Little Tern Project

The smallest UK tern, little terns are a fast flying graceful little bird with a black cap on their head and a yellow bill with a black tip. You can often hear them before you see them, flying overhead with a distinctive ‘creeking’ call. Little terns are master fishermen; riveting to watch as they expertly hover over the Fleet Lagoon before plunge diving with absolute precision to catch a small fish.

Shortly after arriving back in Dorset, the courtship process begins with an aerial display and males trying to entice females by offering them a small fish. The pair will then ‘prospect’ for a nest site – in reality just a dip in the pebbles -  before laying two to three well camouflaged eggs. The chicks will hatch 18 – 22 days later, and grow quickly - within a few days, they are running around the beach and Fleet foreshore. Fledglings will stay on the beach near the colony and continue to be fed by their parents for several weeks as they practice and perfect their fishing and diving skills. In August, the whole colony will migrate south again.

Little terns are protected under Appendix 1 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act, and the species is on the Amber list. 

The crash in numbers of breeding birds led to the creation of the Chesil Beach Little Tern Project. This is a partnership project 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. 

The project concentrates on protecting the colony from predators and reducing disturbance. Before the birds arrive, an electric fence is erected around the colony to keep out foxes and a hide is constructed. Wardens and volunteers monitor the birds around the clock and scare off avian predators, especially kestrels and gulls. They also keep track of the little terns' progress and behaviour.

In the early days, a high proportion of the eggs weren’t hatching, and it was suspected that this was due to chilling – Chesil Beach is very draughty!  The wardens tried putting down sand patches to insulate the eggs and this dramatically increased hatching success. Installing sand patches is now a regular part of the project – the majority of birds select sand patches to nest on, and sand is placed under any that have nested straight on the pebbles.

Volunteers are essential for this project to succeed. If you would like to volunteer, please apply here or get in touch with chesil.tern@rspb.org.uk.