Volunteers give support to Gronant Tern colony

Volunteers are helping a Denbighshire bird colony thrive on the coast.

The group of Little Terns found at Gronant beach near Prestatyn is the largest breeding colony found in Wales.

This beach site is internationally known as it contributes to over 10 per of the entire UK breeding population as well as supplementing other colonies.

The local colony has been getting a helping hand of support from a volunteer group: the North Wales Little Tern Group. They have helped Denbighshire Countryside service staff put up four kilometres of fencing at the beach to create pens for the birds to safely nest in.

Little Terns at the site have also been seen in greater numbers over the spring with a recent count recording over 200 adult birds, with nests now confirmed at the site.

Councillor 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 Terns colony, e-mail: littleternengagement2022@outlook.com for further information.

This project is funded by the Landfill Disposals Tax Communities Scheme.

Photo credit: Michael Steciuk