas. These showed the way for returning adult terns.
As a result, 2014 was the RSPB Langstone Harbour colony’s most productive year for over a decade. Since 2013, we’ve managed to help the wider South East population climb from just 50 pairs to almost 100 in 2015. Along with our partners in other organisations, we hope to help little terns overcome these challenges and bring back a healthy population of these tiny seafarers to share the coast with future generations.
This April, Tim Muffett of BBC Breakfast, visited RSPB Langstone Harbour to talk to our warden and find out more about the work we are doing, and how model little terns can encourage real terns to nest!.
Our work wouldn’t be possible without your continued support, through membership, volunteering and even your Christmas purchases in our shops. On behalf of our teams and all the wildlife you have helped us to save, thank you, and have a great Christmas!
Our story for May
We’ll celebrate another story tomorrow, so keep an eye out for it, but in the meantime here’s a clue to keep you guessing…
Which of our conservation priority species sings carols both day and night through the breeding season?