Terned away
I was super upset today when I went to the Belfast Harbour Reserve. Since they started charging for the place, I have stopped going to it. However, I thought that since I was going to take people to see the terns, I should really bring them to the reserve. Anyway, it is a GREAT place to see the birds. Terns often nest in colonies on islands in the middle of nowhere. It is near impossible to get a good view of tern islands if you don't have access to a boat. And also it is a fantastic place to introduce people to. Birds and urban wildlife, especially a bird like the Roseate Tern. How amazing is that?
Anyhow, when I got to the hides, I noticed that there was something wrong. The islands were wall to wall Black Headed Gulls and the Terns were sitting on these low perches waiting for a space to become available. They might as well not bother because Black Headed Gulls are awful awful birds. Well they look after their own. The only Tern that is capable of coping with them is the Sandwich Tern cos it is much larger.
Seeing how there were no nesting Terns, I went to the Obs Room to be greeted by two volunteers who told me oh yes there were lots of Terns, but they weren't nesting - YET. Well, yes I can see that. Um, what is happening then? Well, not to worry they told me, cos the warden is going to install two new tern islands in the next two weeks. PARDON, i said. In the next two weeks? Yes! And then they will have somewhere to nest. Right.
And the disturbance. Well they have a licence from the NIEA to build the nests. I see, I said. And the gulls? Well, unfortunately they will be disturbed because you know Terns are a priority species.
OK. Black headed gulls are Amber listed species in the UK, according to the list the RSPB has compiled. So the RSPB is going to be disturbing Black Headed Gulls, but that's ok?
I saw Terns on the far side of the Lagoon sitting on a few low wooden perches. There were already one or two pairs and some males were trying to get onto the islands but being bullied away by the Black Headed Gulls. My heart was breaking. Terns are very beautiful, delicate birds. They almost look like they have been fashioned from tissue paper. They are incomparably graceful and they have flown a VERY VERY VERY long way to get here. They really want to just get down to the business of nesting and any delay to breeding could be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful breeding season. I remember the days when Anthony would get the islands ready over the winter, importing new shells from the rest of the Lough if he had to. He would keep the gulls off and by the time the terns arrived the islands would be spanking new and ready for the birds.
They are going to build the islands from gravel, the RSPB volunteer, chimed in helpfully. Gravel, I said. They used to build it from seashells. Did I say gravel? I mean pebbles. OK, gravel, pebbles. Constructing the tern islands is a huge undertaking. And how are they going to do it without emptying the lagoon? It should have been done in February, just after the wintering and before the breeding season. But even more importantly, they should have not been constructed AT ALL. There is also the issue of predation. Gulls are not impartial to eating other birds' chicks. Will that be an issue if you build Tern nests so close to Gull nests? I am not a bird person, but hopefully this was considered, although it doesn't give me much hope that they thought of building new tern islands in at the start of the breeding season.
It has made me so sad I am now going to do a painting of a Tern. I remember when I first visited the reserve, Anthony spent a very long time explaining to me the difference between Common and Arctic Terns. I was completely mystified. After twenty minutes when he finished his explanation, he then asked me, any questions. I replied, Well, what is the difference between a Gull and a Tern?
I have since seen all kinds of Terns. Fairy Terns and Black Terns and Sandwich Terns... I have come to love their clean aquiline shape, which enables them to make the most delicate maneuvers in the air. They can hover over the water's surface and then dive into it, extracting a single sand eel. They are fiercely protective parents, tirelessly looking after their cute little chick which sits like a mossy ball of fluff. Once Anthony told me that he watched a chick get nudged off the island and it couldn't get back on. So he built a little ramp for chicks, so that they could back on the island should they be shoved off.
I don't know. Anthony really really cared for those birds. He would sleep on the reserve to ensure that the foxes didn't get the birds. He would run out chasing them if they did. The tried installing predator proof fencing around the reserve, but foxes are wily. I wonder if they ever managed to get that fencing up?
Perhaps it IS ok that they build the islands now. I saw these old CDs being placed haplessly around the perimeter of the first island. To no avail. The Gulls still took up residence. Right off to do a painting of a Tern now.
Anyhow, when I got to the hides, I noticed that there was something wrong. The islands were wall to wall Black Headed Gulls and the Terns were sitting on these low perches waiting for a space to become available. They might as well not bother because Black Headed Gulls are awful awful birds. Well they look after their own. The only Tern that is capable of coping with them is the Sandwich Tern cos it is much larger.
Seeing how there were no nesting Terns, I went to the Obs Room to be greeted by two volunteers who told me oh yes there were lots of Terns, but they weren't nesting - YET. Well, yes I can see that. Um, what is happening then? Well, not to worry they told me, cos the warden is going to install two new tern islands in the next two weeks. PARDON, i said. In the next two weeks? Yes! And then they will have somewhere to nest. Right.
And the disturbance. Well they have a licence from the NIEA to build the nests. I see, I said. And the gulls? Well, unfortunately they will be disturbed because you know Terns are a priority species.
OK. Black headed gulls are Amber listed species in the UK, according to the list the RSPB has compiled. So the RSPB is going to be disturbing Black Headed Gulls, but that's ok?
I saw Terns on the far side of the Lagoon sitting on a few low wooden perches. There were already one or two pairs and some males were trying to get onto the islands but being bullied away by the Black Headed Gulls. My heart was breaking. Terns are very beautiful, delicate birds. They almost look like they have been fashioned from tissue paper. They are incomparably graceful and they have flown a VERY VERY VERY long way to get here. They really want to just get down to the business of nesting and any delay to breeding could be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful breeding season. I remember the days when Anthony would get the islands ready over the winter, importing new shells from the rest of the Lough if he had to. He would keep the gulls off and by the time the terns arrived the islands would be spanking new and ready for the birds.
They are going to build the islands from gravel, the RSPB volunteer, chimed in helpfully. Gravel, I said. They used to build it from seashells. Did I say gravel? I mean pebbles. OK, gravel, pebbles. Constructing the tern islands is a huge undertaking. And how are they going to do it without emptying the lagoon? It should have been done in February, just after the wintering and before the breeding season. But even more importantly, they should have not been constructed AT ALL. There is also the issue of predation. Gulls are not impartial to eating other birds' chicks. Will that be an issue if you build Tern nests so close to Gull nests? I am not a bird person, but hopefully this was considered, although it doesn't give me much hope that they thought of building new tern islands in at the start of the breeding season.
It has made me so sad I am now going to do a painting of a Tern. I remember when I first visited the reserve, Anthony spent a very long time explaining to me the difference between Common and Arctic Terns. I was completely mystified. After twenty minutes when he finished his explanation, he then asked me, any questions. I replied, Well, what is the difference between a Gull and a Tern?
I have since seen all kinds of Terns. Fairy Terns and Black Terns and Sandwich Terns... I have come to love their clean aquiline shape, which enables them to make the most delicate maneuvers in the air. They can hover over the water's surface and then dive into it, extracting a single sand eel. They are fiercely protective parents, tirelessly looking after their cute little chick which sits like a mossy ball of fluff. Once Anthony told me that he watched a chick get nudged off the island and it couldn't get back on. So he built a little ramp for chicks, so that they could back on the island should they be shoved off.
I don't know. Anthony really really cared for those birds. He would sleep on the reserve to ensure that the foxes didn't get the birds. He would run out chasing them if they did. The tried installing predator proof fencing around the reserve, but foxes are wily. I wonder if they ever managed to get that fencing up?
Perhaps it IS ok that they build the islands now. I saw these old CDs being placed haplessly around the perimeter of the first island. To no avail. The Gulls still took up residence. Right off to do a painting of a Tern now.
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