The Beacon Ponds Little Tern Project has secured £94,000 in funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, safeguarding the future of one of the UK’s most successful Little Tern colonies and ensuring continued protection through the 2026 to 2028 breeding seasons.
30 January 2026
The Beacon Ponds Little Tern Project has secured £94,000 in funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, safeguarding the future of one of the UK’s most successful Little Tern colonies and ensuring continued protection through the 2026 to 2028 breeding seasons.
Delivered by Spurn Bird Observatory in partnership with a range of conservation organisations, the Beacon Ponds project coordinates professional wardening, monitoring and habitat management to protect breeding Little Terns and other vulnerable coastal species.
Little Terns once came close to disappearing from Beacon Ponds altogether. Following decades of targeted protection, the site has become a national conservation success story. In 2025, the colony recorded its most successful season to date, with 105 breeding pairs fledging 107 chicks.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund grant secures core delivery of the project over the next three seasons, including seasonal wardening, nest monitoring, habitat management and public engagement. The funding also supports training for paid and volunteer wardens and ensures that protection measures can be maintained at the level required for continued breeding success.
The project faced a period of uncertainty ahead of the 2026 season when a key historic contribution was confirmed as unavailable. In response, a short public crowdfunding appeal was launched and raised over £10,000, ensuring that the 2026 season can now be delivered at full capacity. Together, public support and National Lottery funding have provided both immediate stability and longer-term security for the project.
Rob Hunton, Manager at Spurn Bird Observatory, said:
“Beacon Ponds is now one of the most important Little Tern sites in the country, but that success depends on sustained, hands-on protection. This funding secures the future of the project and ensures we can continue protecting the colony through the coming seasons. We are hugely grateful both to National Lottery players and to everyone who supported the project when it needed help most.”
Louise Sutherland, Head of Engagement, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“Protecting and strengthening that natural heritage is a key priority for us here at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, so we are incredibly proud to support this project that will help protect the successful colony of Little Terns at Beacon Ponds and celebrate these special seabirds through community engagement."
The Beacon Ponds project also delivers wider benefits, supporting other breeding species such as Ringed Plover and Avocet, and contributing to national monitoring and research programmes.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
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