I confess, I've been sat on a secret for the last 6 weeks.  Whilst the summer has arrived and most people have been lighting barbecues and putting up England bunting, I've been almost single mindedly paying attention to the Solents terns and watching each step of the breeding season progress with finger bitingly tense apprehension.  

It is now my pleasure to inform you that, as you read this, the egg incubation…

It isn't just about the birds as an afternoon walk around the oyster beds reveals another soap opera in progress....the sun is shining and butterflies are looking for love.  Their often short lives means that finding the right mate is a matter of some urgency, dog fights ensue as rival males defend territory and vie for the attention of the ladies.  They apparently detect their own species by sight, but it's the pheromones…

I've never been fishing before so I couldn't turn down the opportunity of going along to a fish count last Thursday in the harbour.  The sun was warm, but a modest wind cooled proceedings as along with colleagues from Langstone Harbour Board, Southern IFCA and the University of Portsmouths marine biology department we took to the water with a rather large net. 

Our first catch was from the shoreline, we weren't…

The black-headed gull, chroicocephalus ridibundus, the laughing gull - no.  For me, that kree-aaa sounds more like a scream than a gentle chortle, don't they say a squabble of gulls, you're not kidding!  However, a different scream was discovered this week by one of our young visitors who had come along to the oyster beds on Hayling Island for the family scavenger hunt.

Above scavenging for goodies 

When this…

Swarkestone Bridge in Derbyshire, a mile long and built of sandstone, is the longest stone bridge in the country and has a very chequered history.  Bonnie Prince Charlie got no further than this 13th century ancient monument on his quest for the British throne, and local legend has it that ghostly sounds of horses galloping through the water can be still heard under its many arches in the dead of night.  It also stopped me in…

With it being a bank holiday this weekend I suppose the rain was inevitable.  Unlucky for us, this period of heavy rains has coincided with the first of our seabird chicks beginning to hatch out en-masse.  At the moment, the Black-headed Gulls that begun nesting in April are welcoming new chicks to the world on a daily basis whilst several clutches of Ringed Plover eggs are due to hatch any day now.

Above: A clutch of…

It's all in the numbers .....! Last week a group of RSPB staff and volunteers (as well as members of Langstone Harbour Board, Hampshire County Council, The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the Chichester Harbour Conservancy) carried out the annual Langstone Harbour Islands nest count.  The weather was fair and the Solent calm.  The black-headed gulls screamed in protest as we landed on the islands, though…

It's that exceptionally busy part of the year for us where we're trying to get everything ready before nests are built and eggs are laid!  Since I last wrote here, we've started the shingle habitat work out on the Langstone Harbour Islands as well continuing to clear the winter storm debris from the West Hayling Nature Reserve.  There's no time to spare though and it really is a race against time at the moment…

It's been a mixed week of activities and news here in the eastern Solent but the weather has remained pleasant compared to the rest of the year and our much battered wildlife continues to rebound.  The sun was very much welcomed at the weekend as the Langstone Harbour RSPB staff and volunteers took part in the Winter Wildlife Festival at Portsmouth Watersports Centre.  Around a thousand people in total came along to…

On Friday February 14th, a day that won't be forgotten in a hurry, storm Valentine arrived.  She was the third in a week of tempests and bought with her more destruction than we've seen in this entire, havoc wreaking winter.  At it's peak, the storm surge was 1.5 metres above the predicted tide height.  As well as moving parts of the RSPB islands, it also led to flooding on Hayling, Langstone and Emsworth (with…

Here we are again with one storm behind us and another fast approaching.  Storm 'Ruth' didn't affect us too badly here in the eastern Solent although it would have been a different case if we'd been having spring tides at the same time.  The next one, storm 'Darwin' (depending which naming convention you follow) is due to hit tomorrow but it looks like we'll miss the brunt of it again.  

Although…

It's been another storm force week here in the eastern Solent.  Like many in the south of the United Kingdom and Ireland, we've mostly been staying inside for the last five days, occasionally going out to see what damage has been created by the wind and storm surges.  Wednesday saw yet another escaped yacht beaching on South Binness island and with the current prediction for the weekend, it may not be the last!…

Today, February 2nd, was World Wetlands Day.  Forty three years ago on this day, in the Iranian city of Ramsar, a group representing 18 government's met  to sign the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.  The Ramsar Convention as it's now commonly called is the only international treaty that sets out to conserve just one type of ecosystem, our wetlands.  Although signed in another part of the world a…

Sorry for the lack of updates in the last week, our blog has been offline whilst some essential maintenance was carried out.  Now we're back though, let me tell you about an unexpected resident we have this winter, a Sandwich Tern!  Eh?

Above: An overwintering Sandwich Tern! Photo taken from Farlington Marshes by Michael Johnstone.

In the summer months, Sandwich Terns are a common sight in Langstone and Chichester…

Above: The view towards Farlington from West Hayling.

We've had two superb days so far this week and so I thought I'd give you a quick update of what's happening at the West Hayling Oysterbeds.  If you pay a visit at the moment, you are almost guaranteed to see several Red-breasted Mergansers  swimming in the lagoon.  It's always a pleasure to see these lovely colourful ducks here in the winter before they…

As I write this, the major cycle of Atlantic Windstorms which has battered us for the last month or so seems to have dissipated enough to give us a reprieve.  Just how long this is due to last is up for debate at the moment but every calm day is very welcome.    Whilst the going is good, I'm taking advantage of every day to carry on with the monitoring of our massive wintering Brent Geese populations here in Langstone and…

The majority of this year so far has seen me keeping a close eye on the wind predications hoping that that a gap of clear weather would come along soon.  I'm glad to say that gap finally arrived in the form of a sunny and calm saturday (January 11th 2014).  Although the tide would be falling from first light (causing a race against time to get back on dry land before being stranded on the mud), I decided to get up in…

I had hoped to start this year with a look forward to everything we can likely expect and hope for from this crucial year of 2014.  I'm afraid this will have to wait for a little bit though. Due to the ongoing severe weather events effecting the Solent, a blog post concentrating on anything else simply wouldn't do the situation justice.  Today's high tide reached 5.8 metres, almost a metre (80 centimetres) over…

Merry Christmas and happy winter holidays everyone, I hope that despite the major weather events of the past week, you've still had a great time with those closest to you.  As you couldn't have failed to miss, we've just come through the fifth serious atlantic windstorm of the winter so far.  Luckily, for the most part, the damage to the reserves in Langstone harbour has simply been a series of signs being blown…

As we draw into late summer it's only fitting to take a look at some of the stunning insects we share Langstone Harbour with.  Today it's time for our lepidopteran fauna to take central stage.  

First up is a beautiful Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus).

This one is taking a bit of time out roosting.  In less than sunny weather you can often see them doing this, head down on a variety of grass stems.  Around Langstone…

We've now reached that point in the year where the islands of Langstone Harbour have once again fallen relatively quiet apart from the sound of Curlews and the lapping of the waves.  The majority of the breeding seabirds on the harbour islands have been leaving over the past few weeks before a full exodus took place at the end of July.  The colonies are now empty apart from the fragments of this years eggshells and…

West Hayling Local Nature Reserve is becoming a fantastic place to see waders. I popped down to the reserve today for a lunch time walk. There have been oystercatchers around all summer, but as autumn approaches, their numbers are increasing and they are beginning to gather in large flocks at high tide. Their bold black and white markings look stunning when part of a crowd.

Other waders are starting to join them. Tiny…

The reserve is looking great in its summer colours. On a walk around the main path last week, the teasels and ragwort were buzzing with bees and butterflies. In the last couple of years I have been learning how to identify our British butterflies and West Hayling Local Nature Reserve is definitely a place to test your knowledge. The brambles seemed very popular with gatekeepers, it was easy to get some close up photos…

Up until recently, there has been a distinct lack of butterflies around West Hayling Local Nature Reserve but just like us, they seem to be making the most of the sunshine and have been out in force over the last couple of weeks.

My favourite butterfly is the speckled wood, one that may be overlooked as just a boring brown butterfly, look at it closely and you will see its creamy white spots like lots of little eyes…

So after being away for a week on holiday, I came back to see this photo in my inbox! Our little owl that sits in the trees behind the Hayling Billy Line has been very busy bringing up these fluffy chicks over the past few weeks. (Photo by Marianne Eagles).

West Hayling Local Nature Reserve is best known for its gull and tern colony where chicks can be seen stumbling around and generally making a nuisance of themselves…