cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/46400676

A specially designed raft has been launched on the east coast of Scotland to create new homes for vulnerable seabirds.

Dubbed the “Maid of Sterna Stuff III”, the raft is moored within the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve and will provide nesting habitat for over 100 common terns.

Scotland’s seabirds face numerous threats, including from climate change and overfishing, while in recent years they have suffered further declines as a result of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (bird flu). No terns bred on the reserve’s previous raft in 2021 or 2022, however their numbers have climbed steadily since, and in 2025, around 140 chicks fledged as the species continues its recovery from the devastating disease.