One of the smallest and most elegant seabirds has broken breeding records on Chesil Beach.

Thirty-eight pairs of little terns bred on the pebbles in the summer, and up to 73 chicks fledged – a recent record number of young for the colony and making it one of the most successful sites in UK.

The RSPB says volunteers have played a key role in the Little Tern Recovery Project’s success, with 56 people devoting hours of their time to watching nests, and helping make sure the vulnerable birds were not disturbed.

Helen Booker from the RSPB said: “It’s been a great year, and we’re all delighted with how the chicks have done. In total 77 hatched and up to 73 fledged, so over the summer we only lost four chicks.

“It just goes to show that with the right amount of management and the support of our dedicated team of volunteers these birds can succeed. We really believe they are now well on the way to recovery on this wonderful part of the Dorset coast.”

Chesil is the South West’s only little tern colony and as recently as the late 1990s as many as 100 pairs bred there. The number dipped to only ten pairs in 2008 and the colony’s productivity this summer is the result of eight years hard of work by organisations involved in the recovery project.

Jane White from Portland Court Leet – a project partner which has offered further funding for next year’s season – said: “We are really proud to be able to support this successful project that is really helping these amazing seabirds to make a strong recovery on the Fleet. There is still a lot to do though and the project will need continued support to build upon this success.”

One of the smallest seabirds, the little tern, which migrates to Africa in the autumn before returning in the spring, has been in decline because of predation, food shortages and extreme weather conditions. It is on the UK’s amber list of birds of conservation concern – the second highest category.

Protecting Chesil’s little terns has been made possible by a coalition of organisations including the RSPB, Chesil Bank and Fleet Nature Reserve, Natural England, The Crown Estate, Portland Court Leet, and the Dorset Wildlife Trust.