This silvery-grey and white bird with a black cap has a long tail which has earned it the nickname “sea swallow.” Common Terns hover over the water before plunging down for fish. They’re a migratory bird, arriving in April/May in time to breed and leaving in late summer or early autumn.
The Firth of Forth is an important area for these birds, with the Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrew’s Bay Complex Special Protection Area (SPA) supporting the largest colony of Common Terns in Scotland. There is also a protected site for Common Terns in Edinburgh’s Leith Docks.
Common Terns are ‘Amber listed’ as a species of conservation concern in the UK. They often breed on low-lying ground, making their nests vulnerable to predation and extreme weather, which is expected to worsen with climate change.
Photos: David Tipling for rspb-images.com
Illustration: Mike Langman for rspb-images.com
Action Needed
We are working with Scottish Government to establish a national programme of island biosecurity, and this work must continue at pace. We have had funding from the Nature Restoration Fund and from the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund to install tern rafts to give terns a safe place to breed. This funding needs to continue and be expanded.
We need the next Scottish Government to come forward with its promised consultation on inshore fisheries management measures to ensure that terns and other seabirds have plenty of food for their chicks, and for this consultation exercise to be carried out in a way that includes all marine and coastal stakeholders so that its outcome is well supported. We also need coastal and offshore development to be conducted in a way that benefits nature.
Threats
Common Terns are affected by predation at their nesting sites and by nesting site loss, as well as by the lack of suitable fish to eat. They are also vulnerable to disturbance during the breeding season.
MSP Nature Champion
Member for:
