Home / Environment / Yorkshire Nature Reserve Sees Soaring Little Tern Breeding Boom
Yorkshire Nature Reserve Sees Soaring Little Tern Breeding Boom
14 Oct, 2025
Summary
- Little tern population at Beacon Lagoons surges from 59 pairs in 2024 to 105 pairs in 2025
- Considered a "remarkable sign of recovery" for the once-declining species
- Yorkshire's last remaining little tern breeding colony
In a remarkable turnaround, a nature reserve in Yorkshire has celebrated a record-breaking breeding season for one of the UK's rarest seabirds. The little tern, a migratory species that travels from West Africa to nest on British shores each spring, has seen its population surge at the Beacon Lagoons - Yorkshire's last remaining breeding colony.
According to the RSPB, the number of little tern pairs recorded at the site this summer has reached 105, up significantly from just 59 in 2024. The conservation organization has hailed this as "a remarkable sign of recovery" for a species that was once in serious decline.
Little terns are small, delicate seabirds that face numerous threats, from habitat loss to predation. The fact that their numbers have rebounded so strongly at this critical nesting ground is a testament to the efforts of local conservationists to protect and nurture this fragile population.
