A Record Breaking Nesting Season!
We can officially say that the 2024 shorebird nesting season has been a record breaker for us! 14 ringed plover chicks fledged successfully from our sites between Lynemouth and Seahouses, one more than the previous record of 13 in 2022.
Going into the season back in April, we were concerned that winter storms and high spring tides had eroded much of the habitat where ringed plovers had nested in previous years. We gave the birds a bit of a helping hand in same areas by creating a few small areas of shingle high up on the shore, and amazingly we found a nest on one of those patches just a few days later!
A ringed plover nest on a patch of shingle we created at Dell Point, Beadnell
As the season progressed, sites such as Buston Links and Low Newton began to build in height, making them more suitable for the nesting birds, and more and more pairs established territories along the coast. Outside of the National Trust’s Long Nanny tern site and Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve, a total of 20 pairs of plover nested on the Northumberland coast, with Lynemouth and Beadnell being particular hotspots.
Crows, foxes and kestrels were all a threat to the nesting birds this year, and in areas where eggs were at risk of being predated, we used nest cages to help increase the hatching rate. Egg predation was reduced, however young chicks were still extremely vulnerable to predation and becoming chilled by rain and wind.
A ringed plover sitting on its eggs inside a nest cage at Seahouses
This year was the second year in our colour ringing project which aims to track the movement of the ringed plover chicks fledged from our sites, and this year birds from the Long Nanny tern site were also ringed as part of the project. Already we have had some exciting re-sightings of this years’ chicks, including a chick from Dell Point at Beadnell, UAS, turning up in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland at just 3 months old! UAH and UAL, two chicks from the same brood at Beadnell which were ringed last year, returned to Northumberland this year! Now that more birds have been ringed as part of our project, we are excited to see where these birds turn up, and if they will be back on our beaches again next year.
Ringed plover chick UBV which fledged from Beadnell in July
We always say it takes a village to raise a ringed plover chick, as without the support of volunteers, landowners, local residents, visitors and our Dog Rangers the birds would not have had the success they have. Yet again, Northumberland Coast Conservation Team volunteers were an essential part of our team, from surveying the whole coast for new nesting territories, helping to make nest cages and chick shelters, and of course helping with ‘Chick Watch’.
Chick watchers have the mighty task of keeping a close eye on the chicks as they explore their surroundings, which is not easy when they can run so fast! Showing beach users the chicks and talking about why they need so much help is what it is all about, and we often have visitors and locals alike coming back every day to find out how the birds are getting on.
We now take time to reflect, celebrate our record-breaking year and take stock of the lessons we have learned so we can give nesting ringed plovers the best change possible at having another successful season next year.
