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little terns<br />
Michael Steciuk shares his images from a photographic assignment<br />
Little terns are one of the UK’s rarer<br />
seabirds and are listed on the ‘amber<br />
conservation’ category as well as being<br />
legally protected by the 1981 Wildlife and<br />
Countryside Act. Owing to these restrictions,<br />
a Schedule 1 licence was required in<br />
order to photograph the birds in the nest.<br />
They are summer visitors to the <strong>Scottish</strong><br />
islands, arriving in early May from their<br />
wintering sites off the west coast of Africa<br />
and leaving to return in late August / early<br />
September. They form the smallest species<br />
of tern breeding in the UK and nest<br />
exclusively on shingle beaches of the Outer<br />
and Inner Hebrides and Orkney.<br />
Their ground nests lead to vulnerability from<br />
predators and disturbances, although the<br />
close colonies on open beaches do offer<br />
good visibility and collective warning opportunities.<br />
However, foxes and badgers are a<br />
threat at low level and attacks from kestrels,<br />
crows, gulls and peregrine falcons feature<br />
from above.<br />
The Little tern tends to nest close to the<br />
high-tide line and is susceptible to onshore<br />
winds and Spring tides. I positioned myself<br />
unobtrusively in a small hide where I could<br />
enjoy their pleasant chattering calls that<br />
represent the heartbeat of many islands in<br />
evocative, atmospheric locations.<br />
26 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER NOVEMBER / DECEMBER <strong>2016</strong>
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