Guest blog by Rhiannon Baker, Suffolk Little Tern Warden
Hello, my name is Rhiannon Baker. I am one of the Little Tern Wardens in Suffolk working as part of the EU Life funded project.
On a daily basis I monitor the colonies around Suffolk which includes Benacre NNR, Walberswick NNR and Kessingland. This is my first year working as a warden in Suffolk and it has been an absolute joy. There are fantastic sunsets on most evenings and wonderful views of the Suffolk landscape. The little tern colony has been doing amazingly at Benacre NNR today; we have seen over 40 chicks and 76 fledglings running around.
My average day consists of counting the chicks, fledglings and adults, and chick provisioning counts: this is when we monitor the amount of food the chicks receive from the adults and what type of food they receive.We also observe the colony throughout the day.
The Suffolk coastline is great for birdwatching. As well as the little terns, there are also many other species to see at Benacre including: dunlins, oystercatchers, ringed plovers, barnacle geese, common terns, Sandwich terns and avocets.
Visiting Benacre requires a long walk, but it's possible to see most of these birds, and many others, from the relative comfort of the hides at Minsmere.
Sunsets over Benacre NNR by Rhiannon Baker