As the clocks go back and we enter the last week of October, it's great to see that things are picking up in the solent harbours with thousands of birds arriving from their northern breeding grounds. Amongst the current great flocks of waders and wildfowl are Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Red-breasted Mergansers, Little Grebes, Grey Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits and Greenshank to name a few! As we continue into the winter, Chichester, Langstone and Portsmouth Harbours will continue to attract wetland birds from other parts of Eurasia reminding us just how important this part of the coast is. Of course, this will be keeping me and colleagues busy with plenty of counting to be done before they all leave en-masse next spring.
Above: Portsmouth, Langstone and Chichester Harbours from the the air. A magnet for wetland birds and a very special wildlife area (Photo. Wez Smith).
One particular species of bird has come a long way indeed to share our coastline for a few months, the gorgeous Dark-bellied Brent Goose! These long distance flyers come all the way from their breeding grounds on the northern coast of Siberia (an epic 3000 mile journey) to spend their winter feeding in our rich muddy harbours. They're quite small as geese go but are gregarious, liking to hang out in big flocks feeding on the harbours seagrass (or any other suitable vegetation that's available).
Above: Told you we'd be back! Brent Geese in Langstone Harbour (Photo: Louise MacCallum)
At the moment it looks like they've had a really successful breeding season and the flocks returning have a high ratio of young birds. This is brilliant news as they've had a few bad years recently and we've been crossing our fingers for them. Later on in the season when we have a good idea of the total percentages, I'll be sure to let you all know. Until then, If you visit the coast here, there's a good chance you'll see them taking a well earned rest.
Above: Keeping the green short. (Photo: Louise MacCallum).