Public warned to stay off tern breeding ground
PA MediaConservationists have warned beachgoers not to cross fencing in case they damage the eggs of protected birds.
The fencing has been used to cordon off an area of the beach at Seaton Carew, in Hartlepool, ahead of the arrival of little terns.
Derek Wood from the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust said the birds travel from Gambia to the region each year to lay their eggs, which are hard to spot among the sand and pebbles.
"They're nigh on invisible to the naked eye because they have such effective camouflage," he said.
Wood said the birds, which are the UK's smallest variety of tern, do not build nests but instead "make a scrape in the ground".
"Any incursions into the site risk disturbing the nesting pairs, who can abandon their eggs and leave," he said.
"And they obviously risk trampling on the eggs or on the chicks."
Protecting the beach
Little terns have declined in number across Europe and have been given an amber conservation status.
During breeding season, the males carry out elaborate aerial displays, often while carrying fish, to attract a mate.
The fencing was erected on 1 April ahead of the little terns' arrival in the UK later in the month, along with an additional inner mesh fence which is being installed to protect the birds from foxes.
Wardens and volunteer marshals will also be keeping watch over the site during the breeding period.
Wood said the fenced-off area was a protected site and anyone who entered it without permission risked being prosecuted.
"That isn't something, thankfully, we've ever had to enforce," he said.
"But I would also like to pay credit to the local community who over the years have really taken this site, and these birds, to their heart."
