Introduction:
Coquet Island Special Protection Area (SPA) now sits in the larger ‘Northumberland Marine SPA’. Consultation on this designation concluded on the 21st April 2017 and it offers protection for the reserve’s seabird assemblage’s foraging grounds. The site remains a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designated for its internationally important populations of breeding seabirds.
Coquet Island Special Protection Area (SPA) now sits in the larger ‘Northumberland Marine SPA’. Consultation on this designation concluded on the 21st April 2017 and it offers protection for the reserve’s seabird assemblage’s foraging grounds. The site remains a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designated for its internationally important populations of breeding seabirds.
Location:
Coquet Island is just over a mile from Amble on the Northumberland Coast. It consists of a flat grassy plateau measuring some 8 hectares. At tide level it is surrounded by low sandstone cliffs with a wide tidal rocky platform.
Coquet Island is just over a mile from Amble on the Northumberland Coast. It consists of a flat grassy plateau measuring some 8 hectares. At tide level it is surrounded by low sandstone cliffs with a wide tidal rocky platform.
Coquet Island RSPB reserve, aerial view by David Wootton (rspb-images.com)
Breeding Bird Species:
Coquet Island is home to the only UK breeding colony of Roseate Tern Sterna dougalli. Roseate Terns are listed on Annex I of the Birds Directive and Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Therefore, appropriate management of Coquet is critical to the conservation of this species in the UK. In the 1970s, there were just 16 pairs of roseate terns on Coquet Island, but this year (2018) there were 118 pairs. The steady growth of the population is thanks to the efforts made by conservationists over several years to maximise ideal conditions for them.
The island also supports 1667 pairs of Common Terns, 1240 pairs of Arctic Terns and 1415 pairs of Sandwich Terns in 2018. Coquet’s seabird assemblage also includes 5564 pairs of Black-Headed Gulls, 361 pairs of Black-Legged Kittiwakes, 52 apparently occupied nests of Fulmars and 378 nesting female Eiders. Finally, in 2018, the Puffin census carried out revealed a population of 32,309 breeding pairs.
Roseate Tern Terraces by Paul Morrison
Partnership:
The island is owned by Duke of Northumberland and the seabird assemblage has been managed by the RSPB since it became a nature sanctuary in the 1970s. The reserve is managed by RSPB to benefit the four tern species, Puffins Fratercula arctica, Eiders Somateria mollissima, Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla, Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis and recently, a few pairs of Mediterranean Gulls Ichthyaetus melanocephalus.
New roseate tern nesting terraces produced over 2017/18 winter by RSPB Coquet team
Presence of the LIFE Project:
The additional funding from the LIFE Project will build on the existing management. The enhanced management will address the increasing threat of egg collection, through increasing staffing and technological support. It will also build on the increasing problem of displacement and predation by large gulls, through increased staffing and provision of more nesting boxes. Finally the LIFE Project will also support more sustainable management of the island reserve, through repair of the landing quay and replacement of the observation hides.
The additional funding from the LIFE Project will build on the existing management. The enhanced management will address the increasing threat of egg collection, through increasing staffing and technological support. It will also build on the increasing problem of displacement and predation by large gulls, through increased staffing and provision of more nesting boxes. Finally the LIFE Project will also support more sustainable management of the island reserve, through repair of the landing quay and replacement of the observation hides.
Life in a rosy nest box (c) RSPB
Public Viewing:
Although there is no public access onto the island, boat trips run from Amble by a local boat company and allow all species to be seen and enjoyed from a safe distance offshore.
Cameras pointing along a nesting terrace and inside a single nest box give a unique insight into Roseate Tern behaviour during the breeding season (May-August); this can be viewed remotely on either our 'Coquet LIVE' webpage or on the RSPB website: www.rspb.org.uk/coquetlive
Although there is no public access onto the island, boat trips run from Amble by a local boat company and allow all species to be seen and enjoyed from a safe distance offshore.
Cameras pointing along a nesting terrace and inside a single nest box give a unique insight into Roseate Tern behaviour during the breeding season (May-August); this can be viewed remotely on either our 'Coquet LIVE' webpage or on the RSPB website: www.rspb.org.uk/coquetlive
Life in a roseate tern nest box by RSPB
Bibliography:
Kinchin-Smith, D., Morrison, P. and Redfern, C. (2018) Coquet Island: birds and management for wildlife: 2018. RSPB unpublished document
LIFE (2015) LIFE Nature and Biodiversity Technical Applications Forms. Part A - Administrative information. EU LIFE Roseate Tern Recovery Project
Kinchin-Smith, D., Morrison, P. and Redfern, C. (2018) Coquet Island: birds and management for wildlife: 2018. RSPB unpublished document
LIFE (2015) LIFE Nature and Biodiversity Technical Applications Forms. Part A - Administrative information. EU LIFE Roseate Tern Recovery Project