Little tern

Sternula albifrons

The Little tern, as its name suggests, is the smallest of the terns and is the UK’s second rarest breeding seabird. There are fewer than 2000 breeding pairs in the UK.  

Little terns are fishing experts, often seen hovering low over the water with very fast wingbeats, before diving like a spear. Typically, they repeat dives more often than other terns.  

Instantly recognisable by their tiny size, 21-25cm with a 41-47cm wingspan, they have a large head in comparison to the rest of their body. Other distinctive features include a bright yellow bill with a black tip, black cap to their head and a white forehead (albifrons) in adults. Little terns also have bright orange legs.

They weigh around 50g, which is about the same weight as a tennis ball.  

Little terns winter in West Africa and migrate thousands of miles to nest on our beaches from April. They will leave to return South at the end of summer in August.  

All about little terns

Little terns’ courtship is an elaborate dance, starting with an aerial display from the male bird who will be calling and carrying fish to attract a female. If she’s interested, she’ll follow him in the air, and, once back on the beach, if she decides to accept the offering of fish, the pair will then mate.  

Nesting begins in May, with both adults making a shallow, unlined scrape along sand or shingle beaches, or on spits and islands inside lagoons. Nesting in small, loose colonies, these scrapes are often just above the high tide line on beaches and are very susceptible to early spring storms washing out their nests.  

A female will lay 2 or 3 eggs and incubation takes around 18-22 days. These eggs are very well camouflaged within the shingle of the beach and are tiny, about the size of a thumbnail. Once the eggs hatch, the young chicks, no larger than your thumb, are almost invisible. They are covered in down that makes them difficult to spot amongst the shingle.

At both the egg and hatchling stages, little terns are extremely vulnerable to disturbance and predation. After a few days, the young chicks will leave the nest and head to find some vegetation to hide amongst.  

Unusually for seabirds, little terns stay close to their colonies to feed and work very hard to raise their brood.  One study found that a little tern feeding its young would make as many as 100 dives in an hour, visiting its young in the nest more than 60 times in a single day.  Chicks are fed by their parents for several weeks until, with much practice, the fledglings finally master the art of fishing. 

Local Spotlight

Habitat used by little terns for nesting and raising their young is at threat from rising sea levels. It’s hoped that raising shingle banks at known little tern nesting sites around the Solent will protect them from storm surges and rising sea levels that have devastated breeding colonies in recent years. 

As little terns also use beaches for nesting, it is important that we are following the requests on any signs that we see when using the coast for recreation. These nests are very difficult to spot and are very vulnerable from being trampled on as we are using the coast.  

Conservation status

UK conservation status is amber due to the decline in their breeding range and low productivity due to disturbance and predation.

Little terns are a qualifying feature for the Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Area and the Chichester and Langstone Harbour Special Protection Area – that means, when the sites were designated, a nationally significant number of the species used the areas.