Sunday, June 12, 2011

Roseate Terns @ Coquet





Breeding success continues at Coquet island's Roseate Tern colony using the innovative design of nest box and it is hoped that 100 breeding pairs will soon be recorded on the island. A good news story for a rare seabird.


2 comments:

lulubelle said...

Have these birds suffered predation by other birds? I am curious why they struggled for breeding success. Am glad to hear that the nesting boxes are improving their efforts! It is nice that these efforts have shown improvements right away, so many times a breeding colony is damaged so much that it takes years to see a rebound. If you happen to return to this area, please update on the status of thees birds.

Robin Edwards said...

Roseate Tern has been a species that have suffered over many years being vunerable to disturbance and predation on their breeding grounds and wintering in west Africa. Unlike other tern species, the Roseate Tern is more prone to disturbance and their breeding success on this island in the NE of england is due to the island being a refuge with no landing permitted. The nest box prevents predation from gulls and was developed in ireland on an island offshore from Dublin where it had been proven successful in recent times. The breeding birds on Coquet amount to 100% of breeding for this species in the UK.