Great Yarmouth little terns get beach patrol

Little terns nesting on Great Yarmouth beach. Credit Chris Gomersall/RSPB images.com

Volunteers on the beach to help rare birds
May 2009. Volunteers will be busy on the beach at Great Yarmouth until mid-August, helping to protect the UK's largest colony of little terns.

A team of volunteers and wardens from the RSPB and Natural England will be putting up a 700 metre fence on North Denes beach to protect the rare seabirds as they lay their eggs on the beach. The team will patrol the beach night and day to ward off predators and keep the eggs and chicks safe from harm.

23 years
This summer will be the 23rd year of the scheme to protect little terns at Great Yarmouth and Winterton Dunes. The joint efforts of the RSPB, Natural England and Great Yarmouth Borough Council help to protect the vulnerable birds from predators and disturbance while they raise their chicks.

300 pairs of little terns
Every May, around 300 pairs of little terns make the arduous journey from Africa to nest on the beach at North Denes and at Winterton Dunes National Nature Reserve. North Denes hosts the largest breeding colony of little terns in Britain, with around 10% of the UK population choosing to nest at this site.

Heavily disguised eggs
Little terns build their nests on the open beach, where their pebble-like eggs would be easily destroyed if unprotected. The fences protect the eggs from being trampled and help to keep out predators.

Predation and vandalism
The rare birds also have a team of ‘bodyguards' - wardens and volunteers who give them round-the-clock protection and chase off foxes, hedgehogs, cats and other night-time prowlers. Despite some heavy losses to predation and vandalism in the past, the last three years have been bumper seasons for the little terns, with hundreds of chicks fledged at North Denes colony.

RSPB warden, Sue Rendell-Read, said "It's amazing to watch these tiny seabirds arriving at Great Yarmouth after such a long journey from Africa. They must be exhausted, but there's no rest when they get here - it's time to find a mate, start laying, then feed the hungry chicks. They need all the help they can get, so we'll be here night and day to give them the best chance of raising healthy chicks that can make it back to Africa in autumn."

Visitors are very welcome to come and watch the little terns. Please come along to the RSPB cabin on North Denes beach to find out how to watch them without disturbing the nesting birds. For information about viewing little terns, volunteering at the colony, or coming on a guided walk, please contact the RSPB on 01603 715191.