Priority Species Spotlight: Roseate Tern
Beautiful blushing seabirds – discover how we’re working to help rare ‘Rosies’ come soaring back.
Conservation StatusRed(Birds of Conservation Concern)
UK population StatusRecovering but vulnerable
Main ThreatsFood shortages, predation, unsustainable fishing, disturbance, climate change
Get to know Roseate Terns
Named for the flush of pale pink on their breast in the breeding season, Roseate Terns, or ‘Rosies’, are one of the rarest breeding seabirds in the UK. These elegant seabirds have pale, pearly grey upperparts, a black bill and cap, bright orange legs and long, white tail streamers. In the breeding season, the base of a mature Roseate Tern’s bill can turn red. They also have a distinctive ‘ch-wick' call, quite distinct from other UK tern species.
Roseate Terns are migratory, arriving in the UK in early May before spending the winter months over 6,000 km away in the Gulf of Guinea, mostly wintering in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia. They feed in cold water upwellings along the West African coast.
In the UK there’s only one breeding colony located off England’s Northumberland coast, on our very own RSPB Coquet Island nature reserve.
Two further colonies are in Ireland, and studies have shown some movement of birds between these three nature reserves.
In 2026, our team on Coquet Island celebrated a record year for Roseate Tern nests, with 155 pairs recorded on the reserve. That’s the highest in 50 years. However, long-term declines overall in the UK and their restricted number of breeding sites mean that Roseate Terns need our protection.
Would you like to see a Rosie for yourself?
Boat trips run out of Amble, giving you the chance to see Roseate Terns and other seabirds up close, without disturbing the colony. You can also spot them from the coast in late summer and early autumn, as birds leave Coquet Island and move south along the east coast. Or even watch them from the comfort of your own home via our webcams during the nesting season!
A fetching family
Roseate Terns are related to Arctic and Common Terns. Together, this group of birds has earned the nickname ‘Sea Swallows’ due to their elegant appearance.
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Why are Roseate Terns in trouble?
Numbers of the UK and Ireland’s Roseate Terns fell dramatically in the 1970s and early 1980s. A significant reason for this was threats at their wintering grounds around West Africa. Here, a collapse in fish stocks was exacerbated by unsustainable fishing and people were also trapping birds for food and for sport. In the 1970s, Coquet Island reached a low point of just 16 breeding pairs of Roseate Terns.
Our teams have played a key role in identifying these reasons for the decline, and then in the subsequent education and conservation programmes, both on the wintering and breeding grounds. These efforts are helping to turn around their decline.
A 114% population increase was recorded in the UK between the Seabird 2000 census, and 2023’s Seabirds Count census, due almost entirely to an increasing population on Coquet Island. The increase was a result of birds that hatched on the island returning to breed there, and some immigration from the larger Irish colonies.
However, at other past breeding sites the species has failed to return, and the Roseate Tern population remains restricted in range and vulnerable to a variety of threats.
Roseate Terns are Red-listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern.
So, why are Roseate Terns struggling?
The species faces a number of key challenges, including:
Roseate Terns, like many other seabirds, nest on off-shore islands to avoid terrestrial predators which are present on the mainland. However, if invasive non-native species like Brown Rats or American Mink, reach these seabird islands the consequences can be devastating. This is especially so for ground-nesting species like terns, whose eggs and chicks are easily predated, ultimately leading to the colony being destroyed.
Maintaining biosecurity for seabird islands is therefore of paramount importance, and we have developed a biosecurity plan to identify and reduce the risks.
Roseate Terns can also face stiff competition for nesting sites from native species like the larger gull species. When gull numbers grow, they can push Roseate Terns out of a colony entirely, forcing them to find new places to nest.
Like many beach-nesting birds, disturbance by humans is also a concern, reducing the suitability of nesting sites. Thanks to years of habitat and nest site management, Roseate Terns on Coquet Island have a safe haven to breed away from human disturbance but as the birds spread to new sites on the mainland disturbance could become more of an issue.
Having so few breeding colonies in the UK and Ireland means that the population of Roseate Terns is highly vulnerable. Any significant threat to the few remaining colonies could have devastating consequences for the Roseate Tern population of UK and Ireland.
Like many seabirds, Roseate Terns also face a number of threats as a result of climate change. Rising sea levels and increased storminess are eroding the coastal nesting sites they depend on, while freak weather events pose an added risk to breeding colonies.
Climate change is also having a significant impact on seabird food supplies. Warmer seas can reduce the numbers and nutritional quality of fish like sandeels and storms can make it difficult for the terns to catch fish. Roseate Terns carry food items back to their chicks one-by-one, so every meal requires its own foraging trip. Less abundant, lower quality food means Roseate Terns are working harder for every meal they bring back.
Roseate Terns are one of many seabird species which have been severely affected by avian flu, which has developed and spread around the world in the last few years. The virus had a significant impact on the species in the UK and Ireland in 2022 and 2023.
During that time, a decline of at least 21% in ‘apparently occupied nests’ was recorded on Coquet Island. However, a recovery in the number of pairs and high numbers of successfully fledged chicks in 2024, 2025 and 2026 are a cause for hope, and it would seem that adult birds have developed a degree of immunity to the virus.
How is the RSPB helping Roseate Terns?
The historic decline of Roseate Terns was the result of multiple factors spread across countries and continents. That means that there’s no quick fix. Nevertheless, we’re working with partners to help deliver a rosier future for these special seabirds.
Here’s just a few of the ways we’re helping Roseate Terns.
Coquet Island
Coquet Island is home to 40,000 breeding seabirds including vulnerable Puffins and, of course, the UK’s only colony of Roseate Terns. Our work is carefully planned to maintain and enhance the island by ensuring that the nesting habitat is in prime condition, undisturbed by people and protected from predators.
Biosecurity measures include monitoring for signs of invasive non-native species, and deploying a rodent detection dog to check any bulky cargo that needs to be moved to the island to ensure that there are no stowaways.
Intensive monitoring of the colony on Coquet Island means we know the outcome for each nest every year. Roseate Terns are unusual in the tern world because they like to nest in crevices or under cover. They have readily taken to the nest boxes and tern terraces we provide, which are artificial structures that simulate the crevices they prefer. These provide protection from the weather but also allow us to monitor them more effectively.
The island is afforded Sanctuary status so is not open to visitors, as any landing in the breeding season can disturb nesting seabirds. However, it’s possible to enjoy the wildlife from a boat tour around the island. In addition, for those based further away, people can enjoy viewing the seabirds from several webcams. These cameras capture nesting terns on the Roseate Tern terrace, within a Roseate Tern nest box and most recently, there’s now a webcam inside an artificial Puffin burrow.
Working to support other colonies
As the Roseate Tern population is quite vulnerable in the UK, we’re working closely with BirdWatch Ireland, who manage the two other colonies in the British Isles including Rockabill, near Dublin – which is the largest colony of breeding Roseate Terns in Northwest Europe. Through an EU funded Roseate Tern LIFE Recovery Project (2015-2020), we led on a multi-partnership project which focused on protecting the three existing colonies and restoring historical Roseate Tern sites across the four countries of the UK and Ireland.
At the historical sites where Roseate Terns used to breed, we’ve been enhancing the Common Tern colonies present. As these species often breed alongside each other, doing so creates the potential for new Roseate Tern colonies to establish themselves. Habitat management, biosecurity and protection from disturbance are also key management activities at these sites.
Research
Licenced bird ringers put a ring with a unique combination of letters and numbers onto the leg of every chick hatched on Coquet Island. This provides insights into the life story of each individual, whether located at other breeding colonies, wintering grounds, or on their migration routes. This helps us understand the population demographics – including the age and origin of the birds, how long they live, where and when they breed.
During the Roseate Tern LIFE Project, the ringing and resighting data of Roseate Terns across the three colonies in the UK and Ireland was analysed to help us understand the dynamics of this metapopulation and this will help direct our conservation management decisions.
This research has also helped answer important questions about ongoing threats. Working with partners, we investigated whether trapping at the wintering grounds in West Africa was still a concern for Roseate Terns. We found that it still happens, but is less systematic than in the past. Combined with insights from the metapopulation study, this suggests survival rates remain good, and that trapping is less likely to be significantly affecting the UK and Ireland population today.
Giving Roseate Terns a voice
We campaign for nature-positive action on behalf of Roseate Terns and other seabirds. For example, we successfully called for the closure of industrial sandeel fisheries in English waters of the North Sea and all Scottish waters. We hope this will provide a boost to all seabird species on Coquet Island and in the wider region.
In addition, our work on nature-positive wind energy aims to support the development of off-shore wind in the places that’ll have least impact on wildlife and sensitive marine habitats.
To find out more about our work towards species recovery, visit our ‘Protecting Species Under Threat’ web page.
Is there anything I can do to help our terns?
There certainly is!
Volunteer with us
If you can, why not volunteer and help with surveys, habitat restoration and monitoring to support threatened species? It’s a great way to get outdoors, meet new people and help nature firsthand. Please get in touch with the Species Volunteer Network at speciesvolunteernetwork@rspb.org.uk to discover opportunities near you.
Support our conservation work
Can’t volunteer? No problem. You can still support our work to help save the Roseate Terns and other threatened wildlife with the gift of a one-off donation or by joining our flock of nearly 1.2 million fantastic RSPB members.
Report sightings of sick or injured birds
Avian flu can severely impact many of our most vulnerable bird species, including Roseate Terns. If you see a sick or dead bird, reporting your sighting is critical for helping us track the latest outbreaks. Visit our avian flu web page to find out more.
Taking species on a journey to recovery
Helping species to reach a healthy conservation status is a journey. Each journey is tailored to the species in question, but shares four stages:
1. DiagnosisIdentifying there's a problem, and researching to find out what's causing it
2. Testing solutionsDeveloping practical solutions and trialling them to make sure they work
3. RecoveryProviding these solutions across the whole range of the species
4. Long-term legacyReaching improved conservation status and securing a long-term legacy for the species’ recovery
Recovery
As of 2026, our work to help Roseate Terns is at the ‘Recovery’ stage of the species recovery curve. Over the decades we’ve worked to test conservation solutions and we’re implementing these to support population recovery.
Find out more about our work with threatened species by visiting Protecting species under threat.
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Thank you!
We’d like to say a big RSPB thank you to all our amazing volunteers and members. Without your support, our work to conserve and restore fantastic species like our brilliant blushing Roseate Terns simply couldn’t happen.
We’d also like to thank our partners in the Roseate Tern LIFE Project and at Birdwatch Ireland. Their expertise and enthusiasm enables us to give Roseate Terns a fighting chance.
Together, we fly.