I have now been the South Suffolk Coast warden for 5 months, and what a 5 months it has been!
I have learnt the ropes on October Storm, our visitor boat without too much drama and got to know Havergate Island pretty well now. I have met many visitors who have spent time on the island all of whom have really enjoyed themselves and had a very special day seeing the birds, hares and other wildlife.
I had heard and seen the photos of the island after the incredible 2013 tidal surge and the damage it had caused, but when I arrived I could see the wonderful recovery the island had made and I could see that it had had no effect on the birds choosing to breed and feed or the insects that had obviously managed to survive. The recovery of the brown hares has been fantastic and the island is now alive with wintering wildfowl on the lagoons, waders on the small islands in the lagoons and huge numbers of geese.
I am now also going to be lucky enough to help get the islands infrastructure back up and running with a new hide taking the place of reception hide and gullery hide which were both damaged beyond repair. The new hide will offer a great view over two neighboring lagoons and give us another central point to welcome visitors onto the island.
The highlights for November have included 170 canada geese, nearly 600 wigeon, 800 Teal, over 100 Pintail, 230 Black tailed godwit, flocks of Dunlin, Avocet, Golden Plover, 4 Spoonbill are sticking around, Hen harrier and Marsh harrier to name but a few.
We have had a taste of winter the past couple of days, I am now looking forward to experiencing Havergate and what it can offer over the next few months when we will see these figures of wildfowl and waders rise and the lagoons become full of life.