Little terns are due to return to Seaton Carew – and here’s how to get involved

Fences have been put up in anticipation of popular visitors arriving back in Hartlepool after a 3,000-mile trip.
By Madeleine Raine
Published 30th Apr 2024, 14:34 BST

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The legally-protected little terns are due to take up residence again on a small stretch of Seaton Carew Beach after flying from West Africa.

Little terns are the smallest of the five species of terns that breed in the UK and lay their eggs in shallow scrapes in the sand.

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These nests are difficult to spot, putting them at risk of disturbance and damage.

One of Hartlepool’s popular seasonal birds are due to return to Seaton Carew for another summer after making a 3000-mile trip from West Africa. Fencing has been put up around a special nesting site on the beach at Seaton Carew to prevent their nests from being disturbed.One of Hartlepool’s popular seasonal birds are due to return to Seaton Carew for another summer after making a 3000-mile trip from West Africa. Fencing has been put up around a special nesting site on the beach at Seaton Carew to prevent their nests from being disturbed.
One of Hartlepool’s popular seasonal birds are due to return to Seaton Carew for another summer after making a 3000-mile trip from West Africa. Fencing has been put up around a special nesting site on the beach at Seaton Carew to prevent their nests from being disturbed.

Since their arrival in 2019, members of the Hartlepool community and volunteers from the Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) have put up fences around their nesting areas until they leave at the end of the summer to protect them from disturbance.

Derek Wood, a warden for the Seaton Carew project, said: “We are hoping that with the continued support of the local community and visitors to the site, that we will build on recent successes to match the remarkable results of 2022, when there was 65 fledged, and 2023, when there was 125 fledged.

"That success has owed much to the care and commitment of DWT wardens and volunteers who have maintained watch over the site every day and night of the week from the time of the first arrival, through to the departure of the final fledglings in August."

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Members of the community gathered on Seaton Beach to take part in a communal beach clean on April 20, four days before the fence was put up, to prepare the site for the little terns.

Anyone interested in supporting ongoing volunteering efforts can find details online at www.durhamwt.com/.

Related topics:HartlepoolSeaton Carew

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