Joy as Montrose Basin bird numbers take a ‘tern’ for the better

Common terns return to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s (SWT) reserve each May to use the ‘Maid of Sterna Stuff II’ - a floating raft designed specifically to give the migrant seabirds a safer place to nest and breed.

Over 40 breeding pairs of common terns nested on the raft this year, and SWT staff have estimated there were over 100 chicks hatched, 87 of which were ringed by volunteers from the Tay Ringing Group.

Data is shared with the British Trust for Ornithology so that populations can be monitored and tracked over time and distance, telling us more about their movements and survival.

Common terns are small seabirds that migrate north for the summer to breed. Most pairs lay a clutch of three eggs, which can take between three and four weeks to hatch. The species is amber-listed in the UK due to recent population declines.

They are just one species among the 80,000 migratory birds that make their way to Montrose annually.

Joanna Peaker, visitor centre site manager, said: “This is the best year for terns since 2017, and it’s really encouraging that so many returned to breed on the raft. Last year the terns used the raft very late in the season, and in much smaller numbers.

"They didn’t nest at all during 2021 and 2022. We think their colonies were badly affected by bird flu, which has had a terrible impact on seabirds around the world.

“This year we saw the first few common terns on May 2. Nine were on the raft two days later, and the following day over 40 had arrived.

“The raft was custom-designed for the terns and placed on a part of the basin where there’s a river channel. So although the tide goes in and out twice a day, the raft always stays afloat and protects the terns from ground predators like foxes or otters. It almost acts like a moat!

For more information on the Montrose Basin Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve, visit: https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserve/montrose-basin/