It has been another gorgeous day on the south coast and I have just returned from a boat tour around the Langstone Harbour RSPB reserve. High tide today was at 09:56 this morning but only 4.1 metres above zero. Luckily, it was extremely calm with none of the choppy waves we sometimes get in the harbour. Armed with sun cream, binoculars, a telescope and a camera I headed out to the reserve islands to see what was happening in the seabird colonies.
One last look back to terra firma
Following the main channel of the harbour from North to South, the first island I passed was Long Island on my right. In general, there are no nesting birds on this island and it is the only one of the reserve islands where harbour users are free to land (kayakers etc) at any point during the year. Carrying on further I passed Round Nap (home to several hundred Black-headed Gulls) and set my sights on South Binness Island. For those of you who have been following us, you'll know that South Binness Island had a shingle upgrade earlier this year in an effort to both encourage Little Terns to nest there and to make sure they were safe from higher than usual tides if they did.
As I cruised past the Black-headed and Mediterranean Gull colonies on the west of the island I could see activity on the recharged shingle area. Little Terns were streaming in from the south towards the island in groups of 4, 5 and 6. Scanning around and observing their point of origin it was clear that they'd found an upwelling of small fish on which to feed and bring back to their mates. Several Terns were characteristically hovering just above the water before striking a fish with their nimble beaks and flying off in avian satisfaction.
Back on South Binness, high up on the shingle ridge were singular Little Terns snuggled down in the sand. Were they sat on eggs or just having a rest? It's a tough question to answer from a glance. The best way to find out (without disturbing them) is to patiently sit and watch. Shorebirds on eggs will occasionally stand up and reposition themselves giving an observer a quick peak of what they're sat on. Of course, this does require a lot of time and a good point of observation, both of which are in limited supply here due to the sea. Nevertheless, without giving the game away, I'm very confident that there are a good number of nesting pairs here (just how many I'll let you know a bit later in the year).
The South Binness Island shingle recharge area. An aspiring island paradise for Little Terns.
Throwing the anchor out which a sploosh and turning off the engine, it was time to take a seat and watch for as long as the tide allowed. Those of you familiar with using a telescope to watch birds will know that it's very important to have a steady base to watch from. A small movement or shake of the telescope will result in the image your viewing disappearing very rapidly. Nevertheless, the sea was very calm so I determined to try to do a bit of 'scoping from the boat. The results were mixed but I did manage to get a few photos for you. It's a first for me but I’m going to leave you with some 'smartphone camera through telescope whilst on boat' pictures. Enjoy the sun and keep your eyes to the sky.
Little Tern with fish
A pair of Little Terns snuggled down on the sand.