Volunteers help Welsh Little Tern colony to break records

Volunteers are helping a Little Tern colony to thrive on the Denbighshire coast.

Gronant beach near Prestatyn holds the largest breeding colony found in Wales and contributes to more than 10% of the entire UK population. In excess of 200 nests have been located so far this summer – a new record high – with the first chicks already beginning to appear.

As many as 200 Little Tern nests have been counted at Gronant this year (Steve Nuttall).

This colony has recently been getting a helping hand of support from a volunteer group, the North Wales Little Tern Group. The collective has helped Denbighshire Countryside service staff put up 4 km of fencing at the beach to create pens for the birds to safely nest in.

Cllr Barry Mellor, lead member for environment and transport, said: "We are really grateful to the volunteers for their work in helping us protect this important colony of Little Terns at Gronant to give them a thriving future at the site.

"If you do wish to see the colony, we encourage people to either come to the viewing platform or the visitor centre with a pair of binoculars to reduce any disturbance to the nesting birds."

If anyone is interested in volunteering to support the Little Tern colony, email littleternengagement2022@outlook.com for further information.