The common tern is a graceful seabird, often seen hovering over water before diving for fish. Typically, it's a coastal species found on rocky islands, beaches and marine habitats – but in summer, you might spot this bird migrating to our inland freshwaters.
Common terns and our canals
The common tern are frequent summer visitors to our reservoirs. It arrives in April and often returns to the same site year after year to breed.
How to identify a common tern
The common tern has a slender body with long, pointed wings and a deep forked tail. The adults are pale grey with white undersides and a black cap on the heads.
Sometimes mistaken for the Atlantic tern, the common tern’s red-orange beak tipped with black and matching legs distinguishes it from similar species.
Common tern
What do common terns eat?
Fish is the favourite food of the common tern, particularly small species like sand eels, sprats and minnows. They hunt by hovering above the water’s surface before plunging in to snatch their prey with precision.
How do common terns breed?
Common terns breed in colonies. They’re fairly adaptable but prefer flat, open areas with little vegetation to build their nests. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks, which hatch after three weeks and fledge within a month.
Where do common terns live?
Outside of the breeding season, common terns migrate thousands of miles to spend their winters along the coasts of Africa and South America.
In the UK, terns like to make their homes on inland water bodies. They nest on artificial rafters that provide useful habitats in deep or fluctuating water levels.
Common terns nest at Brent Reservoir.
We have a strong population of the common tern at Brent Reservoir, where we first installed wooden tern rafts in the 1980s, providing island habitats for 44 nesting pairs. We’ve recently installed 14 new island habitats made from recycled plastic for common terns at Brent Reservoir.
Look for them near open water between April and September – they’re often spotted flying low over the surface or perched on a buoy or raft. Their distinctive call, a sharp ‘kee-arr’ sound, can alert you before you see them.
Threats to common terns
Common terns are on the UK conservation Amber list, and numbers have been significantly declining in recent years due to habitat loss and climate change affecting their breeding grounds.
