Blog by  Dave Blackledge - Site Manager, RSPB Cumbria Coast Reserves

RSPB Hodbarrow, on the side of the Duddon Estuary in Cumberland, is the site of an important colony of Sandwich, Little and Common Terns.   They breed on land formerly occupied by one of western Europe’s largest iron mines and began nesting there as the mines closed over 50 years ago.  Predator fencing and warden protection has seen increasing numbers of seabirds breeding on the island created on limestone slag with vital protected space at a premium.  The Life on the Edge project has been helping create more space for our colony to expand.

At the start of the project in 2020, we constructed a new island and carried out work to increase the size of the existing one, giving us around 0.75 ha of extra breeding habitat, protected by anti-predator barrier fence.  Work has continued this winter to further increase the opportunities for breeding seabirds by creating a third island of 0.25ha. and provide a line of marker buoys along our boundary with the neighbouring caravan park to reduce the incidence of boat disturbance near the islands.

The coastal iron mines were enclosed by a seawall at the start of the 20th century to protect works from flooding and thousands of tons of limestone slag from the nearby smelting works were dumped within the wall, providing an ideal substrate for nesting terns when the works were flooded following closure in 1968.  Island creation on site therefore centres around lowering, moving and cutting off areas of the slag bank to create disturbance free areas.
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This increased space has already begun to prove beneficial to a number of species.  As terns, Black-headed Gulls and wildfowl began to increase behind the initial predator fence deployed in 2016, Little Terns in particular found it difficult to find space away from other species with their tendency to nest in a more dispersed pattern to other species.  The first island created in 2020/21 has attracted most of the 60 or so pairs of common terns to breed creating space for little terns to expand.  This season we have a peak of 53 pairs of little terns – a record for the site, and young are beginning to hatch at the time of writing.

​With HPAI hitting some Sandwich Tern colonies hard, we are delighted to have 596 pairs currently hatching young on site – a little down on recent years, but probably expected with a presumably reduced UK population this year.  Creating several islands also has the advantages of reducing the chance of predation – any breach of the predator fence would only allow foxes access to one area of the colony – and separating the colony into areas where interaction and movement will be restricted which may help prevent the spread of HPAI throughout the entire site.
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Eiders too, have benefitted greatly from the works.  With historical averages of around 5 nests, increased breeding space and predator fencing has increased this to 73 pairs, with several large creches seen escaping over the sea wall to the estuary in recent weeks.  Along with 2 pairs of Arctic Terns, 12 pairs of Oystercatchers, 9 pairs of Lapwings and 4 pairs of Ringed Plover the busy breeding islands are proving a valuable haven for seabirds along the Cumbrian coast.
 

Hello, my name is Mark Appleton and work as Beach Nesting Bird Project Officer along the Solent. I joined the RSPB in this role, this March 2023.

​So, what does a Beach Nesting Bird Project Officer do? I will attempt to explain some of the tasks I have undertaken so far.

Thanks to the LIFE Programme (LIFE on the Edge) and the Solent Seascape Project, I was recruited to help change the fortunes of shore nesting birds on multiple sites, both on and off natures reserves across the Solent. This even includes working at the Browndown Military Training site. The area of Solent that I am responsible for ranges from Hurst Spit on the Western Solent to Pagham harbour on the Eastern Solent.
 
Spread out across the Solent’s shingle and saltmarsh coasts, a diverse range of coastal ground-nesting birds make their home each summer. Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher and Little Tern regularly attempt nesting on our shingle beaches looking for new sites each year to raise a new generation as well as returning to old favourites.
 
At the time of writing, we are in the very busy period where all our beach nesting birds are beginning to hatch, and a lot of my time is spent monitoring and trying to protect them

Dense colonies of Sandwich Tern, Black-headed gull and Mediterranean Gulls take advantage of the water surrounded shingle and saltmarsh islands whilst common tern use a mixture of sites varying from man made structures to secluded shores. All these species are facing the growing challenge of fitting in on our very busy coasts. That’s where we are aiming to make a difference.
 
I have been involved in the creation and deployment of these manmade structures, rafts for the common terns, working both with the RSPB Pagham wardens and volunteers to implement.

​Another part of the role is to develop, empower and support teams of volunteers to deliver shore nesting bird protection. Both the RSPB Pagham volunteers and RSPB Gunner point volunteers have been essential in providing support. Without them a lot of the jobs would not get done. At Hayling Island Gunner point this year we have continued developing the Ringed Plover Project that was set up by local conservationist Trevor Codlin. With the help of volunteers, we have cordoned off a section of the beach with mesh fencing to give Ringed Plover space to nest and bring up their chicks free from human and dog disturbance. The volunteers helped to install the fencing and regularly patrol the area to educate, raise awareness and inform visitors about how we can help Ringed Plover here by giving them lots of space and keeping away from fenced off areas so they can incubate their eggs without nest failures. I have created a Whatsapp group for the project so we can all provide each other updates on patrols and monitoring results.
 
At the time of writing, we have had 3 successful nests with a total of 8 chicks with 2 very close to fledging. Unfortunately, our Ringed Plovers cant read and one family regularly wonders outside the fence. Only this week a dog was seen chasing the family and was only saved by the adult male luring the dog away by flying along the beach with the dog in close pursuit. This is why our brilliant volunteers are so important in raising awareness. To support our volunteer rangers I have created signage, a periodical update board and leaflets to inform the public.

​​Deploying and creating signage is a very important part of the role as areas of prime nesting area need protecting

​​Monitoring of breeding Ringed Plovers has identified that predation is one of the main factors in preventing hatching success.  High levels of predation are likely to be exacerbated due to loss of good quality habitat, rising sea levels, and increasing human disturbance which could be resulting in birds nesting in sub optimal conditions and closer together. This year I have been part of the RSPB scientific study to test the effectiveness of nest cages on the hatching success of beach-nesting Ringed Plovers. So far the results are very encouraging and trail camera footage has shown protection from foxes, carrion crows, dogs, kestrel and even a tawny owl.

​An important part of the role is to continue building partnerships across a broad range of organizations so that we collaborate and achieve optimum success in trying to help nature. I try to provide updates and communication between organizations to achieve this and collaboration has include RSPB Pagham, Natural England at North Solent Nature Reserve, Hampshire Countryside Service at Lymington and Keyhaven Nature Reserve and Hook with Warsash , Browndown Military Training camp and many amazing volunteers.
 
I hope this gives a flavour of some of the tasks involved with the role. If I had to summarise the role I would say: -

• To deliver site protection on known shorebird nesting sites (working with existing staff and partners), preparing infrastructure, monitoring bird presence and productivity
• Work with external organisations and the local community to establish a fuller picture of shore bird nesting potential across the region and monitoring sites across the region
• Help set up, support, and lead a network of shorebird nesting volunteer teams where needed
• Run events to increase knowledge and support for nesting shorebird across the Solent. 
  ​Come and meet me on July 1st :-

Buckler’s Hard Website:
https://www.bucklershard.co.uk/events/conservation-awareness-day/
 
Facebook:
https://fb.me/e/3h8QvEutw

• Support the existing reserve wardening staff to deliver the wider habitat creation elements of LIFE On The Edge

 
Happy summer holidays but please remember to look out for our beach nesting birds and give them lots of space with dogs under close control 😊
 
Thank you for reading
 
Mark

Blog by Leigh Lock, RSPB Project Development Manager

The global and national threats to seabirds are widely recognised and much focus understandably links the status of seabirds with the state of our seas which is where most seabirds spend most of their time. But what about the state of the ‘land’ where seabirds spend the breeding season – a critical phase of their lifecycle? As a land-based observer of birds on the coast for decades, the growing pressure on breeding seabird sites has been a major concern and I feel we have reached a tipping point where if we don’t act now there will be no safe nesting space left for seabirds in some areas in the future.  

Therefore, I was excited by the prospect of Seabird Conservation Strategies being developed within all four UK counties by government – each will set out the strategic needs of our seabird species and set out a route map for their recovery. This process in England has been led by DEFRA and NE. But I wanted to make sure that the current state of seabird colonies in England was reflected in this process and that the thoughts and concerns of those most close to the sites – the site managers, conservation officers etc responsible for these areas– were captured. So I contacted as many of those key people around the coast as possible to gather views on pressures impacting on seabird colonies. This is probably the first time such an assessment has been made. Much of this information gathered was necessarily subjective, being based on the opinions of the site managers, and others. However, expert judgement provided by the site managers most familiar with the sites, and their issues, constitutes the best available evidence on issues affecting England’s breeding seabirds.

The process does present a ‘ground truthing’ to compare with other available data sources so that all the available information together can be used as ‘weight of evidence’ to identify the main issues and develop solutions to them.  Working closely with colleagues within NE, we then looked to align this rather broad-brush assessment of pressures on colonies with other data sources being carried out to inform other areas of the strategy.

​Information was gathered on 222 natural sites (i.e., excluding urban gulls) and covering 24 seabird species – this representing the vast majority of England’s seabirds. Pressures were assigned to predefined categories including disturbance, habitat loss, predation, invasive species, disease, and control. Note that the assessments were carried out before the widespread and serious impacts of Avian Influenza (AI) were recorded in England in 2022.

Overall, the most widespread was disturbance (see below), with both habitat loss and predation impacting on over 50% of the sites. The other pressures were recorded at far less sites, although their impacts at individual sites could be very significant (e.g., invasive species on islands). There are plenty of discussion points emerging from this but below I have pulled out just three.

​1. The widespread impacts of disturbance
Disturbance is the most widely reported pressure affecting England’s breeding seabirds impacting on 89% of the coastal sites, all sites supporting species like little tern and Sandwich tern, and 100% of English SPAs with breeding seabird features. Site managers see disturbance as THE rapidly growing issue, and human recreational disturbance at coastal sites is predicted to increase. Disturbance of nesting seabirds is caused by a range of recreational activities – beachgoers, dogwalkers and recreational fishers on land, and recreational watercraft such as jet skis, paddleboarders from the sea.  Although disturbance is particularly an issue for ground-nesting birds such as terns and gulls at soft coast sites, I was also surprised how widely it was reported at cliff colonies and even offshore islands where birds vulnerable to disturbance from the sea. Disturbance at nest sites can have significant negative impacts on seabird breeding success through increased exposure of eggs and young to predation and the elements and can lead to the abandonment of nest sites and even entire colonies.

What I see are overstretched, under resourced conservation organisations trying to manage coastal sites where nature conservation should be the priority, but recreational interests prevail. Many areas have wardens to ‘protect’ nesting birds and engage with the public. But without zonation policies and legislation to restrict certain activities, on-site teams of staff and volunteers face an uphill battle, and the birds using these sites face a bleak future.  

​2. Sea level rise and coastal erosion present an existential threat to some of England’s most important seabird colonies.
Within England, most seabird sites occur on ‘soft coast’ sites – nearshore islands, salt marshes, lagoon islands and shingle banks. These habitats are under massive pressure and the reduction in size and quality of nesting habitat is the second most widespread pressure in England.

Without intervention, 2,000 Ha of protected coastal habitats is predicted to be lost in England by 2060 with even greater areas being functionally lost as breeding habitat due to regular flooding. Previously, these losses were mainly from development and land claim, but the key future threats to coastal habitats are from climate change-related sea level rise, coastal erosion, and coastal squeeze.

Mean sea levels in the UK have already risen by approximately 17 cm since the start of the 20th century and climate predictions show that they will continue to rise under all emissions scenarios until at least the year 2100. Increases in sea level rise are difficult to predict but are likely to be greatest in southern and eastern England where some of the largest colonies are. Rising sea levels mean that more coastal seabird breeding habitat will be lost, and the risk of intermittent flooding of nest sites is also increased. In addition to mean sea level rise, the risks of extreme sea levels and flooding are compounded by increases in storm events. Species that nest on the ground in sand and shingle habitats, such as terns and gulls, are particularly at risk, as large areas of these types of habitats can be lost rapidly with only minor increases in sea level. Many current breeding sites for terns and gulls on beaches and low-lying near-shore islands which are likely to become unsuitable or be lost entirely within the next 10 years. Little terns are particularly at risk because they tend to nest just above the high-water mark and in recent years high proportions of the UK’s little tern nests have been flooded out during spring tides and storm surges.

Short term fixes are in place at many sites. Habitat management to keep sites open, recharge of shingle islands to raise their levels above highest tides but longer-term measures are required to ensure that seabirds have safe nesting sites for future decades not just the next few years. This involves factoring seabird breeding habitat into multi-stakeholder strategic management planning eg Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs), Nature Recovery Networks (NRNs), Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS)) and the implementation of the government’s 25-year Environment Plan. Breeding seabirds should be considered in full as part of these overarching plans and programmes, to ensure that existing breeding sites are adequately managed, and new breeding habitat is created and maintained, and linked to funding streams like Biodiversity Net Gain.

​3. Avian Influenza and the in-combination effects.
As mentioned above, the assessment was carried out last year before the impacts of AI were recorded in England this summer. Disease was not noted as a significant pressure and has not really impacted on seabirds since botulism on gulls in the past. But the impacts of AI in 2022 have been severe – impacting significantly on the largest UK and England colonies of both roseate and sandwich terns – Coquet and Scolt Head Islands respectively -with 1000s of dead breeding adults and large-scale breeding failure at these colonies. we await a full assessment of the impact of AI on seabirds in 2022 and how it might impact in the future. 

But think of the conditions under which AI was able to make such an impact. The ‘in combination’ effects of habitat loss, predation, disturbance have pushed seabirds to the edge – habitat loss squeezing seabirds into fewer and fewer suitable areas, which then become honey pots for predators, and even these few special sites coming under the unbearable pressure of disturbance. All our eggs in fewer and fewer baskets. And then a disease comes along which thrives in conditions where it can spread rapidly amongst individuals in closely packed colonies.  

To have seabird populations that can be resilient to AI and other diseases, we need more space for them to nest safely, allowing more colonies to thrive, and allowing more mobility from site to site to respond to changes in local conditions. Building resilience to disease and other pressures, requires spreading the risk – more and bigger sites, better managed. For this we need to rethink how our coast is managed.

 The report
The full report is on the documents page of this website.

Lock, L., Donato, B., Jones, R., Macleod-Nolan, C. 2022 England’s breeding seabirds: A review of the status of their breeding sites and suggested measures for their recovery. RSPB and Natural England report.
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The report highlights the most important sites and actions for the recovery of seabirds in England.

The recommendations from this report on site management have been incorporated into a wider set of recommendations covering the full suite of seabird ecology -under four categories -breeding, feeding, surviving and knowledge. These recommendations have been made by NE to DEFRA to inform the further development of the England Seabird Conservation Strategy and the implementation of the 25 Year Plan. The Strategy should be available early in 2023.

Through ProjectLOTE we will continue to advocate for these changes and work with stakeholders all-round the coast to deliver what we can to help seabirds. 

Final thoughts  
There are probably few more committed and enthusiastic workers than those managing seabird colonies and they are doing a brilliant job holding the line against growing pressures from all directions. But they need help. For all the above reasons, the England Seabird Conservation Strategy couldn’t come at a better time, and we must all hope that it brings a step change in the priority and resources allocated to management of seabird colonies in England. Over to you DEFRA.

Thanks to all those who contributed information towards this assessment.
​Good luck to all of you with your challenges ahead. 

By Rachelle Regan, RSPB Hodbarrow Tern Protection Assistant

​Another season has begun at RSPB Hodbarrow and preparations for the arrival of the Terns started in March. The lagoon island expansion works that took place over winter 2020-2021 meant an extra 130m of anti-predator fencing that needed some repairs after recent periods of strong north westerly winds. This involves donning chest high waders, requires steading footing and a good amount of perseverance! We hope the birds are grateful. 

​​It is not just the Terns that have benefited from the fencing, but since it’s installation in 2016, Eiders have begun nesting on the island, increasing from 18 pairs in 2018 to an amazing 51 pairs in 2021! Numbers are looking good again this year with the first few nests spotted on the 18th April. 

​​In addition to the anti-predator fencing, we install trail cameras on the island to monitor for predator presence. These may pick up any activity missed or unseen and inform immediate actions and future management. They also occasionally produce some stunning sunset photos! 

​​Another important aspect of the site set up is signage. Myself and the other Tern Protection Assistant, Chris, will be on site as much as possible throughout the season monitoring disturbance and talking to visitors. Signs, however, are vital to inform those we do not get a chance to speak to and clearly mark out the areas that are off limits to allow the birds to nest undisturbed. This year’s signs have been created as part of the LOTE project in partnership with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Natural England, RSPB and National Trust to help protect ground nesting seabirds and waders along the Duddon Estuary and Morecombe Bay. 

​​As well as chick shelters that provide the Tern chicks with predator protection and shelter from the weather, something new for this year is the installation of Red-breasted Merganser nest boxes made by the RSPB Campfield Marsh volunteers. At least three pairs bred in 2020 and hopefully these nest boxes will encourage them again this year.  

​Now the preparations are complete the monitoring begins. Nearly 800 Sandwich Terns have already arrived back from their wintering grounds in Namibia and South Africa, joined by the first Common Tern on the 12th April and Little Tern on the 13th April. 

​This will be my third season at Hodbarrow and my third year living in West Cumbria year-round. The obvious answer to why I enjoy this role is my love of Terns! Their beauty and their energy is captivating, I can watch them for hours on end and never grow tired.  In this role I get to spend most of my time outdoors and no two days are the same. The change in weather, tides and seasons mean there is always something to see, from the birds to the insects to the unique flora. You have the sea and Duddon estuary on one side and the mountains of the Lake District on the other, there’s no such thing as a bad view no matter which way you are facing! The Cumbria and Northern England RSPB team are another reason why I enjoy this role and keep coming back, for me the people you work with are just as important as the work itself, and they are excellent team of supportive and knowledgeable people.
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I am very much looking forward to another season, hopefully one full of sunshine and Tern chicks!