Arctic terns have returned to one of Scotland’s most important seabird islands after an absence last year.
More than 100 of the Red Listed birds have been spotted displaying over the Isle of May, the species’ only colony in the Firth of Forth.
Staff on the NatureScot reserve have welcomed their return after the birds failed to come back from migration to breed on the island last year.
NatureScot have now installed conservation measures to reduce disturbance from people to help the birds nest successfully.
An observation hide has been erected, with improvements made to the birds’ breeding habitats and some areas roped or fenced off.
Signs at tern breeding areas now warn visitors that the birds can abandon their chicks and eggs when disturbed and ask “please do not enter”.
David Steel, NatureScot’s reserve manager, said: “These incredible birds have been away for the winter as the entire population migrates to the Antarctic.
“This is major news as last year they failed to return and did not breed on the island.”
Each spring, the Isle of May becomes home to up to 200,000 birds including terns, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, shags, kittiwakes, fulmars, oystercatchers, gulls and eider ducks.
Arctic Terns travel further than any other bird on the planet, as they breed in the northern hemisphere on small islands like the Isle of May and head south to over-winter off the pack-ice of the Antarctic.
It’s an incredible journey, which they could potentially repeat over 30 times in their lifetime.
Arctic terns on the Isle of May make their nests in small depressions in the ground.
Pairs lay clutches of 2-3 eggs, which once hatched take just 21-24 days to fledge.
The birds start to depart the island in early August and begin one of the world’s most incredible journeys.
In 2024, the colony came under threat from a short-eared owl that feasted on the chicks in a series of nighttime raids. Mr Steel warned at the time that the terns could abandon the site and not return.
