Seabirds play an important ecological role in the environment and due to widespread factors affecting these birds, such as competition with fisheries, conservation projects have been developed to help some species. Terns are a group of seabirds which can be found worldwide, and they are highly migratory animals. Common terns (Sterna hirundo) and roseate terns (Sterna dougalli) migrate to Ireland for their breeding season from March to October and their colonies are protected by conservation projects in some areas. With the help of these projects, previous studies have been carried out and have found that while the tern population is increasing, the number of chicks fledged by each pair is decreasing since the year 2000. In this study, we examined dead tern chicks to better understand the factors leading to their death. The majority of the animals showed congestion in the lungs and head simultaneously. Further investigations will be required to confirm the causal factor leading to this congestion, and suggestions have been outlined based on the observations recorded here.
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