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Ireland's Wildlife

Irish wildlife, nature and biodiversity

You are here: Home / Featured / Record year for Irish little tern colony

Record year for Irish little tern colony

August 29, 2014 by Calvin Jones Leave a Comment

LittleTernIreland’s largest little tern colony at Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, has enjoyed a record year in 2014 according to conservationists monitoring the site.

Wardens recorded 120 breeding pairs nesting at Kilcoole this season, smashing the previous record of 106 pairs from 2006. According to figures reported on the Kilcoole Little Tern Conservation blog an estimated 219 chicks successfully fledged — another record-breaking figure, and great news for one of Ireland’s rarest breeding seabirds.

This year was also the first year that wardens at Kilcoole ringed the young birds. 135 fledglings had colour-rings fitted to help researchers identify individuals in the future. It’s a move that’s already paying dividends with a colour-ringed juvenile little tern from Kilcoole reported at Hilbre Island in the Dee Estuary on the Wales England border on the 10 August.

Interestingly Hilbre Island is just across the estuary from one of the UK’s largest little tern breeding colonies at Gronant on the North Wales coast.

Little tern movement
Kilcoole little tern fledgling re-sighted at Hilbre Island, some 190 km from where it hatched.

The re-sighting, and others like it, will provide valuable insight into how young terns move around the Irish Sea before they return to West Africa for the winter.

The little tern colony at Kilcoole has been protected by wardens during the breeding season since 1985 under a joint initiative run by BirdWatch Ireland and the National Parks & Wildlife Service. For more information visit the Birdwatch Ireland Little Tern Conservation blog.

Filed Under: Featured, Irish Wildlife News Tagged With: conservation, Kilcoole, Little Tern, seabirds, Wicklow

About Calvin Jones

Calvin Jones is a freelance writer, author, birder and lifelong wildlife enthusiast. He is founder and editor of IrelandsWildlife.com and founder and wildlife guide of Ireland's Wildlife Tours offering wildlife and birding holidays on Ireland's south coast.

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