Parks and Wildlife appeal to the public not to disturb Little Terns
MEMBERS OF the public are being warned not to enter a birds’ colony in Wexford Harbour as they could disturb a group of nesting Little Terns.
The birds are regular visitors to the Wexford coast at this time of year and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NWPS) has urged dog owners and members of the public to stay away from the area on the Fort Bank, off the main harbour channel.
The NPWS has estimated that about 50 pairs are sitting on eggs which should hatch shortly. The chicks take to the air about three weeks after hatching.
The chances of the chicks successfully hatching can be greatly diminished if they are disturbed by people, even for short periods.
NPWS Ranger, Dominic Berridge warned: ‘The Little Terns’ eggs and chicks look like seashells on the beach so anyone could easily trample on them.’
He added: ‘The number of birds using Wexford Harbour has been very significant over the last few years, making this one of the biggest colonies of Little Terns in Ireland. We hope that, with the cooperation of the public, hundreds of chicks will successfully hatch in the coming weeks. Last year we had at least a hundred pairs of Little Terns in the colony but we were disappointed later when there were only ten or fifteen chicks seen to grow up.
‘The reasons were probably wind and high tides washing over parts of the sandbanks and destroying nests. These birds breed under really tough conditions and we will all have to be careful not to add to their problems by disturbing them.’