It's been a very successful year for little terns at South Walney Nature Reserve, with 10 pairs producing 20 young, doubling their population size. It was also a positive year for seabirds at our nearby Foulney Island Nature Reserve, with eight Arctic terns fledging. This is a great result, following the failure of the 2022 Arctic tern season and before that, their complete abandonment of the site in 2020.

The two nature reserves have been under the watchful eye of two seasonal wardens this summer, who recorded the birds’ behaviours and the successes and failure of the breeding season in great detail. They’ve also been out and about all summer talking to visitors, engaging with them and when necessary, advising them when they’ve not stuck to the approved footpaths.

Jessie Prentice is Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Seasonal Warden at South Walney Nature Reserve, as part of LIFE on the Edge (LOTE), an EU-funded project led by the RPSB. Here she shares some of this season’s highlights: “The little terns have had a great year at South Walney. Over the past decade, the population has slowly been increasing and it’s great to have another site for them in the local area to safely nest alongside Foulney. So, we’re delighted that in 2023, 10 pairs produced 20 young, doubling their population size.

“Ringed plovers and oystercatchers have been slightly less successful, but still produced 20 and 36 nests respectively. We gave extra protection against predators to some of the ringed plover by trialling nest cages, made from stock fencing and chicken wire. They’ve definitely had positive effect on the success rates. We’re pleased that the gull colony continues to increase in size after we put in a predator-proof fence a few years ago. This year we recorded 755 pairs of herring gull and 870 pairs of lesser black-backed gull, classified as red and amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern listing.”

Bekka Watts is Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Seasonal Warden at nearby Foulney Island Nature Reserve. Her job involved taking up residence for the summer in a caravan that’s towed over the causeway onto the island at the start of each breeding season. Bekka describes her top moments from the season: “It’s a great place to spend the summer – there can’t be many jobs with the view like that! I was particularly pleased that six little terns fledged, and eight Arctic terns. That may not sound like a huge number to some people, but to put this in context, three years ago Arctic tern had completely abandoned Foulney Island and last year, they came back but their season failed. So it’s good news! Also 12 ringed plover chicks fledged (helped by the same anti-predator nest cages that we used on South Walney – none of the caged nests were disturbed), and nine oystercatcher chicks got away. Spring tides are always a challenge for the nests, and while they washed away some eggs, we saw the little oystercatcher chicks swimming through the tides.”

Wez Smith, RSPB Senior Project Manager for LIFE on the Edge said: “It’s fantastic that nesting shorebirds, particularly little terns, have had a good year at South Walney and Foulney. These stunning shorelines are vital for terns, waders and gulls to raise their young. Through LIFE on the Edge, we have been working with the Cumbria Wildlife Trust to restore and enhance these nesting sites, all while raising awareness so people can share this coastline and enjoy the wildlife spectacle for generations to come.”

Both sites are shingle nature reserves and while they attract a wonderful array of seabirds, these birds make their nests on the ground. Their speckled eggs are often impossible to discern amid the pebbles. This makes the nests, eggs and chicks incredibly vulnerable and for this reason, the public is not allowed on the beaches where the birds are nesting. The nests are also vulnerable to predators (such as foxes, kestrels and sparrowhawks) and being swept away by high spring tides. So a successful breeding season is certainly something to be celebrated.

However, the breeding season, which runs from 1 April to 15 August, was marred by a number of disturbances, which had negative impacts on these ground-nesting birds. Visitors are welcome at both sites, to enjoy wildlife responsibly and from a distance, but they are asked to respect signage and keep to designated pathways. Dogs (apart from assistance dogs) aren’t allowed on either nature reserve during breeding season. Despite this, dogs and their walkers accounted for half of disturbances on both nature reserves. Seasonal wardens also recorded disturbances from kayakers paddling into no-access areas, microlights and drones, all of which cause birds to panic and leave their nests, sometimes abandoning them for good.

Jessie recorded 50 incidents of visitor disturbance at South Walney and a further 32 incidents were caught on camera traps. Over half of the recorded disturbances were people walking on the beach, despite signs saying there’s no access. Jessie said: “The vast majority of people were very understanding and apologetic, once I spoke to them to explain why they shouldn’t be walking there. I showed them photographs of nests and chicks to point out how well camouflaged they are on the shingle – this proved to be very helpful for people, once they understood the problem. We urge everyone to respect the signs and keep to the waymarked paths and any kayakers or canoeists to keep their distance from the nature reserve. This is especially important, as grey seal pupping season is underway.”

Bekka also had many stories of disturbance by people and their dogs at Foulney Island, walking in areas that are marked as out of bounds. This caused the birds to fly off in alarm, leaving their nests exposed and unguarded. Signs saying ‘no dogs’ were actually removed from the island and the causeway, one of them was dumped into the sea. Walkers with dogs accounted for half of the disturbances this summer, and in May, one dog mauled a nesting eider to death.  

How can these ongoing problems be resolved? Bekka said: “We had some help from volunteers who did a great job, talking to visitors at the car park. They explained where they could and couldn’t go on the nature reserve, and that dogs aren’t allowed at this time of year. Next year we hope to have more volunteers in place, earlier in the season, and we’ll invest in more signs, in the hope that people will see them and take notice of them. I hope everyone will help us spread the word that people mustn’t walk their dogs near ground-nesting birds during breeding season. This is a magical place and we hope that people will continue to visit us, and enjoy wildlife in a responsible way. This will help us protect the wonderful birds who make this nature reserve their summer home.”

Visitors are very welcome at both sites, to enjoy the amazing coastal and marine wildlife responsibly. Read this useful guidance for small boat users and others. 

Kayakers and other small boat users and paddleboarders should keep at least 100m distance from wildlife and they cannot come on shore at either site, as this would disturb nests on the beaches. They should also stay away from Slitch Ridge on Foulney Island, to avoid disturbing the eider colony. Flying drones and microlights is not allowed over South Walney Nature Reserve and Foulney Island Nature Reserve.

South Walney Nature Reserve near Barrow is open daily from 10am to 5pm (4pm in winter). Visitors are welcome. The visitor cabin is open with information and activity packs for children and a monitor streaming the live sealcam. With stunning views across Morecambe Bay, this shingle island reserve is full of interest and is also a fantastic place for bird watching. Please note: dogs are not allowed on the nature reserve, apart from assistance dogs.

Foulney Island Nature Reserve near Barrow is open all year. Arctic and little tern breed during the summer, and in autumn and winter it's a great site to see waders. Please note that around high tide, the nature reserve may be cut off. Dogs are permitted but during the bird breeding season (1 April – 15 August) no dogs (except assistance dogs) are allowed on the island, to protect birds from disturbance. During breeding season, access is restricted to designated paths and Slitch Ridge is closed.