Damara Tern

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Damara Tern Research Namibia

The Damara tern is a very special seabird species to Namibia (with more than 80% of the world population breeding along our shores). It is known to be a summer breeding species (Oct to Feb) that winters in central Africa (Nigeria to Ghana) after the breeding season. However, in southern Namibia monitoring showed that a significant proportion of these birds do not migrate at all and seem to be breeding throughout winter based on observations of newly fledged juveniles. Whether they perform any movements at all in winter, whether they are completely segregated from conspecifics from other parts of Namibia, and where they actually breed is unknown. Information about the population in Southern Namibia is needed for adequate conservation in the region.

The YourTern Project (yourtern.org) aims to fill these specific knowledge gaps that exist around Damara Terns to adequately inform the Namibian “Damara Tern Species Action Plan”. We therefor colourring various groups of Damara Terns along the Namibian and South African coasts by capturing them on the nest and on day-roosts. Furthermore, we organize expeditions along the Namibian coasts to search for evidence of winter breeding in this species. A further aim of the YourTern Project is to develop an evidence-based outreach program targeted at school children to improve nature awareness and stimulate nature conservation from an early age onwards. This material is developed based on Social Marketing theories and consists of attractive and interactive material such as comics and board games. We collaborate with scientists of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET.org).

Stay tuned for reports, articles and news from the field on the website and our facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/YourTernProject).