One of our rarest seabirds, the little tern, is under threat, the RSPB has warned. It's concerned that these elegant, diminutive birds- which return at this time of year from Africa to nest on beaches at fewer than 60 sites in the UK-are in real danger from changing sea temperatures and weather patterns.
Longstanding breeding colonies at South Gare, on the mouth of the River Tees on the Cleveland coast, and Donna Nook in Lincolnshire have disappeared due to habitat loss, predation and disturbance; only one nesting site remains in North Wales, at the Gronant dunes.
‘Little terns are very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,' explains the RSPB's Susan Rendell- Read, who describes the dainty seabirds as being no heavier than a tennis ball. ‘They need undisturbed sand and shingle beaches to nest, with a plentiful supply of small fish just offshore. These beaches can be quickly altered by rising seas, making them unsuitable for nesting.'
A five-year partnership, including the RSPB, Natural England and the National Trust, has been set up to help our smallest tern in Wales by protecting and creating nest sites and raising awareness of their plight.
* Subscribe to Country Life and save
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
-
The fate of the last wolf in Britain? Country Life Quiz of the DayOur daily quiz tests your gut instinct, powers of deduction and downright luck. Unless you happen to know all the answers for sure.
-
How to make an ethereal-sounding seafood, spinach and asparagus puff-pastry cloudOur Kitchen Garden Cook's recipe for a stuffed puff-pastry cloud is easier to make than it is to say.
