Little Terns at Teesmouth?

[Steve H]

For a few years Little Terns seemed to breed on one side of the Tees or the other. I havn't been down South Gare for a while but I spent a few hours around Seal Sands today and didnt see any. Are they around or have they left the area?

[IanF]

Seaton Snook is an area I visit pretty regularly. A dozen or more have been around Seaton Snook at various times and two pairs were nesting in the usual area but I haven't seen any sign of them nesting for 5-6 weeks. I suspect the breeding has failed this year - unless someone knows differently.

Even the Crimdon Dene ones appear to have had a poor year - Hedgehog, Kestrel and Crow predation were suggested as the main culprits but mostly the former.

They are still present on Seaton Snook off and on in amongst the other roosting Terns and the next few weeks will likely see a built up in numbers of all Tern species here post breeding. It's usually a good time to see Arctic, Roseate, Common, Sandwich and Little all together though often in their own little groups.

[Steve H]

Thanks for the info Ian - My impression is that the area that they used to nest on at south gare has changed a bit over the years with a much bigger bank of stones replacing the flatter grassier area, I dont know whether that would be less attrctive to them. Anyway I'll watch for an increase in terns over the cming weeks - thanks again