New hope flies high for Fairy Terns

One good tern deserves another this World Wildlife Day.

For the first time since 2020, 65 critically endangered fairy tern chicks have fledged at a newly extended breeding site on Phillip Island (Millowl)

The breeding site is now the size of two MCG stadiums and extends the seabirds’ breeding habitat further from the shoreline, after high tides inundated nests in 2023.

With guidance from Birdlife Australia, the project team consisting of Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and Phillip Island Nature Parks, monitored the colony’s progress after undertaking extensive conservation works including pest control, weed control and revegetation to expand the fairy terns’ breeding habitat.

The project was supported by a $55,000 investment from DEECA’s Nature Fund and led by co-investor Phillip Island Nature Parks, along with partners the Penguin Foundation and Melbourne Water. Fairy tern monitoring by Birdlife Australia was also supported with a $15,000 DEECA Icon Species grant.

The Nature Fund aims to drive non-government co-investment into projects that benefit biodiversity like this, leveraging private and philanthropic investment to protect our natural environment.