Help to nest for rare little terns

Little terns have successfully raised chicks on the beach at Lossiemouth, Scotland, for the first time since 2015, thanks to a group of locals.

Following reports that the birds had returned to the beach in Moray after their winter migration, the RSPB helped residents to temporarily fence off the nesting area. Little terns rarely breed successfully in this area due to unintentional disturbance from walkers, dogs and bicycles.

Thanks to concerted efforts to protect the nesting area, three little tern chicks have survived to take their first flight. Little terns are the UK’S smallest tern, famed for their acrobatic courtship displays. In 2015, only 200 pairs nested in Scotland and only 25 pairs in the east of Scotland, making the small colony at Lossiemouth vital.

A ringed plover was also found to be nesting within the fenced area, and it, too, has raised two chicks. Samantha Herbert