It was once said that if you ‘buy a Sandwich Tern colony and make it into a nature reserve…they will probably repay you by nesting somewhere else the following year’. 

​Rob Hume’s comments were telling.  Between 2012 and 2016, the average breeding population of Sandwich Terns at Cemlyn was 2400 pairs of adult birds, raising nearly 1000 chicks each year.  The Cemlyn Sandwiches are, or were, 20% of the UK population for Sandwich Terns and 3% of the whole world population.  They were also the only Sandwich Tern colony in Wales.  This year Cemlyn is relatively peaceful and the loud, discordant calls of ‘ERIC’ which normally announce the arrival of summer to northern Anglesey are quieter than usual.  What’s happened?

Sandwich Terns are the largest and heaviest of the British breeding species of terns but are, despite their size, fairly timid when defending their nests and react strongly to disturbance, predation and, it would seem to human eyes, mere whim.
 
In 2017, the fast growth of the Sandwich Tern colony at Cemlyn, raised concerns that there might be competition for nesting space with Cemlyn’s other species of terns.  Artificial rafts were put into place on Cemlyn’s lagoon to provide ‘overspill’ nesting sites for any Common and Arctic terns displaced by their larger cousins however, as it turned out, the additional nesting sites were not needed.  The summer of 2017 saw a complete break in Sandwich Tern nesting due (mostly), to predation and disturbance by a family of otters and other disturbances; other species added further disturbance.  Breeding failed and by early June of 2017, all the adult Sandwich Terns dispersed away from Cemlyn and northern Anglesey without raising young.
 
Cemlyn is part of a European network of sites for birds and wildlife habitats; the Natura 2000 network. Each of these sites has a bespoke management plan aimed at protecting, conserving and building resilience for wildlife and natural habitats.  For Cemlyn, the statutory management plan includes specific goals of providing nesting habitat for terns, whether or not they are present. 

​In accordance with this management plan and the long term international goals of tern protection and management, early in 2018, the North Wales Wildlife Trust undertook a number of projects including building climate change resilience , predator ‘proofing’ for nesting habitats and non-lethal control of predators.  This work was funded through the LIFE Programme of the European Union and the project ‘improving the conservation prospects of the priority species, the Roseate Tern, throughout its’ range in the UK and Ireland’. 

Despite these efforts and the creation of new and safer nesting habitat, 2018 has again been a truly remarkable year – but for the wrong reasons.  This year, Sandwich Terns have returned to Cemlyn in much lower numbers and we’re not yet quite sure where these truly beautiful birds with the dreadful screechy voices might have gone, although Hodbarrow in Cumbia is having a bumper year. There are many factors that influence tern distribution and breeding success, not least being changing climate and weather around their breeding grounds in north-western Europe but also in their over-wintering territories in West Africa.
 
The late winter of 2017/18 saw the arrival of the so called ‘Beast from the East’, a prolonged period of extreme cold across the UK.  Whilst this cold would not have directly affected Sandwich terns that, at the time, would have still been in their winter quarters around the coasts of West Africa, the extreme cold and prevalence of northerly and easterly winds may have affected their northward migration as well as sea temperatures and fish distribution.  Terns arriving in the UK after long and arduous migrations rely on sand eels to ‘refuel’ before breeding, present to their mates as incentives to breeding and ultimately- to feed young chicks. 

​In the Spring of 2018, north easterly winds continued to dominate weather patterns and informal discussions with sea anglers and charter boat fishermen around Anglesey’s coasts reported an absence of sand eels in coastal areas as well as unusually cold water temperatures in April and May.  It may be that as the summer progresses, the sand eels and small fish which form the basis of the terns’ feeding will return however, it may be too late to encourage large numbers of Sandwich Terns to settle and breed at Cemlyn this year.

Mae posib clywed sawl ymateb i’r newyddion yma; ‘Beth yw hynny?’ neu ‘Beth yw’r ots?!’
 
Natura 2000 – Beth yw hynny?
Mae rhwydwaith Natura 2000 o safleoedd yn ffurfio rhwydwaith unigryw yn fyd-eang o ardaloedd wedi’u gwarchod sy’n ymestyn ar draws yr Undeb Ewropeaidd. Yn ymestyn o gyrion Môr yr Iwerydd i’r Môr Du yn y Dwyrain, Môr y Canoldir yn y de a Chylch yr Arctig yn y Gogledd, dynodir Safleoedd Natura o dan y ddau ddarn mwyaf dylanwadol o ddeddfwriaeth Ewropeaidd sy’n rhoi sylw i gadwraeth natur a’r amgylchedd.  
 
Mae’r Gyfarwyddeb Adar yn gwarchod pob aderyn gwyllt, eu nythod, eu hwyau a’u cynefinoedd yn yr Undeb Ewropeaidd. Mae safleoedd o’r enw Ardaloedd Gwarchodaeth Arbennig yn cael eu dosbarthu o dan y Gyfarwyddeb Adar er mwyn gwarchod adar sy’n brin neu’n agored i niwed yn Ewrop, gan gynnwys adar mudo rheolaidd ac ymwelwyr. Dynodir safleoedd o’r enw Ardaloedd Cadwraeth Arbennig o dan Gyfarwyddeb Cynefinoedd Ewrop ar gyfer cynefinoedd a bywyd gwyllt heb fod yn adar. Gyda’i gilydd, mae’r Ardaloedd Gwarchodaeth Arbennig a’r Ardaloedd Cadwraeth Arbennig yn ffurfio rhwydwaith Natura 2000. 

Mae creu Ardal Gwarchodaeth Arbennig botensial yn dod ag ardal newydd fawr o arfordir a dyfroedd mewndirol Ynys Môn yn rhan o rwydwaith Natura 2000 ac o dan ddylanwad deddfwriaeth Ewropeaidd a chartref, yn ogystal â chreu cyfrifoldebau newydd i bobl sy’n gwneud penderfyniadau ac i gymunedau yn yr ardal. 
 
Mae’r môr-lyn yng Nghemlyn nid yn unig yn rhan o Ardal Gwarchodaeth Arbennig botensial Môr-wenoliaid Ynys Môn ond hefyd wedi’i ddynodi fel Ardal Cadwraeth Arbennig. Yn cael ei ystyried fel y môr-lyn arfordirol hallt gorau yng Nghymru, mae môr-lyn Cemlyn yn gynefin Ewropeaidd blaenoriaeth sy’n gartref i nifer o rywogaethau prin ac arbenigol, gan gynnwys cocos y môr-lyn a malwen y llaid y môr-lyn. 
 
Yn y DU ac yma yng Nghemlyn, efallai ein bod yn cyrraedd blwyddyn olaf ein haelodaeth lawn o’r Undeb Ewropeaidd ac mae Diwrnod Natura 2000 2018 yn cynnig cyfle i adlewyrchu yn ogystal â dathlu. Mae’r dyfodol yn ansicr o hyd i rwydwaith Natura 2000 yn y DU ond bydd y goblygiadau i integriti rhwydwaith Natura 2000 yn gyffredinol ac i’n bywyd gwyllt a’n cynefinoedd ni’n ddwys.            
 
Ar yr 21ain Mai 2018, bydd Ymddiriedolaeth Natur Gogledd Cymru, fel rhan o Brosiect LIFE y Fôr-wennol Wridog, yn nodi Diwrnod Natura 2000 yng Ngwarchodfa Cemlyn yng Ngogledd Ynys Môn.                 

There could be a number of responses to that news; ‘What’s that?’ or ‘so what!’

​Natura 2000 - What’s that?
The Natura 2000 network of sites forms a globally unique network of protected areas stretching across the European Union.  Extending from the fringes of the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea in the East, the Mediterranean Sea in the south and the Arctic Circle in the North, Natura Sites are designated under two of the most influential pieces of European legislation dealing with nature conservation and the environment.
 
The Birds Directive protects all wild birds, their nests, eggs and habitats within the European Union.  Sites called Special Protection Areas or SPAs are classified under the Birds Directive to protect birds that are rare or vulnerable in Europe, including regular migrants and visitors.  Sites called Special Areas of Conservation or SACs are designated under the European Habitats Directive for habitats and non-bird wildlife.  Together, Special Protection Areas and Special Conservation Areas form the Natura 2000 network. 

Natura 2000 at North Wales Wildlife Trust’s Reserve at Cemlyn, Anglesey
On 10th June 1992, the UK’s Secretary of State for the Environment classified sites at Ynys Feurig, Cemlyn Bay and The Skerries on Anglesey as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the ‘Birds Directive’.  The focus for these designations were that the three combined sites supported ‘populations of breeding Roseate Tern (at the time given as three pairs or 4.7% of the GB breeding population), Common Tern (189 pairs or 1.5% of the GB breeding population), Arctic Tern (1290 pairs representing at least 2.9% of the then GB breeding population), and Sandwich Tern (460 pairs representing 3.3% of the GB breeding population at that time). 
 
In 2008, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW)- as the statutory nature conservation in Wales, published a Management Plan for the Ynys Feurig, Cemlyn Bay and The Skerries SPA.  Its’ vision included the statement that ‘the Site should contribute to the breeding tern population within the Irish Sea and that the Site’s integrity as a breeding site for Roseate Tern, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern and Common Tern should be maintained - even in years where one or more of the nesting species fails to be present
 
In June 2015, Natural Resources Wales (as the successors to CCW), made a formal proposal to Welsh Government to extend and reclassify the Ynys Feurig, Cemlyn Bay and Skerries SPA and to rename it as the Anglesey Terns SPA.  The new boundary for the SPA includes, in addition to the original three sites, extensive marine areas around the western, northern and eastern coasts of Anglesey (101,931.08 hectares in all).  Interestingly the figures provided to Welsh Government in 2015 for the numbers of breeding terns around the north coast of Anglesey were exactly the same as those provided in 1992.  Early in 2017 Welsh Government ‘approved’ the proposed new boundary which is now legally considered as a potential SPA or pSPA.  

The creation of a pSPA brings a large new area of Anglesey’s coastline and inshore waters into the Natura 2000 network and under the influence of European and domestic legislation as well as creating new responsibilities for decision makers and communities in the area. 
 
The lagoon at Cemlyn is not only part of the Anglesey Terns pSPA but is also designated as a Special Conservation Area.  Considered to be the finest saline coastal lagoon in Wales, Cemlyn’s lagoon is a priority European habitat supporting a number of rare and specialised species including the lagoon cockle and the lagoonal mud-snail.
 
 In the UK and here at Cemlyn, we may be entering our last year of full European Union membership. and Natura 2000 Day 2018 offers a chance for reflection as well as celebration.  What the future holds for the Natura 2000 network in the UK is still unknown but the implications for the integrity of the Natura 2000 network as a whole and for our wildlife and habitats will be profound. 
 
On the 21st May 2018, North Wales Wildlife Trust will, as part of the Roseate Tern LIFE Project, be marking Natura 2000 Day at the Cemlyn Reserve in Northern Anglesey.
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