Wardening at Cemlyn Nature Reserve in the 1990s
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Ben Stammers was one of the Wardens at Cemlyn Nature reserve in 1994. That year was the last year Roseate terns bred there. The wardening work, because of that, and in comparison to recent years, was very different. Wardening was pretty much a 24hr job, to scare off animal predators, but also to ensure any egg-collectors were thwarted. That year they did have an egg-collecting incident which led to a prosecution. During this period there were more Arctic and Common terns and fewer Sandwich terns compared to the ratios seen in more recent years. He explains why without this work and the space like Cemlyn the likelihood of seeing terns breed in the UK would have been very much reduced. Terns are flexible and will use different available areas, but the range of sites are minimal. The threats to areas they can use each year are ongoing.