We are well into the nesting season and the islands are home to Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns; both are starting to nest. The gulls collect grass and other vegetation and pile it up on the islands to nake a conventional nest. Lockhart got this photo on Saturday.
The terns just move the cockleshells to make a small scrape. Both birds have black on the head but they are quiet different in shape and in the way they fly.
Both can easily be seen from the Visitor Centre and Paddy's Pool Hide.
Meanwhile other species are here and several Wheatears can be seen - try the Kestrel Trail along the meadow.
Lockhart got this female on saturday. Watch for the 'white rear' when they fly - this is where the name comes from.
Don't confuse it with the rarer Whinchat which was here yesterday so could still be on the reserve.
Starlings are also nesting which accounts for the splattering on the Visitor Centre windows - they like the gaps in the steel frame at the eaves. Loss of such nesting sites can be a factor in the decline of some bird species including Starlings and House Sparrows.
Thanks to Lockhart for the photos.
Peter