From Zero to 756 Pairs: Sandwich Terns Return to an English Harbour

In 2022, the Sandwich tern colony at RSPB Pagham Harbour in West Sussex fell silent. Highly pathogenic avian influenza swept through, and the island colony was completely abandoned. This year, at least 756 breeding pairs came back.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reported that 570 Sandwich tern fledglings were recorded at the reserve in 2026. BirdGuides described it as one of the largest colonies in England.

How the comeback happened

The recovery did not happen by chance. The RSPB says reserve staff and volunteers put in years of work alongside the Solent Seascape Project, a partnership restoring habitats along this stretch of England's south coast.

Pagham Harbour has three islands that support breeding Sandwich terns, and each needs significant care every year. The work includes clearing selected vegetation so nesting ground is ready for returning birds, checking for rats, maintaining predator-exclusion fencing, and keeping watch through patrols and remote cameras.

Volunteers and rangers have also talked with visitors about how easily ground-nesting birds can be disturbed, and dog-friendly exercise areas have been set up away from the nests.

"It's taken several years of dedicated conservation action, but the situation began to 'tern' around last year, and the site is now thriving with record-breaking populations using it," Wez Smith, senior project manager for the RSPB, told Good News Network.

Good news for neighbours too

The terns are not the only winners. At Pagham Harbour, black-headed gull fledglings rose from 51 in 2025 to 504 in 2026, and little tern fledglings climbed from 21 to 34. The RSPB also reported increases in ringed plovers and oystercatchers across parts of the Solent.

Avocets had a strong season as well. Eighteen pairs nested on newly created islands in the reserve's Ferry Pool lagoon, an area where only one or two pairs had nested in a handful of earlier years.

Why it matters

Bird flu has hit seabirds hard across Britain and beyond. Pagham shows that, with the right habitat and protection, colonies can recover faster than many feared.

The RSPB stresses that ongoing management will remain essential. For now, the chatter of terns over Pagham Harbour is a welcome sound again.