As a precautionary measure during the lockdown, the team was limited to just 17 volunteer wardens to protect this colony of the second rarest breeding sea bird in the UK. 

Dan Bartlett, Visitor Centre Assistant at Dorset Wildlife Trust and volunteer for the Little Tern Project at Chesil said: “It was quite a challenge for the volunteer team because we had to do double shifts, we weren’t allowed to use hides, even in bad weather due to the risk of infection, we had to use our own notebooks for daily observations, and could only use Facebook and text messages to keep in touch. On behalf of the team, I would like to say a big thank you to the RSPB for recognising our work with this award.”

The Little Tern Project works to conserve and protect this rare and declining species of seabird and is managed by the RSPB, supported by Dorset Wildlife Trust, Natural England, The Portland Court Leet, the Crown Estate and the Chesil Bank and Fleet Nature Reserve. Little terns are the second rarest breeding seabird in the UK with an estimated 1,600 pairs left following reductions in the size and number of colonies nationwide.