“Apart from the sound, one person likes it, another is bothered by it, they are quite aggressive during the breeding period,” says Samantha Strooband from the municipality in the radio program Zeeland Wakes Up. “They do everything they can to protect their nest or young. They can then take a dive and in the past someone has been injured.”
To prevent this, the municipality has provided more breeding grounds on the edge of the city, such as a floating breeding ground in the water. “And then we just hope that they fly there,” according to Strooband. They already did that last year, but it remains to be seen whether they will suddenly find a new hotspot.
To encourage birds to go to the designated places, it must be ensured that the center is less attractive for breeding. That is important, according to Strooband, because: “It is a protected bird species, so once it breeds you are not allowed to do anything.” And according to her, doing nothing is the wisest thing to do, as the common terns cannot simply be chased away, but can become quite aggressive.
