Little Terns at Seaton Carew

24/02/2026

In anticipation of the return of the little terns to Seaton Carew, a beach clean has been organised prior to the er****on of the site fencing. Aside from removing unsightly litter, this helps to ensure that smaller items are also collected so that they cannot be ingested by the birds. If you would like to take part, please follow the link below. It would be great to see you there 😊

Join us for a Beach Clean at Seaton Carew to help get the site ready to welcome back our Little Terns for this year's nesting season.

03/07/2025

Well, it’s looking as though the little terns may be leaving us early this year 😢 Visitors to Seaton Carew may have noticed that the site is very quiet, and may also have spotted both the adult and juvenile terns gathered on the beach to the north. With daily visits from a kestrel having had a major impact upon the population of chicks, the adults are now getting their remaining young ones ready for the long flight back to West Africa. In fact, some of our birds are already on their way - one of this year’s ringed fledglings was spotted at Spurn yesterday, on the north bank of the Humber Estuary. Our wardens and volunteers will continue to monitor the site and surrounding area over the coming days, and the fence will remain in place for the time being to protect the ringed plovers who continue to nest there.

Despite the trials and tribulations that these little birds have faced this year, we still have more than 60 fledglings. Please continue to give these vulnerable birds space and, in particular, respect the dog exclusion zone that extends south from the Norton Hotel. Your support is, as always, greatly appreciated ❤️

30/06/2025

Great to see so many juveniles at different stages of development today, with the older ones looking more and more like the adult little terns as they lose their downy fluff. With at least 41 on the beach, it was a treat to watch them fly 🥰 Remember - if you’re visiting the beach, please give these birds some space.

29/06/2025

23/06/2025

Today has given us cause for celebration, with the first of our chicks observed flying within, and then out of, the site. Three juveniles were spotted on the shore with the adults, and four more on the beach closer to the site. They remain well-camouflaged, so please take care when walking on the beach and, once again, we ask that you adhere to the council’s dog exclusion zone. These little birds are already battling for survival, with daily kestrel visits, so they need as much help from us as possible. We really appreciate you playing your part in keeping them safe.

20/06/2025

It’s proving to be a challenging season for our little birds. As the little terns continue their valiant attempts to fend off the kestrel, the sight of this ringed plover family made us smile today, though. We were also delighted to see some newly hatched little tern chicks too!

16/06/2025

Many recent visitors to the site have enjoyed trying to catch a glimpse of our little tern chicks. With more hatching each day, we had been heading for another record year until, in recent days, our most frequent visitor has become another protected bird - a local kestrel, presumably with its own family to feed. As a result, some of the chicks have been predated and we may well lose more. We still welcome your visits, but wanted to point out that you may witness the kestrel at work.
Unfortunately, the actions of the kestrel are driving both the adult terns and their chicks out of the site, and you may well encounter them on the beach. We urgently appeal to dog-walkers to avoid the dog exclusion zone (in front of, and to the north of, the site) so as not to cause further distress to these vulnerable birds.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supports our work in protecting both the little terns and ringed plovers by respecting the site and its wardens. It is important to note that it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb these birds, their nests and their young, and that threatening and abusive behaviour towards our wardens and volunteers will not be tolerated.

14/06/2025

At the little tern site at Seaton Carew, we welcome most visitors, but yesterday saw the return of perhaps our least-welcome visitor. Unfortunately, there are many animals for whom a little tern egg or chick will make a meal or a snack, either for them or their young. Our night wardens do a great job of deterring mammals such as foxes, hedgehogs, cats and stoats, and the little terns themselves are adept at seeing off larger birds. To date, though, the kestrel is one predator that we struggle to keep out of the site. Although we recognise that they also have to eat - both kestrels and terns are carnivorous (the latter being a piscivore, eating fish) - it is heart-breaking to see them prey on birds within the site. Yesterday saw a tern chick predated, and this behaviour unsettles the entire colony. The little terns made a concerted effort to drive out the kestrel, taking turns to dive at it whilst it was on the ground, but to no avail. They were, however, successful in driving it out when it then made a return visit, with a small number of individuals pursuing it relentlessly until they were sure that it wasn’t going to double back. We hope that the terns can now get back to incubating their eggs and feeding the ever-growing number of chicks.
Nature is beautiful, but it can also be cruel.

10/06/2025

As more of our little tern chicks are hatching, the parents can regularly be seen bringing in food - from delicate little offerings to sandeels and fish that are longer than the chicks are tall! As if getting one of the latter down isn’t hard enough, throw into the mix the fact that lunch is still alive and squirming! Eating is no easy feat when you’re a little tern chick!

09/06/2025

Triplets! Little terns generally lay two or three eggs. Once hatched, the chicks are fed whole sandeels or small fish. Can you spot one sticking out of the chick’s mouth? The big ones can take some swallowing!

08/06/2025

It has been a bit of a soggy day at Seaton, but this ringed plover parent was doing a great job of protecting their young from the worst of the weather. Managed to count ten legs, so there were four chicks sheltering under there!
These cute chicks often make their way out of the site so, if you happen to see them on the beach, please give them some space.