A quick tern around

The breeding season has now ended for most of our nesting shorebirds. As we say goodbye to lots of the seasonal rangers that monitor and protect the birds both on the islands and the mainland, Kate, one of the coastal rangers reflects on how the 2017 season has been at the Long Nanny Tern Site.

 

‘Every year the end of season seems to come around too quickly, one day you are busy monitoring chicks and chasing kestrels and the next you realise the site has become eerily quiet. Handfuls of birds spiral high into the air signalling the beginning of their migration south. Handfuls become large groups and slowly the background chatter of the site reduces. The site is now closed and the assistant rangers that lived and worked on site have moved on to other things. It is always a mad rush to get the site collapsed: deconstructing huts, reeling in over a kilometre of fencing and securing the ranger hut for another winter. Suddenly it is all over and I find myself staring at a large pile of sand covered equipment, occupying most of the floor space in our workshop and wandering where on earth to store it over winter. We have been busy brushing sand off the night-shift torches, hosing down rope gunged up with seaweed and packing away the kitchen equipment. A few last trips to site to pick up the last bits are always a strange experience. With the ropes and signage removed, Beadnell bay is full of families enjoying the beach, and I have to check my impulse to run down and intercept beach users standing in the middle of what was the nesting site only a few days before.

Monitoring nests in the spit colony

This time of year is also when we reflect on how successful the season has been. Before the assistant rangers leave, they spend a busy few days writing the site report for the season, analysing all of the data recorded throughout the past three months. This data is also reported to the EU Little Tern LIFE project coordinated by the RSPB and other seabird data sets.   

Arctic terns had a much better season than last year. Just over 1800 pairs nested on site and a minimum of 479 chicks fledged. It is always tricky to reach an exact number as some juveniles will be starting their journey south before others have even started to grow their adult feathers. 479 was the most seen at one time but we believe the actual number of fledglings could be between 600 to 1000. Their success was impacted by high tides, periods of poor weather when chicks were newly hatched and a selection of predators.

Little terns were similarly affected although they receive more ranger intervention to protect them from predators and high tides. A minimum of 38 pairs nested on site but sadly only 4 chicks fledged. Lots of nests survived to hatching, but many chicks were then predated by black headed and lesser black-backed gulls. Although the rangers watched the colony 24 hours a day even their vigilance couldn’t prevent every gull intrusion into the site, with 11 attempts in an hour by one determined individual.

Ringed plover also nest on site and are an important part of the colony. This year a minimum of 9 pairs made sixteen nesting attempts and successfully fledged 3 chicks. They were similarly affected by gulls predating chicks and high spring tides.

Sunset at the Tern Site © Rachelle Regan

Overall a few ups and downs, as is the case every season.  Every year poses different problems and we never know what to expect until it happens. A massive thanks is needed to this years’ assistant rangers  - Ben, Freya, Marco, Marta and Ptolemy, and all the volunteers that worked tirelessly throughout the season to protect and monitor the colony. Also thanks everyone who visited the site and cooperated with the rangers to help make the breeding season as successful as possible.'

Wildlife at the Long Nanny tern site

As the breeding season draws to a close, Ptolemy, McKinnon one of the assistant rangers at the Long Nanny tern site reflects on some of the wildlife highlights of the season.

 As well as terns and plovers, the site attracts an array of other wildlife. I have been lucky enough to see Arctic skua, curlew sandpiper and white-winged black tern on site. Stonechat and reed bunting are resident, adding to the variety of bird species seen here. The terns have been disturbed by the usual suspects such as kestrel and gulls, but three disturbances stand out: little egret, great white egret and short eared owl. Once discovering the cause, watching the Arctic terns chase the innocent bird flying by has left me and the other rangers stunned.

©Ptolemy McKinnon

Botanically, the area is fantastic. On site, pyramidal orchids are currently in flower. They are beautiful plants and add to the wide spectrum of colour summer brings. The salt marsh has provided lovely pink tones with thrift growing there. Bird foot's trefoil, red clover and bloody cranesbill also add to the wonder of the site. Many offer food for insects. Narrow bordered 5-spot and 6-spot burnet moths feed on the ragwort and common blue butterfly on the bird's foot trefoil.

Five-spot burnet moth on a pyramidal orchid ©Ptolemy McKinnon

On sunny days when topping up the sun cream, common lizards can be seen sun bathing along with plenty of insects. Some of the highlights include cinnabar moths, red-tailed bumblebee, drinker moth caterpillars and heather shieldbugs. Even at night, there are interesting insects. Recently, a moth trap on site attracted a fantastic selection despite it being a clear, cold night. The highlights were golden spangle, garden tiger, single-dotted wave and drinker, all great to see, even with bleary eyes.

Drinker moth from moth trapping ©Ptolemy McKinnon

When wanting time away from the site or in particular to get a shower, the walk to the office through Newton Links has produced some great spectacles. There are many common bird species such as linnet and sedge warbler which are a joy to listen to on the way. I have also seen species which I did not see growing up in Perthshire such as wall butterfly and yellow wagtail. The most amazing sight was one warm day earlier this month, as I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a hummingbird hawkmoth hovering around white campion. This was the first time I had ever seen one and this sighting plus the others mentioned has added to the magic of the area.

wall butterfly at Newton Point ©Ptolemy McKinnon

All Quiet on this Westerly Front

Autumn has officially arrived, and with it come migrant birds.

 

Or at least, that's the theory: countless birds head south for the winter, with the right weather conditions causing some to stop and rest at sites such as the Farne Islands. Extreme weather, particularly with easterly winds, can even produce rare birds not normally seen in Britain - the Farnes have a great track record for these national scarcities.

 

This autumn, however, has seen an almost constant procession of westerly winds, resulting in low numbers of migrant birds stopping over on the islands. But despite the overall low abundance, the constant (and often unrewarding) searching has turned up a few highlights.

 

The first was actually spotted by Andy Douglas of Serenity boats, who called on the third of August to let us know an Osprey was passing over Inner Farne - the 20th record for the islands. The following day saw a small influx of Little Stint on the mainland, prompting a search trip to the Outer Group where, with a pleasing inevitability, we located a juvenile on Brownsman pond. After drawing a blank in 2015, it was good to get this species on the year list, and even better when a second bird was discovered on Knoxes Reef on the 20th of August!

 

 

Little Stint, © Ed Tooth

  

The most exciting discovery of the autumn came on the ninth of August, when an unmistakable whistle called attention to the unbelievable sight of a Kingfisher flying along the shore of Inner Farne. It perched for around 15 seconds, before flashing off across the Kettle and out of sight. Only the third ever record from the islands!

 

The next few weeks produced a juvenile Cuckoo on Inner Farne on the 15th of August, a juvenile Black Tern north through Staple Sound on the 16th, a Mute Swan and five Pochard past Inner Farne on the 24th, and a Long-eared Owl on Brownsman on the 27th. Then, finally, easterly winds arrived and the results were instant: the 28th of August saw not only a small influx of common migrants such as Garden Warbler, Whinchat and Pied Flycatcher, but also the arrival of a skulking Wryneck, an obliging Wood Warbler and the Farnes' 18th Hen Harrier. The Wood Warbler stuck around until the 30th, showing beautifully to rangers and visitors alike, but the other birds were all one-day-wonders, disappearing as the westerly winds returned.

 

Wood Warbler, © Tom Hibbert

 

These prevailing winds have also kept things quiet at sea, with very few migratory seabirds recorded during our daily seawatches. We typically rely on northerly winds to produce a memorable seawatch, and so far this autumn there has only been one spell of anything even close to northerly winds, coming in early September. This spell produced the first (and so far only) Sooty Shearwater of the season, when it cruised past the south end of Inner Farne towards Longstone on the fourth of September.

 

The following morning was also relatively productive, with 38 Brent Geese, 184 Teal, 161 Common Scoter, one Velvet Scoter, eight Wigeon and three Red-throated Diver all flying north. Going south at the same time were singles of Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe, which may be common on mainland lakes but are actually fairly rare out here.

 

But the real seawatching highlight came that afternoon. At 07:53, a Cory's Shearwater was seen flying north past Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire. The bird was tracked moving north up the coast, reaching Beadnell at 12:44. A nervy ten-minute wait followed before it appeared in Staple Sound, cruising lazily north and giving great views to some lucky rangers and visitors. To top it off, two juvenile Pomarine Skua flew north shortly afterwards.

 

The final surprise of the autumn came just yesterday (13th of September), when an unusual call drew attention to a low-flying Pacific Golden Plover heading north over Inner Farne. If this sighting is accepted by the records committee it will represent the first ever record for the islands.

 

The records so far just go to show that even in less than ideal conditions, there are exciting migrants out there waiting to be found. We'll keep our eyes and ears open, and if you are visiting the islands please let us know of any birds you spot; who knows what could appear next!

 

The end of another season

The breeding season at the Long Nanny tern site has drawn to a close. The majority of the birds have left, starting the migration to their wintering grounds. The site is packed up, tents collapsed and the assistant rangers that vigilantly watched the colony throughout the summer have moved on to other things.

 

Little terns and Arctic terns nesting on the Long Nanny spit © Kate Bradshaw

It hasn't been an easy season, but five little tern Sternula albifrons chicks fledged from a minimum of seventeen nesting pairs. There were thirty seven nesting attempts made through out the season, but some of these may have been repeat attempts by pairs that lost nests earlier in the season. It is therefore impossible to say exactly how many pairs nested on site. The nesting success of the little terns was impacted by stoat, kestrel and poor weather mainly during the incubation period. 

Although the number of fledglings seems low we managed to avoid any losses due to flooding of nests at exceptionally high tides in June and July. This is through ranger intervention during the events and the raising of nests onto fishing crates to reduce the impact of tides. Some of the little tern colony nested in a new area of the site this year. This provided them with slightly more protection against high tides compared to the exposed area of spit that they have historically nested on. This meant that three nests did not need to be raised onto fishing crates at all this year.

Little tern nests raised onto fishing crates and pallets © Kevin Redgrave

Around a thousand pairs of Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea bred on site this year, which is almost half of last years breeding population. Sadly they experienced a very difficult season, with only two chicks known to have fledged.  Their nests were impacted by the extreme high tides and productivity was affected by poor weather, predation and possibly poor feeding when chicks were hatching.

Ringed plover Charadrius hiaticulaalso also breed at the Long Nanny and are often forgotten in the hubbub of the tern colony. This year five chicks were successfully fledged from sixteen known nesting attempts by a minimum of six pairs.

Ringed Plover

A variety of predators were a problem this year with stoat and kestrel causing the most problems. Earlier in the season we also struggled with crows and gulls, particularly black-headed raiding the site. However the vigilance of the five rangers and volunteers protected the little tern colony from the majority of predator attacks until site closure on 27^th July.

Many thanks to this years’ assistant rangers  - Alan, Rachelle, Oliver, Scarlett and Will, all the volunteers that worked throughout the season and to everyone who cooperated with them to help make the breeding season as successful as possible.



Sunset at the Long Nanny ©Rachelle Regan