In the east coast of Wicklow lies Kilcoole beach, a familiar spot for nature enthusiasts. At this time of year, a section of the beach between Kilcoole and Newcastle is cordoned off to protect a colony of one of Ireland’s rarest breeding seabirds, Little Terns.
The Little Tern Conservation Project at Kilcoole, Wicklow, is a National Parks and Wildlife Service project which is run by Birdwatch Ireland. It is by far the largest Little Tern colony in Ireland, having grown from fewer than 20 nesting pairs in the 1980s to over 270 pairs in 2024. Kilcoole is a strong example of science-based marine conservation in action. The colony is managed by Brian Burke, Little Tern Project Manager, and staffed by a team of seasonal wardens whose role is the 24/7 protection of the breeding tern colony to maximise colony productivity and gather data to understand the state of the population (the number of breeding pairs, nests, eggs and hatching and fledging success rates). Another aspect of the job is interacting with the public, giving them information and answering their questions.
As the government progresses the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Bill, due for publication in the coming months, it is important that the Bill recognises the critical role that effective management plays in marine protection. Effective management will be critical to underpin developments in Irish waters such as offshore wind and wider marinee spatial planning, to inform research, and to maximise benefits for biodiversity, climate and people.
The Little Tern Colony at Kilcoole is just one of the seabird colonies that BirdWatch Ireland has managed on state-owned land for decades. Marine Policy and Advocacy Officer, Rosalind Skillen, speaks to the Little Tern wardens at Kilcoole to get a sense of their work.
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Tell us about your background and what inspired you to get involved in this work.
Chris: I am a conservationist, having worked with birds mostly, including endangered finches in Australia. I have always liked working outdoors (in nature!). More of a landlubber really, although in recent years, I’ve been getting to know quite well, the 500m of beach at Kilcoole that happens to accommodate a Little Tern colony from May to August each year.
Peter: I studied Zoology. I have experience in marine, terrestrial and avian conservation and wildlife management in South Africa, Malaysia and Ireland.
Jonathan: I am a conservationist and musician. I’ve been a warden for the past 2 seasons and can generally be found at a piano or wombling the hills for wildlife.
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What are your responsibilities as a Little Tern warden?
Jonathan: Our responsibilities involve keeping visitors at a safe distance from the colony, monitoring the number of nests and putting metal rings on the chicks’ legs after they hatch. Whenever we come across a chick in the colony, we take some measurements and add a colour ring, a process known as ‘bird ringing’. These colour rings have a 3-letter code big enough to be seen through a telescope. These colour rings have been read by birders in Senegal and Mauritania where they overwinter which has helped us build a picture of where they travel. I also put down Go Pros for 20 minutes beside each nest. The Go Pro takes a picture every half a second which means that once the adult lands beside the nest we get a nice picture of its colour ring and can identify the individual. From this we can learn about the survival rates of the Kilcoole birds and how site-faithful they are or if they switch nesting areas between years.
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Little Tern at Kilcoole beach on eggs Can you describe a typical day in your job?
Chris: The work we do varies broadly across the season as the Terns arrive and establish nests, incubate their eggs, and then begin the hard work of feeding their hungry chicks.
Early doors is two weeks of hard physical work setting up the colony fencing and hide (a shelter used to watch the birds from so they can’t see us). By this time, the terns have started nesting,they seem to be getting earlier and earlier these days. Our main duties are to find, record and mark nests as they are established, a difficult task for even the most hawk eyed warden as the eggs are perfectly camouflaged against the shingle beach. . Nests are then monitored and visited each day,weather permitting, to check all the eggs are still present, and to record when chicks start to hatch.
The next main stage of our work is ringing. We try to ring chicks at the nest on their second day. This way we can know their ages which is important for any other data we collect from them later in the season.
At around 7 to 8 days old, we apply the Colour Ring, which isso, so, important! There is much overlap among these stages, especially when there are late arrivals, and pairs which decide to have a second attempt if their first attempt fails. A failed nest could be due to bad weather, high tides, or predation… to name but a few theats to the delicate tern eggs At peak season, we’re all doing all typical duties, it can become quite an intense blur.
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Do you have any success stories or anecdotes from the season?
Peter: Much of the season is measured in losses – losing eggs and chicks to the environment and predators. Success comes afterwards, when we can measure how many chicks made it to the end of the season when they can fly and leave the colony. Finding the first nest, finding the first chick, and seeing the first flight of fledglings are all major milestones that give you a much-needed morale boost.
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What can visitors do to minimize their impact on the birds and their habitats?
Jonathan: Thankfully most visitors are already very respectful around the birds. I would say the most important thing is to keep dogs on the lead as they approach the colony. The sight of a dog running causes the birds to take off in fright. This reduces the amount of time the terns can incubate eggs and keep their chicks warm in cold weather.
Chris: In recent years, we have greatly, if not completely, minimised disturbances to the colony from people and their wolves. There seems to be greater general awareness about the colony, what it is, what is required of visitors,who have been so much better with controlling their dogs near the colony compared to 4 or 5 years ago.. I certainly can’t fault the locals who regularly walk their dogs, who all voice their support and appreciation for our work. I think the curmudgeons just avoid the area in the summer.Peter: I believe the biggest thing we can do as individuals is express our value for nature and the need for us to give it its own space. Unfortunately, sometimes this means fencing off an area, restricting public access and leaving skilled, knowledgeable people to manage it for the benefit of the environment. We need to accept that sometimes that is the most effective way for conservative and regenerative practices to achieve their goals.
In the broader sense, due to these birds nesting on shingle beaches, they are especially vulnerable to storms and inclement weather. Two things that are becoming more common with climate change. Whatever we can do to minimise our environmental impact will not only help these birds but every other species at risk due to climate change and habitat destruction. We can also write to our politicians to encourage more environmentally friendly initiatives such as weening ourselves off oil and gas and onto more greener sources of energy such as wind and solar.
Conclusion
9.4% Irish waters are currently designated as protected areas, but without effective management, these designations are no more than lines on maps. The fact that 86% of species declining nationally in Ireland are also declining on SPAs tells us that something is not right.
The Little Tern colony in Kilcoole offers a snapshot of what active management in a protected area should look like. The wardens spend long hours and early mornings at the colony, locating and marking nests, weighing, measuring and putting ID rings on chicks, managing disturbance and potential predators. As a National Parks and Wildlife Service project, BirdWatch Ireland wardens work with staff of the National Parks and Wildlife Service throughout the season to give the Little Terns the best possible chance to successfully raise their young. Partnerships such as these highlight the benefits of working together to achieve conservation outcomes.
The Fair Seas coalition is willing to work with government and others on site-specific conservation objectives, management plans and conservation measures for sites. A Marine Protected Area offers an opportunity to do so, and to learn the lesson of what poor management in our current protected sites in Ireland has achieved.
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