Four breeding seasons after a deadly bird flu outbreak forced a colony of Sandwich Terns to leave their nesting ground, the seabirds have returned in record numbers, creating one of England's largest breeding sites. Monitoring reports published by Rare Bird Alert confirm that Sandwich Terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis) nested at RSPB Pagham Harbour in West Sussex in unprecedented numbers during the 2026 breeding season. The recovery comes four years after the highly infectious H5N1 strain of avian influenza badly affected seabird colonies across the UK. The outbreak killed large numbers of adults and chicks and forced surviving birds to leave long-established nesting areas. The return to Pagham Harbour is one of the most notable conservation recoveries along England's southern coast and an important sign of resilience for coastal wildlife.
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