ONE of Europe's rarest breeding sea birds could be brought back from the brink in Northern Ireland following a major island restoration project.
The critically endangered Roseate terns have been in near-terminal decline since the late 1980s.
Blue Circle Island, part of the Royal Society for the Protection of Bird's (RSPB) Larne Lough reserve, is one of the most important sites in Ireland for breeding terns.
However, sea defences on the island collapsed and up to a third of it had eroded through flooding.
Now, a £391,000 of funding, with costs partially covered by the EU-funded Roseate Tern LIFE Recovery Project ,and additional match funding from Tarmac and the RSPB, the charity has been able to lead works to extend the nesting area, making it a prime potential site for a roseate tern colony, ahead of the 2019 breeding season.
While there were between 20 and 35 breeding pairs in Larne Lough between 1985 and 1989, just one pair has been recorded in recent years.
A survey carried out last week by Monika Wojcieszek, a RSPB NI Tern conservation officer, revealed two roseate tern chicks had hatched.
Ms Wojcieszek said it was ""fantastic news that we have two roseate chicks on Blue Circle and we’re hopeful that we can see their numbers increase year on year," she said.
"On the island we have approximately 7,000 birds including common terns, Sandwich terns, common gulls, black-headed gulls, Mediterranean gulls, oystercatchers and black guillemots, but the roseate tern is one of the rarest of all our breeding birds in the UK and Ireland, so it’s fantastic that we have been able to work with partners including Tarmac to complete this work on the island".
