Decoys to deter 'dive-bomb' birds

The rare birds travel thousands of miles to Montrose each year

Decoy birds are to be placed on factory roofs in Angus to deter terns from nesting in unsuitable industrial sites.

The plan, carried out by members of the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) aims to encourage the rare birds to breed on Montrose Basin Local Nature Reserve.

The project was launched after terns, which had made their nests on warehouse roofs, began dive-bombing workers.

Recent years have seen the numbers of terns, which are susceptible to any form of disturbance, sharply decline.

The decoys, made by local school children with the help of SWT rangers, are part of a long term strategy developed by Angus & Tayside Conservation Group to preserve and enhance the tern population in the area.

Another part of the project is a 24-hour protection watch for the little terns on Montrose Beach by conservationists.

By using the decoys, we hope that terns will think other birds are safely nesting within the reserve and will follow suit Neil Mitchell Scottish Wildlife Trust ranger

SWT's Montrose Basin Ranger Neil Mitchell said: "By using the decoys, we hope that terns will think other birds are safely nesting within the reserve and will follow suit.

"The reserve offers greater protection and less disturbance to birds, now we just have wait for the first terns to arrive on our shores to see whether our plan works.

"The area in which the decoys have been placed is under constant surveillance from cameras at the visitor centre.

"If successful the birds will be easily viewed from the Scottish Wildlife Trust's visitor centre at Montrose."

The Arctic tern, little tern and common tern migrate to Montrose each year to feed on the small fish found in abundance in the rich waters around the area.

Making the journey from the Antarctic, the Arctic tern undertakes the longest migration of any bird species in the UK.

While the Arctic and common tern normally nest on open shingle shores, in recent years they have taken up residence on the gravelled surfaces of factories or warehouses roofs where are considered a pest.