An appeal for funding to help conserve a species of rare seabird on Chesil Beach has raised more than £10,000.
A colony of little terns on Chesil Beach, which is the only such colony in south west England, has been in decline for years.
The RSPB put out a call for volunteers and an appeal for funds earlier this year, which raised £10,159.30 for the cause.
Ben Harrington, Project Officer for the Little Tern colony, said: “This project would be impossible without our incredible volunteers.
“We have an amazing team of dedicated volunteers, with over 2,800 hours given last year, helping with the fence set up and wardening at the colony, allowing us to have 24 hour cover.
“They are backed up by a small team of residential volunteers, who work night shifts at the colony making sure that foxes aren’t getting through the fence at night.”
The RSPB, along with the Crown Estate, Chesil Beach & the Fleet Nature Reserve, Portland Court Leet, Natural England, and Dorset Wildlife Trust, has set up a protection project for the little terns, as the colony suffered decline since the late 1990s.
The colony is monitored twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, as the colony comes under threat during the night from predators.
Describing the work he does for the colony, Mr Harrington said: “Some days I spend in the office, sending and replying to emails, working on presentations and making phone calls.
“Others involve running events, ranging from setting the colony fence up with a team from RSPB Arne, RSPB Radipole and some of our local volunteers, to running the upcoming meeting for new volunteers interested in helping out with the project.
“And then there are the days that I get to spend at the colony, observing the birds, looking for nests and keeping an eye out for predators. It’s always different, always interesting and always fun.”
Little terns are the second rarest breed of seabirds in the UK.
The Chesil Beach colony dropped from 100 pairs in 1997 to no breeding pairs in 2009.
This rate of decline prompted the RSPB to act, and the colony recovered to nearly 40 pairs last year.
Read more at rspb.org.uk/
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