So, after waving good bye to the first residential volunteers last week, I decided to take myself out and spend three days and nights alone on Havergate Island.
This is useful in terms of thinking about what needs to be done on the island not only by myself but also by the incredibly helpful volunteers we get on site. Whilst it may sound like a romantic concept living alone on an island and don’t get me wrong it really is a privilege to spend time alone in such a beautiful and special place, a good 50% of my time was spent...... cleaning!! The warden Hut needed some special attention but is now spick and span ready for the onrushing breeding season. Firstly hovering, then using the carpet sweeper then washing surfaces, sweeping away cobwebs it was all done.
However, before I sound too much like it was a chore on the island. See below for the fantastic sunrises the island experiences (thanks must go to Richard Straton for the photo, many thanks Richard), it times like this that I remember how lucky I am. Past the cleaning the beginning of the survey season as begun which begins to give us our first picture of the breeding season to come.
In terms of our breeding birds the season is beginning to take shape. The first Herring Gulls and Lesser black backed gulls are laying eggs, the Gadwalls, Shoveler, Tufted Ducks are beginning to incubate and the Canada geese have been incubating for over a week. The Common gulls have paired up and are surely only a matter of days away from laying there first eggs.
We are getting regular sightings of Sandwich Terns and we have at least a couple of pairs of Avocets apparently in territory. Hopes also remain high that Black Headed Gulls will make a welcome return as a breeding species on the Island, this may sound counter intuitive but Black heads are a useful species to have around as both Sandwich Terns and Avocets will happily nest amongst them, they are fiercely territorial and can be quite adept at chasing away the larger gulls.
As expected of an east coast site the island also plays host to a wide range of migrant birds. In the last week, the undoubted highlight was three Spoonbills; the only disappointing thing was that they did not stop to linger on the islands. Beyond these Pochards, Grey plover, Whimbrel, Black and bar tailed godwits, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs Garden Warblers, Reed buntings, Sparrowhawks, Kestrels, Whitethroats, Swallows, House martins, Swifts and Yellow Wagtails amongst others have all been recorded.
All in all, a happy week, if you decide to visit then I am sure you will enjoy the island as much as I do.