Following the report of a pair of Common Terns back in the
Lower Derwent Valley recently, our team relaunched the tern rafts last week for another
season, and we’re now pleased to say that the pair have already taken up
residency on one of the rafts on the pool at Wheldrake.
Common Terns used to be a regular spring passage migrant to
the reserve, with occasional, but unsuccessful breeding attempts, however,
thanks to a generous private donation to the Friends in 2017, two tern rafts
were provided which resulted in the first successful breeding attempt for the
site, with a single pair raising two young. Since then, and with an additional
two tern rafts being provided, a total of 28 young have been reared and ringed
on the reserve. From these colour-ringed birds we have had six subsequent
resightings; a bird returning in its first summer to Lancashire, another seen
during its first winter off the coast of The Gambia, Western Africa, and others
subsequently breeding on the Farne Islands and in the RSPB Aire Valley. It’s
amazing to think these birds cover such huge distances during the year and
return each spring to the rafts in the Lower Derwent - fingers crossed for
another successful year.
