As the year rolls on thoughts begin to turn from breeding birds to passage birds. However, If I was asked to use just one word to sum up the breeding season, I’d say long.
The gulls were on eggs by Mid March with the first chicks hatching in mid April. Then we had the encouraging signs of 23 pairs of nesting Avocets by Early June, with the subsequent failure being a blow. Common gulls finally swung into action in Mid May, with 18 pairs nesting around the huts and in the gorse, 5 chicks fledged, roughly one in three nests recording a success and the best year since 2005. The Barn owls fledged three young and spectacular they where too. Black Headed gulls made a welcome return to the breeding list, their failure was a shame (if they return next year then they’ll be subjected to some proactive management, the same can be said of the Avocets). Whilst in the background the Oystercatchers, Skylarks, Wood pigeons, Linnets, Meadow pipits, Pied Wagtails, Pheasants’, Red legged Partridges, the two species of geese that breed on the island (how long till Barnacle geese join the breeding list?), Moorhen, Shoveler, Mallard and Tufted ducks all got on quietly with their business with differing degrees of success. Then just as the season was drawing to a close and the calendar ticked into July the Common terns made their late surge.
Whether it be by design or previous misfortune (failed breeders at other sites, possibly Minsmere?) the Terns arrived in July. Laying their eggs over the space of 10 days the first chicks duly arrived on the 21st of July and now 21 days after hatching, five months after the first gull egg when most other Terns have given up and started the journey south and 5 years since the last Common tern recorded any success on Havergate island the first Common tern chick fledged today.
Now we wait to see what the final tally will be. There is a wide range of chicks on display at Havergate, from those in the cutesy just hatched stage, through the awkward adolescent phase and finally the ready to fledge or even fledged stage. Those that have just hatched face an uncertain future as the colony breaks up due to chicks fledging and the weather turns increasingly unsettled. However, I would expect all the chicks and Terns to be gone by the end of August. The number of and success of Common terns is very important to the island, 29 pairs is the most since 2007 and as previously mentioned the Terns have not recorded any success since 2005.
In the background to the drama in the Tern colony, the island has begun to flood with migrant waders. The Spoonbill numbers have peaked at 19 and hold steady at 16, over 300 Avocets are on the island, possibly nearly 70 Black tailed godwits, good numbers of Lapwing, hordes of Redshank, Whimbrel can be heard calling over the island, Curlews are beginning to arrive in good numbers, Dunlin numbers increase daily, Golden plover have taken up residence on Belpers, small numbers of Grey plover can be seen, Bar tailed godwits can be picked out amongst the Black tails, Common Sandpipers are on Cottage flood, Ringed plovers can be heard over the island and Greenshanks are now daily on the island. Those who have a taste for the more unusual birds; so far this Autumn has seen Curlew Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Stints and Med gulls.
If all this has whet your appetites then I recommend booking yourself up for the Havergate adventure. The event is organised by the local RSPB group at Woodbridge running from Saturday 21 August to Tuesday 24 August. Boats for the Havergate Adventure will leave Orford Quay half hourly from 10 am to 2.30 pm each day. Boats carry a maximum of 12 passengers and demand is likely to be high, so early booking is strongly recommended. The round trip, including a guided walk, takes approximately two and a half hours and costs £7.00 for adults, and £3.00 for under 16s. Advance bookings can be made by contacting Malcolm Key on 01728 723155 after Monday 2 August, and places can also be booked at the quay from Saturday 21 August.
Cheers Amstaffs, its been a very encouraging season on Havergate this year, I am delighted with how it has gone. Unfortunately, no Short eared Owls have bred on the islands for some years, since at least the early 2000's I would need to check the database to give you an exact date. We did come close this year with a summering induvidual who hung around the the "long meadow" for two weeks in eary June but no courtship or obvious territorial activity was observed. Still nice to see it haunting the island for a couple of weeks.
Have the SE Owls bred recently on the island?
Glad to read of the sucess. Good luck with the Havergate adventure. I was there with the first one all those years ago.