ONE of Britain's rarest seabirds has set new breeding records on the North-East coast.

The success of the little terns in producing 105 young has been helped by a combination of businesses, ecologists and volunteers.

Forty-seven pairs of little terns nested on the Durham and Cleveland shoreline, with the main area being Crimdon Dene.

The 105 chicks were twice as many as usual and believed to be unprecedented in northern England.

To ensure success, nesting sites on the beach were protected from predators and disturbance by people.

The work was done by members of the Industry Nature Conservation Association (Inca), which is based at the Wilton International chemical complex on Teesside, and Natural England's Dene Team, based at Castle Eden Nature Reserve, in east Durham, backed by volunteers.

Funding for the project came from North-East companies Able UK and Home Housing.

This year's breeding results have been particularly important because little terns have been in decline since the Sixties.

Geoff Barber, senior conservation officer with Inca, said: "These amazing little birds migrate all the way from West Africa and like to nest on the beach, where they are close to their food source of small fish.

"But Crimdon Dene mouth is perhaps not the best choice if you're a little tern wanting a quiet, undisturbed place to raise young chicks.

"It's a popular beach for holidaymakers and for locals to walk their dogs or have a jog. It might seem tranquil enough to us, but all that human activity can be extremely stressful for breeding birds."

He believes that this year's record number of fledged chicks is down in part to a combination of a warm spring, which produced a lot of small fish, allowing the birds to be fed. That resulted in two healthy chicks per nest, rather than the usual one.

The season did have setbacks and in June the first 15 clutches of eggs were taken by hedgehogs.

However, thanks to warden Trevor Stephenson and his team of volunteers, the birds have thrived, with breeding areas fenced off for increased protection.

There was also a watch kept over the nests, not just from the team, but by local people and bird enthusiasts.

Natural England's Mike Leakey, site manager at Teesmouth National Nature Reserve, said: "It just shows what can be achieved when everyone - businesses, conservationists, volunteers and people with a keen interest in the little terns - work together to ensure success."

A visit to a Teesside company resulted in an excellent sighting of orchids.

Inca ecologists were called in by steel company Corus to examine flowers found on its site, resulting in the discovery of 48 bee orchids, which have died out in many other areas of the UK