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Life as a Coast Care Intern
​As a Coast Care Intern this shorebird season, I have had the privilege to be based on Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve as part of the EU Life+ Northumberland Little Tern Project.

  My main role was to coordinate and train volunteers who would be based at various locations around the reserve, as well as being heavily involved with the monitoring and protection scheme at the Little Tern colony. With five protection areas this year, there was a need for extra pairs of hands to help engage with the public on the need for their support of the shorebird protection scheme.

Little terns are the UK’s second rarest nesting seabird, and their numbers are in decline. One of the main reasons for this is human disturbance, as their eggs and chicks blend in very well with the habitats they nest in, and can easily be trampled by walkers and dogs. Similarly Ringed Plover numbers are steadily decreasing for the same reason.

The 2017 season was more or less a disaster, so this year we were determined to increase the level of protection in order to boost the chances of more little terns fledging. This is my little tern story of the 2018 season.

What started off as a cold, blustery summer on the beach quickly turned into a record breaking year. As the nation tuned in to watch a Royal-to-be walk down the aisle, celebrations of a different kind were being held on Lindisfarne; our first little tern egg was laid. Things soon picked up after that, with over 120 birds by the end of May.

Ringed Plovers were also breeding, fiercely defending their territories from anyone and anything that dared to stray too close to their eggs. Oystercatchers joined the party mid-May, taking on the role of Bodyguards of the colony. It wasn’t all plane sailing as the birds were reluctant to get along at first.

Everything was going well for our precious Little Terns, and the first chicks hatched on 12th June. However two days later things took a turn for the worst as Storm Hector ripped through the breeding ground, causing gale force winds and storm surges. With the threat of spring tides the very same day, we couldn’t take out eyes off the devastation, forming battle plans to try and save as many of our little squeaks as we could. After two days of stormy, spring tide chaos, we had managed to save a good proportion of the colony.

In the calm after the storm the birds that unfortunately lost their eggs decided to give things another try, and to our delight, on Friday 13th our second batch of chicks started to arrive.

As we approach the end of the shorebird season, we still have small vulnerable chicks that need protecting across the reserve. There are still access restrictions on some of the beaches where the birds have been nesting. With the number of little terns breeding in the UK on the decline, we will continue to protect these precious birds for as long as they chose to return. 

"I met some wonderful people and really felt that my work helped make a difference to my local area."

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