Sandwich terns returned to Pagham Harbour after bird flu
A colony wiped out in 2022 had 756 breeding pairs this year, and 570 chicks fledged, after staff and volunteers rebuilt nesting space on the Solent.
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Sandwich terns are nesting again at Pagham Harbour in West Sussex after bird flu emptied the colony in 2022. The Guardian reported on October 19, 2026, that counters recorded 756 breeding pairs this year and 570 chicks that fledged. Nearby, black-headed gull fledglings rose from 51 in 2025 to 504 in 2026, and little terns went from 21 to 34. Eighteen avocet pairs on new islands at Ferry Pool produced 24 fledglings.
RSPB staff and volunteers put up predator fencing, managed the vegetation, and set out nesting rafts at Medmerry and West Hayling as part of the Solent Seascape project with the Blue Marine Foundation. Wez Smith of the RSPB described the return as a recovery that still needs that day-to-day care. The counts are for this stretch of coast, not a verdict on every seabird colony hit by avian flu.
For the classroom
Sandwich terns are seabirds that nest together. Bird flu wiped out the colony at Pagham Harbour in 2022. This year, 756 pairs nested there and 570 chicks grew old enough to fly. People helped by fencing out predators and building nesting islands and rafts.
- What changed for the sandwich terns at Pagham Harbour?
- Why do nesting birds need a place that predators cannot reach?
- What is one thing people did to help this colony?
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