Senseless

This morning I am angry. Near to my home is a breeding colony for Little Terns. It is clearly marked and fenced off. It is there every year so local people are aware and keep their dogs under control away from the area to allow the birds to breed.

These birds are in rapid decline and last year 110 pairs of these rare seabirds nested there and no chicks were bred due to natural predation. This year only 65 pairs came all the way from west Africa to breed there. Their eggs were two-thirds of the way through their incubation.

This morning it was discovered that all 50 eggs had been taken from the nests. This is a potential disaster and could lead to the end of the colony there.

I can’t think of words bad enough to describe the low-life who did this – and for what purpose? Egg collection was something that children did when I was little. I don’t agree with it but some children at school had one egg of each type. I can only think that this ‘collector’ plundered those nests with a view to selling the eggs to other so-called ‘collectors’. I just hope and pray that someone knows who it is and shops them so that they can feel the full power of the law.

But for those potential Little Terns it is too late. They will never hatch to take their chance with their natural predators and the seabirds move one step closer to extinction.