Thankfully, 2024 proved to be a very successful year for Little Terns on the east coast of Ireland, with increased nesting numbers across all of the colonies managed by BirdWatch Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, BirdWatch Ireland Fingal Branch and Louth Nature Trust. While everything didn’t always go according to plan, the number of chicks fledged overall was pretty good too.
Kilcoole (Wicklow)
The conservation of Little Terns at Kilcoole is a National Parks and Wildlife Service project, run by BirdWatch Ireland in 2024, and we work closely with NPWS staff in Wicklow throughout the season to give the birds the best possible chance of success.
Our wardens were in for a surprise this year when the first Little Tern eggs arrived on May 9th, almost a week earlier than usual and right in the middle of the already busy set-up period! While it didn’t put a stop to the work, it was necessary to proceed with caution to ensure that the fence installation did not disturb nesting birds. Thankfully, everything went smoothly and chicks from all of those early nests hatched successfully.
At its peak in early June, we recorded over 285 nesting pairs of Little Terns at Kilcoole. This is the highest-ever number for the project and a long way from the 14 pairs recorded at the project’s onset many years ago. Kilcoole is by far the biggest colony of Little Terns in Ireland, and one of the biggest in all of Ireland and the UK, a testament to many years of conservation efforts by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and BirdWatch Ireland. We also know from our ringing studies that Kilcoole-born birds have moved to other Irish colonies to nest, helping those colonies grow.
In early June, the combination of Hooded Crow predation, stormy weather and a high tide led to the loss of many chicks. “If these impacts happened earlier in the season when most were still on their eggs, there would have been the time and opportunity for birds to relay. Unfortunately, because of the timing in mid-June, many of the birds were too late to try again,” said Manager of the Kilcoole Little Tern Project, Brian Burke.
Little Tern ringing at Kilcoole. Photo: Oonagh Duggan. Photo taken under NPWS licence.
It was a low point of the season for everyone involved, though an unfortunate reality when it comes to conservation work. Despite our best efforts to control predators in the vicinity of the colony, these two Hooded Crows caused a lot of damage before they could be stopped. There is unfortunately little that can be done when strong winds and high tides combine to bring the water up the beach and we have been lucky to avoid any significant washouts in recent years. Thankfully, the rest of the season went smoothly and the number of chicks that ultimately fledged was similar to previous years.
“The Kilcoole Little Tern conservation project is a fantastic example of what can be achieved with long-term funding and continued efforts to address conservation problems and develop expertise over time. Kilcoole wasn’t an immediate success, but over time we’ve worked closely with NPWS to address the issues the birds face and to get to the stage where we have more good years than bad years,” said Brian.
You can read more about the Kilcoole Little Tern Project here.
The Kilcoole Little Tern Project is an NPWS project run by BirdWatch Ireland under a competitive tender agreement in 2024.
Portrane (Dublin)
The BirdWatch Ireland Fingal Branch has been running the voluntary Portrane Little Tern project since 2018. Between 20 and 30 volunteers are involved in the project in a given year, with Tom Kavanagh and Paul Lynch at the helm. The group, who describe themselves as “a service provider for the avian species that choose to spend their summer at Portrane” spent over 2000 hours wardening at the colony this year.
Like the Kilcoole colony, the Little Terns arrived in Portrane early this season. On May 6th, at least 20 adults were recorded at the site, with the first Little Tern egg found on May 14th. This early start proved advantageous for the Little Terns as it meant that they were ahead of many of their regular predators. Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and other predators had no chicks of their own to feed for most of the Little Tern season and so their visits to the site were infrequent.
2024 turned out to be the most successful year to date for Portrane, with a total of 78 eggs laid, 53 confirmed chicks fledged plus another seven unconfirmed. Over 120 chicks have fledged since the project started in 2018.
“We are feeling brilliant about this year’s success. We find it more and more heartening and motivating with each year. You never know if a tragedy of some type will happen, whether it is a high tide or predation by a fox, but thankfully, we had no tragedies this year,” said Paul.
In an effort to protect Little Tern nests that are at risk from high tides, the Portrane team use flower pots to raise them. This simple action, which is carried out under NPWS licence, has proved very successful to date.
The Portrane Little Tern project continues to go from strength to strength. In addition to recording a record number of fledged chicks in 2024, the initiative has also garnered a huge amount of public support since it was established. The dedicated team of volunteers grow in numbers and expertise each year.
Little Terns in Portrane. Photos: Paul Lynch. All photos taken under NPWS licence.
Paul’s awareness of the vulnerability of the Little Tern nests has been, and remains, the driving force behind his work at the colony. He and the team hope to encourage others to get on board next season, saying that once people get involved, they are hooked.
“It would be great to have more people on board next year so if anyone is interested in getting involved, please get in touch. Anyone can play a role. We say if you can clap your hands and scare away crows, there is a job for you!” he added.
You can read more about the Little Tern work in Portrane here and access the 2024 report here.
The Little Tern Conservation Project in Portrane is managed by Birdwatch Ireland’s Fingal branch. In 2024, this project received support from The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage through the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s National Biodiversity Action Plan Fund, and by Fingal County Council.
Cahore (Wexford)
The Cahore Little Tern Project in Co. Wexford is run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, in close collaboration with volunteers from Ballygarrett Tidy Towns. In 2024, NPWS were able to scale up the project to protect nesting Little Tern and Ringed Plover on the beach and increase local awareness of the birds and this very special colony. BirdWatch Ireland were very happy to assist with ringing tern chicks at Cahore this year, helping to improve our collective efforts to monitor and learn more about the population dynamics of Little Terns in Ireland.
The Cahore project has been a great success to date, with the number of Little Tern nests increasing from 22 in 2023 to approximately 62 in 2024, with 82 egg clutches. While the site was hit with bad weather in June, at a critical time with many nests lost, thankfully, many pairs reared second clutches.
You can learn more about the Cahore Little Tern Project here.
Baltray
The Little Tern project at Baltray, Co. Louth commenced in 2007. It was initially run by a team of volunteers, whose efforts later resulted in the foundation of the Louth Nature Trust. The Trust has run the Project at Baltray ever since.
The Baltray Little Terns arrived later than those at Kilcoole and Portrane this year, with the first nest discovered on May 20th. This season, a total of 253 eggs were counted onsite from 112 nesting attempts. 201 hatchlings were produced, and 167 successfully fledged.
You can read more about the Little Tern work in Baltray here and access the 2024 report here.
The Little Tern Conservation Project in Baltray, Co. Louth is managed by Louth Nature Trust. In 2024 this project was funded by Louth County Council Biodiversity Dept, NPWS, Dept of Housing Local Government and Heritage, Dublin Zoo.
