Shorebird Season Review

As 2022 come to an end we feel it is the perfect opportunity to thank all those that came and visited the Reserve and respected the shorebirds refuge areas. The breeding shorebirds had a fantastic season with 38 Little Terns pairs and 26 Ringed Plovers nesting and successfully raising 49 and 33 chicks respectively. 

This year we had 5 seasonal wardens and a wildlife warden funded through the EU Life WADER project. This is more staff presence than we have ever had before and alongside our passionate volunteers; directly contributed to the increase in productivity this season. Having more feet on the ground meant they were able to closely monitor the progress of the shorebirds and directly engage with thousands of visitors to the Reserve.

Ringed Plover surveys were carried out early in the season by staff and volunteers to establish early breeding territories across the Reserve.

Adult Ringed Plover

Ringed Plovers lay eggs directly onto the sand and are extremely vulnerable to disturbance. (Photograph taken under licence)

From April the Shorebird Protection Areas and refuges were installed at 5 different area across the Reserve. It quickly became apparent that there were two distinct Little Tern colonies. One at the Ross Sands and one at Goswick. This is the first time they have attempted to nest at Goswick in a number of years. We fenced off a large protection area giving the birds plenty of room to nest. Unfortunately, at Ross Sands the Little Terns never properly settled at their usual location and a loose dog that ran through the colony for nearly an hour with no owner in sight was the nail in the coffin. Fortunately, the birds relocated to the south of Ross Sands. Protection areas were quickly installed and the number of nesting birds grew steadily within this quiet area as visitors were guided away from the colony and the wardens were able to show them the birds form a safe distance.

Once the Little Tern and Ringed Plover chicks hatched, the foreshore areas directly in front of the colonies were fenced off. This was due to the chicks being very mobile when they hatch. Ringed Plovers can run as soon as they are out the egg and will spend all day running from the foreshore to the top of the beach while the parents try and keep them all together and teach them to feed in the wet sand below the high tide line. Little Terns will also bring their chicks down to the foreshore. This is a critical time. At this stage the chicks are unable to fly and so are incredibly vulnerable to disturbance. Thankfully, most people respected the protection zones and were very considerate and understanding of the protection areas and nesting shorebirds.

Litte Terns courtship feeding

Luckily the weather gods were in our favour this summer as there was no strong storms and the spring tides were relatively low meaning that no wash outs of scrapes occurred. Having more wardens meant that we were able to engage with more people than ever before, welcoming visitors to the Reserve and talking about the plight of the Shorebirds that use the coast. Unfortunately, breeding Ringed Plover numbers have dropped by 65% nationwide in just 30 years and this has been echoed here at Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve; putting Ringed Plovers on the Red list. The main factors for the declines are habitat loss and increased recreational pressure on the coast. The protection areas and refuges are a vital part of the protection of Ringed Plovers and other shorebird species, allowing birds space to breed, feed and roost as well as accomodating many different species of birds migrating through at the start of spring and end of summer. Due to the Shorebird protection scheme at Lindisfarne NNR we have managed to largely halt declines and see impressive productivity when weather and tides don't interfere. Below are the shorebird numbers across the Reserve this season.

LNNR total site	Little Tern	Ringed Plover	Oystercatcher
Total Scrape	38	26	6
Peak Scrape Count	36	21	6
Total Eggs	56>	92
Total Chicks	54	38	4
Total fledged	49	33	4
Productivity	1.4	1.6	0.7

We would like to thank all our seasonal staff and volunteers who dedicated their summers to protecting the shorebird colonies and engaging with thousands of people and making this season so successful.