Help from volunteer wardens has always been an important part of the success of Kilcoole Little Tern Project. For this week’s Blog we welcome a contribution from Eilis who worked with us for four weeks. Having just completed a BSc. in Applied Freshwater and Marine Biology at GMIT Galway, Eilis had just the right range of skills to become a great asset to our team. Previously Eilis has volunteered and completed internships with sea turtles and penguins. She says, “I have always wanted to work in seabird conservation and I was delighted when BirdWatch Ireland accepted my application to join the team in Kilcoole, I was excited to join the project and learn all about Ireland’s rarest breeding seabird and the challenges involved in protecting them.”
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| View west from the hide (photo Eilis Hogan) |
“Thinking back on the day I arrived on the Kilcoole project I was completely blown away by the beautiful scenery, the wildlife and how peaceful this part of the country was considering how close it is to Dublin City”.
“That morning I joined Darren in the hide where I got to witness my first ever tern colony live in action. This is where I learned the real tricks of the trade! Having never stepped foot on a seabird colony I didn’t really know what to expect… My first morning on the reserve came in the aftermath of an invasion, by no less than two undetected hedgehogs, which had been stealthily scoffing eggs, over the course of the previous week.”
“As I woke every morning at 5:30 a.m. to begin my shift, I’d love to say I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Sadly this wasn’t the case! Grabbing my cup of tea, binoculars, telescope and paperwork for the day I scrambled out to the hide, falling over fences in the process. This was definitely the most stressful part of the day. Nevertheless, once settled in the hide, all was forgotten as I spent the next 8 hours admiring the scenery and observing the behaviour of the terns diving into the sea catching fish and incubating their nests.”
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| A pair of two day old chicks (photo Eilis Hogan) |
“The first eggs began to hatch on the 9th of June. Another volunteer Brian and I couldn’t get over how cute and fluffy they were and we were so excited to discover them. I still get excited every time I see one! Once the chicks were one day old, Chris, Steve, Brian and I began to ring them collecting data on their weight and wing length while doing so.”
“These birds are very hardy given their little size, with all the odds against them. With challenges from predation and high tides washing up their nests, they never seemed to give up!”.
In the event of a nest loss most pairs will attempt to relay in a different location. As my volunteering experience was coming to an end, a second round of relays have started to hatch and there are many more chicks to come as the birds continued to lay up until the 25th June. Fingers crossed no more predators or high tides will get at the Little Terns this season!”
“My overall experience working on the little tern colony in Kilcoole has been amazing. I have learned so much about little terns and what it takes to protect them and other birds within this very special mix of wildlife habitats along the seashore in Kilcoole. It has definitely encouraged me to continue working with sea birds in my future career!”
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| Not quite flying, a hatchling hiding behind seaweed. |
From all of the Wardens and other volunteers on the project, we would like to thank Eilis for her hard work and great commitment. At the time of writing, there have been 20 successful nests where the chicks have already left and will soon fledge, there are currently 79 active nests and 126 chicks have been ringed to date. The first fledgling was witnessed taking to the wing on the 28th June. All in all, after such a difficult start, there is a feeling amongst the camp that this may well be a successful year again, for the Little Terns at Kilcoole.
Bye for now,
Darren.
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| Hungry beaks to feed. Little Tern returning with Sandeel. (Credit Darren Ellis) |
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