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'Tern the Tide' is a recipient of the Creative Ireland Programme, which is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and also by Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail as part of the CIÉ Sustainability fund.
Artist’s Laura McMahon, and Mild (Marie Gordon) co-led this project, in parallel to the Little Tern’s visit to ‘The Breaches’ area between Kilcoole and Newcastle beaches in 2024. It involved free artist-led sessions with local adults, expert talks from BirdWatch Ireland, creative citizen science, a creative excursion to the NPSW Little Tern conservation project site, and a culminating sculpture installed at Kilcoole train station. Learn more about the project team.
The ‘Tern the Tide’ sculpture was made using upcycled aluminium metal donated by the team at Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail, and its final design includes 23 colourful birds in flight along the train tracks at Kilcoole station, and a custom Little Tern flag which will fly high during their nesting period. The piece is inspired by the creative sessions which took place with local adults throughout June 2024, the vital conservation work of BirdWatch Ireland, and the fragile but resilient Little Tern population who return to this area in April/May.
Learn more about the project process.
Every year Little Terns migrate to Kilcoole’s shingle beach alongside the Dublin-Rosslare Railway line. These tiny birds weigh around 45-50g, about half the size of a Blackbird - making them the smallest species of terns breeding in Ireland. Little Tern’s prefer to nest on shingle or sometimes sand beaches, making them very vulnerable to poor weather, human disturbance and ground predators.
At the beginning of their nesting period Little Terns can be seen flying around with fish in their beaks performing an elaborate aerial display. The male calls and carries a fish for longer periods to attract a mate, who then chases him up high before he descends, gliding with wings in a "V".
As seabirds that rely on a diet of mainly marine fish, and some crustaceans, this species is a great indicator of wider ecosystem health. If Little Terns are doing well and raising young successfully, it can mean the sea life around their colony is doing well, and has enough fish to support them.
Every year Little Terns migrate to West Africa in the winter, over 5,000km, and return to a number of out-of-the-way sand and shingle beaches around the Irish coast for their nesting periods between May and September.
Adult Little Tern's in Summer have a long yellow bill with black tip, in winter their full bill becomes black.
When the nesting period is finished, before the start of a long migration back to West Africa for the winter, Little Terns tend to visit other shorelines long the Northern Hemisphere. We know this by tracking their flight patterns through ringing and monitoring.
We can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the task of tackling our shared global climate and biodiversity crises, but the NSPW Little Tern conservation project at Kilcoole illustrates perfectly the lengths that conservationists have to go to in order to prevent certain species from going extinct.
The success of vital work like this tackling biodiversity loss and climate change, depends on partnership with local communities, and shows clearly that what we do, really does matter!
When we take science-led deliberate climate action, on a local basis in a consistent manner, we really can turn the tide.
Over 50% of all Irish Bird populations have current listings of red or amber endangered status. The Little Tern Colony at Kilcoole is just one of many conservations BirdWatch Ireland manage across the country.
Become a member of BirdWatch Ireland for as little as €30 a year, to support and grown their vital work.
Quote ‘Tern the Tide’ in the comments as you purchase your membership to received a bespoke recycled notebook from Irish makers Badly Made Books in your welcome pack
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One simple step you can take to help all ground nesting birds across Ireland and their struggling numbers, is to always walk your dog on a leash at the beach during April-September.
Not only a risk in disturbing the nest, the sight of a dog running causes the birds to take off in fright, and disturbs feeding patterns.
When we choose to use active travel we are taking action towards reaching our shared climate action plan targets. For example if you use the train instead of driving on a trip, you save up to 77% on your carbon emissions for that journey.
Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail’s have a detailed ‘Sustainability in Motion’ programme to reduce 51% emissions by 2030
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