Evening things out

Just to even things out after yesterday's fun, this morning's "swatch" was less exhilerating. In fact, nothing of note was seen. No Skuas, no Shearwaters etc. I gave it three hours (7 -10) in my defence, just wasn't my day. Others had more luck up and down the coast, including Richard. Character building! Steve Lawton tried for the lingering Cory's at Flamborough but it wasn't to be. It will fall to him eventually. I've just read the Spurn newsletter and a piece from Richard on the Little Tern Colony...

Little Terns at Beacon Ponds August Update

Sunday, the 2nd of August, was a busy time for our volunteer Luke Nash.

Over the course of the afternoon he had to deal with eight separate incidents of human disturbance, involving 20 people all told. The beach was busier than usual: with an accident blocking Easington Straight, the Boatyard became the only point of access, concentrating visitors on the northern end of the beach. Luke dealt with the situation admirably, following our protocols, and only one or two of his encounters were in any way unpleasant. Most people are happy to keep their distance once they understand what we’re trying to do with the colony. And this is not untypical: rudeness, aggression and plain stupidity are always to be met with when dealing with the public, but thankfully only in a small minority of cases. Luke’s only real complaint was the amount of paperwork he had to complete afterwards!

I’m sometimes asked whether the Little Tern Project is ‘worth it’. Five months of wardening, most of it on a 24/7 basis, up to 20 volunteers (in an ordinary year), the erection and dismantling of electric fences, hides and rafts and the endless grant applications to fund the operation can seem like a disproportionate amount of energy to spend on what is, in national terms, a small colony, and one the long-term future of which is uncertain. And anyone who has spent any time in the hides watching the birds has sooner or later confronted the bitter thought that they seem to do little to help themselves!

Nesting in the open on the low gravelly beaches exposes them every day to predation from other birds (gulls, herons, falcons, hawks, corvids, even the oystercatchers with which they share the colony) and mammals (fox, otter, badger – never mind the odd clumsy deer) and the risk of being wiped out at any point by bad weather, storms, or high tides.

But it works.
Or at least, it works so long as there are enough colonies nationally to sustain the losses of one or two. The ruthless mathematics of natural evolution allow for it. The problem comes when there simply aren’t enough colonies. And that, I’m afraid, is down to us, the human race.

“Human disturbance“ doesn’t just mean the direct deliberate or accidental interference of individuals at a colony: it also, and more seriously, means the more widespread destruction of habitat to human development and leisure activities. This makes the loss of any one colony all the more serious. The mathematics start to work against the birds.

So yes, our own, positive brand of “interference” makes the Project “worth it”. We have to try to redress the imbalance we have ourselves created. And thankfully, and despite the many problems brought about by the Covid crisis, it seems that this year is producing results as strong as last. As I write, our best estimate is that something in the area of 40 chicks have fledged - an excellent outcome.

It is something we need to build on, and this is increasingly involving us in closer examination and monitoring of the terns’ breeding requirements. GPS technology has been used already for the first time this year to pinpoint the exact locations of individual nests, to help us learn more about, for example, breeding density. At the same time we are planning to map more thoroughly the territories of all the species that breed on the beach, to expand our coverage and improve our understanding of conversion rates (territory - nest - eggs - hatching - fledging success). And we are also part of a wider survey looking at how different kinds and degrees of human disturbance impact on the birds - all to help plan for further habitat development in the Humber area.
It might mean more paperwork (sorry, Luke...). But it will be worth it.

Richard Boon

A fantastic effort by all concerned. I've always had an interest in these special birds and we're so lucky to (still) have a colony in Yorkshire. Long may they continue to thrive. Wouldn't mind getting involved in on the effort next year, now I'm...

Just the 55 Pied Flycatchers estimated at Spurn today!!! Wonder if they could spare one?