Good Sandwich tern news from Texel island

This video from Britain is called Sandwich terns return to RSPB Coquet Island.

Translated from Dutch conservation organization Natuurmonumenten:

Record number of Sandwich terns on Texel island

Friday, June 1, 2012

On Texel this year, up to 2900 couples of Sandwich terns nest, for the first time also in Ottersaat nature reserve. This is a fifth of the total breeding population in the Netherlands. The first chicks have already hatched.

The Sandwich tern is a seabird with long, narrow wings, with which it can soar well above the water. The Sandwich tern is recognizable by its black crest and its [black] bill with a small yellow dot at the end. In winter, most Sandwich terns migrate to Africa or southern Europe.

For a long time, bird island Griend was the stronghold of the Sandwich terns. In recent years, this protected species has also settled in other places in the Netherlands, including Texel. Since 2004, there is a breeding colony in nature reserve De Petten. This year for the first time these terns are nesting in two other areas on the island, in ‘t Stoar (an area next to the Petten) and Ottersaat (near Oudeschild village). Unlike the Sandwich terns of Texel, the species is not doing well everywhere. The Sandwich tern is not on the list of endangered species for nothing.

See also here.

Caspian terns in the Netherlands: here.