Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Breeding) [EN(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Sterna dougallii |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Montagu, 1813 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Rare breeder at single site. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | single colony in England. Recent HPAI impacts. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Single England colony |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Manage current breeding site (Coquet ) in optimal condition through management that directly impacts this species, including predation, biosecurity/disease management, disturbance, nesting habitats and species competition.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Coquet
Comments: Priority one
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Identify and improve management of colonies of Common Tern (a ‘carrier’ or ‘associated’ species) that have high productivity, provisioning rates and diets that would indicate suitability for colonisation within the expected Roseate Tern range. Provide nest boxes and trial attractants to attract Roseate Terns to new colonies.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Farnes, Saltholme, Hodbarrow, N Norfolk Solent
Comments: Priority two
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Establish an effective marking programme that remains in place to understand population dynamics and ecology.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Coquet
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.