Rare bird returns to Northumberland Coast nature reserve for fifth consecutive year

A rare bird which is the only adult record of its species ever to be recorded in the UK has returned to a Northumberland Coast nature reserve for the fifth consecutive year.

Rangers at Long Nanny shorebird site, near Beadnell Bay, first noticed an American black tern was present on the site for a couple of weeks during the summer of 2020. Though the species usually breeds in the US and Canada, as its name suggests, one particular example of the species has returned to the North East ever year since.

It is not known why the bird keeps returning, but rangers expect that it was blown off course in 2020. James Porteous, area ranger for the National Trust at Long Nanny, said: "It's just so interesting that it keeps coming back here, it'll be really interesting to see where it goes in winter, it might possibly go with the Arctic terns who breed at Long Nanny."

• Read more: See the rare moment an Arctic tern lays on egg on the Farne Islands

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At first, the American black tern was shunned by the other birds, but this year has started to show courtship displays such as bringing fish, and has been a little more accepted by the other species.

However, James says it's extremely unlikely that the bird would be able to breed with other terns. He continued: "As far as I know, there haven't been any records of hybridisation between Arctic terns and black terns.

"I think that would be really, really unusual, but theoretically it could happen. It shouldn't, but I suppose it could."

Whether or not the bird does manage to breed, it has provided a boost to the reserve, with birders and twitchers travelling from far and wide to see the tern. James continued: "It's great because we're getting loads and loads of people who are coming specifically to see the American black tern, and that's a really nice opportunity for us to show them the bird.

"It also means they get to see the conservation work that we're doing to protect the other species that breed here as well."

During the breeding season from May to July, rangers camp in the dunes on site and work 24/7, monitoring birds, counting nests, engaging visitors; and most importantly keeping predators away from eggs and chicks. National Trust rangers have done this since the 1970s, with no terns fledging during 2020, when rangers were not able to camp due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

It has been a tough few years for Arctic terns at Long Nanny, which is their largest inland breeding colony in the UK, with a quarter of tern chicks wiped out by bird flu in 2023. However, there have been no signs of bird flu among the Arctic terns so far this year, nor the little terns and ringed plovers which also breed at the site.