The breeding season continues a pace on the island. However, firstly I must break some bad news. In my last blog piece I reported that the island was playing host to 23 Avocets the highest breeding number in some time, however between the dates 14th to the 16th of July all the nests where predated. One particular Herring gull was believed to be the cause of the predation, Avocets can be quite adept at chasing away predators when they swoop in but once the predator realises it can walk into the colony, the colonies chance of fledgling any young drops dramatically. Sadly, it is far too late in the season for any relays. However, having seen the gulls “modus operandi” I have some plans for next year that may help the Avocets and deter the gulls.
So moving on, there are still lots of Common gull chicks around, some approaching a good size. I do worry that there appears to be very little activity in the colony i.e. parents feeding their young but the chicks continue to grow and at the last count there where at least six still alive. Viewing of them can be tough, given that they spend most of there time tucked in the gorse but this is no bad thing as it keeps them safe. Sadly, several nest where lost in the big tides last weekend but this was to be expected. Some have even re-laid out in the middle of the lagoons. At least one pair is present on Belpers and another on Cottage flood.
The first large gull fledgling was noted on Sunday the 20th of June. Gulls have a funny way of welcoming their young into the world of flight, generally it involves a good “kicking”. Assumedly, the adults mis-associate the young with a potential nest predator and therefore try to drive it away. Juvenile gulls are a speckled brown colour and could easily be mistaken for a predator by a worried parent. However, the Herring and Lesser black backed Gulls are bucking the national trend and continue to do well on Havergate. Most nests contain at least 2 chicks and in some cases more. Both the Lesser and Herring Gulls found on Havergate are of significant conservation importance. Indeed Herring gulls are a red listed species, this tops even the Avocet which is only Amber listed. This is due to a 50 percent decline in the breeding population in 25 years, even more worryingly this currently cannot be explained. This may come as a surprise to many who consider the Herring gull to be close to the level of vermin. Even the Lesser’s are specially protected as the British sub species is restricted to just 10 breeding sites in England.
One of our lesser spotted and less celebrated species but one that is of national importance due to its scarcity is the ground lackey moth. Which breeds at high densities in our salt marshes, well we conducted the count last week and the number was 154. An increase from last year, therefore we can conclude that our Saltmarsh is healthy. I’ll try and post a picture of one of their fantastic “tents” that the caterpillars construct.
Migration is quiet at this time of the season, most things are away and breeding but there are still regular visits from Spoonbills, soon we should start to see the build up of our post breeding flock and yes, the Flamingo is still here......