We are nearly at the end of winter and Havergate is already starting to show signs of Spring. The Gulls have started appearing in ever increasing numbers sitting on territory, the gorse is budding and the Hares appear to be getting livelier. Reed buntings have been singing from their perches and skylarks can be heard across the island on a peaceful day.
We have been preparing the island for the oncoming breeding season by getting out on the lagoon islands in our waders to strim back the vegetation. This makes the islands more preferable to nesting birds and also makes it easier for us to monitor and count them. We also took some time to re-build the spoonbill nesting platforms to make them more appealing to potentially nesting spoonbills. We also took this opportunity to spruce up our two resident plastic spoonbills.
If you visit the island this year you will see a few changes. Main hide has been knocked down. This got badly damaged in the tidal surge along with Gullery Hide so the decision was made to take them down and replace them with one slightly larger hide. This new hide will give visitors a wider view of the lagoons. We have also completed the compost toilet which is situated by the huts. This toilet is much more eco friendly and doesn’t look to out of place on the island.
Great stuff! Can't wait to visit in March :-) ...like the new loo, hope it never ends up in a tree like the last one!! :-)