Little terns are among the UK's rarest breeding seabirds, nesting on vulnerable shingle and sandy beaches where human disturbance and predation cause severe welfare impacts.
Little terns face intense welfare pressures from beach disturbance. Human intrusion into colonies causes mass flight responses, leaving eggs and chicks exposed to chilling or overheating. Chicks separated from parents in disturbance panics may be trampled or become lost. Repeated disturbance creates chronic stress that impairs immune function in both adults and developing chicks. Predation by foxes, crows, and kestrels can cause rapid chick mortality in poorly wardened colonies. Coastal flooding events caused by storms can wipe out entire clutches, killing eggs and chicks through hypothermia and drowning.