Well another season is done and dusted. If you regularly read our blog you will know that the little terns suffered heavy losses due to an unseasonal storm at the beginning of June, just days before we expected the first chicks to hatch. Still we managed to get a few off this year - officially recording 4 little tern fledglings, which considering the challenges they faced being so few and so tiny is really quite incredible. We recorded 2 common tern fledglings, but this years real success story were the sandwich terns which saw 70 successful fledglings. Black-headed gull numbers were down, having too suffered at the hands of the weather, with around 621 fledglings, however the Mediterranean gulls did very well with around 398 chicks taking that first flight.
Our photographic competition was a great success, thank-you to everyone who entered. The judges found it hard to chose winners as the standard was so very high, but in the end the photographs selected, they felt, represented the essence of the harbour and it's unique diversity. Well done to the winners, I'm sure you'll agree, they are lovely photographs.
Richard Bond - winner - Landscape of Langstone Harbour
Sheila Mackie - winner - Wildlife in Action
Diana de Villiers - winner - Wildlife in Landscape
Jim Ware - winner - Wildlife Portrait
It's time for me to say adieu and in my last couple of weeks I've been busy finding suitable locations for 117 nest boxes. I'm delighted to say that the task is complete and Portsmouth and the surrounding area is slightly richer in homes for nature. From parks to residential housing, community centre's and even cemetery's, we have been beavering away, it's been a real team project and my thanks go to everyone who made this happen.
thank-you to PCMI at Cosham who assembled over 70 boxes!
It's been an amazing season for me and it's difficult to say goodbye to my wonderful colleagues, the volunteers who work tirelessly and without whom we'd achieve so much less than we do, and of course to Langstone Harbour which I'm sure you'll all agree is a magical place.