Preparations underway to welcome back Gronant’s Little Terns

News and Info from Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales

Work is underway to prepare a well-known bird colony site for the annual arrival of its famous occupants.

Denbighshire Countryside Rangers, the North Wales Little Tern Group and volunteers are preparing Gronant Dunes for the arrival of the Little Terns ahead of this year’s breeding season.

For over two decades, teams have prepared the site at this time of year to welcome the summer visitors to the largest breeding colony of Little Terns in Wales.

Located on the shingle of the dunes, the site is internationally recognised and contributes over 10 percent of the entire UK breeding population. It also supports other Little Tern colonies. Gronant and Point of Ayr are the only breeding colonies in Wales.

At the end of April and into May, the Little Terns will return to Gronant Dunes from the west coast of Africa to breed. After the breeding season, they head back south with their fledged chicks. Last year, 166 breeding pairs were recorded and 158 fledglings were counted — a small increase on the 2023 season.

To protect the birds from ground predators, the group will install a 3.5km perimeter fence and a three-kilometre electric fence along the beach. These will be removed at the end of the season in line with the site’s no-trace policy. The area is also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The visitors’ centre will again be constructed on the dunes, along with a viewing hide to allow people to observe the colony safely from a distance.

Last year, the centre welcomed 1,140 visitors to the designated viewing points, and 115 people took part in site visits and project activities. Volunteers from the North Wales Little Tern Group, Denbighshire Countryside Services and Merseyside Ringing Group recorded 867 hours of volunteering during the season.

In 2024, the site also recorded a first for the area — avocets successfully bred at Gronant. Two avocet chicks fledged on Denbighshire’s coastline for the first time.

North Denbighshire Coastal Ranger Claudia Smith said: “It’s great to start work for the arrival of the Little Terns once again at Gronant Dunes. None of this would be possible without the fantastic support of all the volunteers who have helped us over the last two decades.”

“We maintain this set-up at the location as the birds are very vulnerable to human disturbance, and they are also at risk from predators both in the air and on the ground. We have a team of wardens who will be present from early May at the visitors’ centre to protect the birds, talk to visitors to the site and also collect information about this year’s colony.”

Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport and Biodiversity Champion, said: “For over two decades, countryside teams alongside volunteers have worked very hard to protect this site to make the colony a real area of significance for protecting the future populations of the Little Terns. Everyone involved can be immensely proud of what they do to maintain this bustling colony on Gronant Dunes.”

Work to set up the colony will take place on the following dates, and new volunteers are welcome: