Roseate terns and Coquet Island have been making headlines in the news lately and here is the explanation on why that is.

















As mentioned in one of our previous blog posts – an exceptional event happened with Coquet Island’s rare breeding roseate terns along with their puffin friends becoming stars with their own live camera feed.

To prevent unnecessary disturbance to these rare breeding seabirds, public access is prohibited to the island. Thanks to support from the LIFE Programme of the European Union and the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Sustainable Development Fund, Coquet Island is now the first ever roseate tern colony streaming live camera footage and it is being streamed on the internet for the whole world to see!

Wesley Davies, resident warden on RSPB Coquet Island, said: “We wanted to be able to share these amazing birds with the public, but what we didn’t realize is that the cameras give better views than we get on the island – with the advantage of not getting pecked.”

“It’s amazing watching the secret lives of puffins and roseate terns – they get up to more than we ever thought.” 

Another amazing experience for the public occurred when a piece of Coquet Island was transplanted to Gateshead Baltic Arts Centre in Newcastle during ‘Creative Conservation Week’ in June!

The week included the island’s newly launched live webcam, informative and engaging art activities for youngsters and a witness the full immersive experience of 360 virtual reality of the puffin colony filmed on Coquet Island!

This impressive piece of technology, filmed by Edinburgh Napier University, allows you to get as close to being a puffin as possible and it really does makes you feel as if you were standing on the island.

One of the main attractions of this event was the night hide which has sheltered the RSPB wardens for 10 years during their 24 hour watches protecting the rare birds against egg thieves!

The night hide was made by award-winning blacksmith Stephen Lunn from Northumberland and the 6ft-by-6ft structure mimics the appearance of the lighthouse on Coquet Island.

Throughout the 10 years, this hide fended off the North Sea and weather; however it took its toll and eventually needed to be replaced. As a result the wardens now have a bigger hide, which has the luxury of glass panes in the windows, a new wood-burner and spins on its base to give an all-round field of vision.

“The old hide gave us 10 good years of service and we hope that the Baltic is not its last foray,” said Wesley. “It went down very well with visitors at the festival in London and its appearance at the Baltic event will give people a taste of what life is like on the island.”

Sources:

Roseate terns and puffins are captured on live camera feed:  http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/local-news/roseate-terns-and-puffins-are-captured-on-live-camera-feed-1-7932816#ixzz4DRpllsTE

Piece of Coquet Island transplanted to Gateshead Baltic arts centre:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/piece-coquet-island-transplanted-gateshead-11410995

There is also a great post on the RSPB Community page by RSPB Principal Policy Officer Euan Dunn. 

Coquet Night Hide Adventures – Bringing the UK’s rarest nesting seabird to the mainland: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/biodiversity/archive/2016/06/23/coquet-night-hide-adventures-bringing-the-uk-s-rarest-nesting-seabird-to-the-mainland.aspx

Courtesy of the amazing LIVE cameras on Coquet Island, we are able to see some fascinating interactions between the nesting Roseate Terns!

In case you missed it, here are some great moments that RSPB Coquet Island have placed on YouTube for you to watch.

Coquet Island, about a mile off the Northumberland coast, is home to internationally important seabird species, including the UKs rarest nesting seabird – the Roseate Tern!

Although Coquet is the only UK colony of roseate terns, The LIFE project aims to reverse this and is supporting many historic and possible new colonies around the UK. It is hoped that this extra support will lead to the re-colonisation of this enigmatic tern. 

There is no public landings are permitted on the island; protecting its fragile habitats and special seabirds. However, as of 21st May 2016, the island is linked to the mainland through live camera feeds.

In the last month these cameras have revealed some amazing secrets from within the colony so far – with courtship displays, scraps, dancing and more. 

In 2014, Coquet Island had 93 nesting pairs, however last year in 2015 they had a spectacular 111 breeding Roseate tern pairs.

Fingers crossed that the Rosys’ fortunes continue to improve in 2016 – check out how they are getting on at www.rspb.org.uk/coquetlive.

Alternatively you can find the link on our website COQUET LIVE page.

Information provided Coquet Warden: Wesley Davies