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On Sunday 19 May 2013, our third 'Photography: Day of Discovery', we enjoyed the most gorgeous warm and sunny spring weather one can imagine, after a worrying week of watching daily changes on the very unsettled and sometimes frightening weather forecasts. Everyone arrived in time for the early...

28 April 2013: the second 'Photography: Day of Discovery' was blessed with good weather, co-operative hares and some rarer winged visitors on migration tour. Our very talented 'students' enjoyed discovering the island's wildlife on their own as well as learning more tricks of the...

As a change, this blog is a special guest piece, written and illustrated by Danny Porter from www.dannysdigiscoping.com. He is one of our invaluable Volunteer Photography Tutors. "After a meeting, many (long) emails and one cancelled trip [because of the cold weather in March], the very first...

On 21 April 2013, Havergate Island with it's nearly tame hares, rare birds and unique landscapes welcomed the first visitors to a brand new event format. In this post, I will only list the comments of our visitors from the first event; in the next blog post, you will be able to read my own thoughts...

The arrival of the first sunny spring days on the Suffolk Coast miraculously coincided with our first long event weekend in 2013. Our visitors on Saturday still felt some of the cold wind from the weeks of bitterly cold weather, which had made life so hard for wildlife in Britain and beyond, but on...

Hi folks, Just to let you know, Havergate island features this Sunday on Countryfile at 1900 hours. If you missed out on the Hares last weekend or if you went to see them again then be sure to watch it! Find more information here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s1psf

It's been a couple of years since the BBC last visited the island therefore it was with some pleasure that we where lucky enough last Thursday to host the BBC's countryfile team. Despite the cold temperatures (almost -6 according to the thermometer on nearby Orfordness) a good day was had by...

Some brilliant news, hot of the press: The South Suffolk Coast Reserves are one of only two lucky RSPB places to get a Vodafone World of Difference winner in Spring 2013. Hi, this is me actually: Monika, Events Officer for the South Suffolk reserves from March to June; fully funded by the Vodafone...

Readers of the blog will have noticed that a few weeks ago I finished the last blog with a to be continued as I posed the question, if it is not prey availability that holds a potential spoonbill breeding attempts back then what is it? It is a reasonable assumption that predators in the shape of foxes...

As a departure from the norm, I thought it would be nice to feature another guest piece on the blog. This is by Richard S., RSPB Lowestoft Group. A recent visitor and frequent volunteer. Enjoy! A - is for Avocet, black and white, like the start of the day to Havergate. T’was dark when I left...

It’s been a fairly quiet time on Havergate. However, that’s not to say the island has been standing still. Aside from the changeable weather, which has at times been wet, mild, cold, snowing and windy with all the above. We have managed to fit in a couple of visitor events with highlights...

As the season’s roll around and the dreaded moment that the clocks go back approaches, it seems like the perfect time to recap on autumn on Havergate and what an autumn it’s been! In my three years working on Havergate the island has never looked better, attracted a greater diversity of...

As a change from myself writing the blog, this blog is a special guest piece by Malcolm Key, Leader of the RSPB Woodbridge Local Group. Giving an insight into the recent 'Havergate Adventure' weekend and the work that goes into it. If you are interested in finding out more about local groups...

Forgive the lack of updates on the blog of recent times. This is mostly due to late July and August being amongst our busiest times of the year. With hundreds of visitors coming out to the island and continuing with the reserve work including the benthic sampling (seeing what insects live in the mud...

As the breeding season begins to enter the final furlong, it’s time for an update on this troubled breeding season. Unfortunately, there is rather more bad news than good news. Starting with the bad news. Common gulls are having a disastrous year, for the first time in two years the...

Now that the weather has improved and Britain is basking under gorgeous sunshine, the breeding season which was bumbling along in first gear has lurched into third gear on Havergate. However, much of how one might assess the breeding season on Havergate depends on your attitude towards large gulls...

After 5 months, the earthwork and engineering work on Havergate is complete. Now after the changes, comes the hard part, namely using the new sluices and island layout to increase the ecological effectiveness of the reserve. It will be worth keeping an eye on both the RSPB website and the Alde –...

Here as promised is a collection of videos from the island. Little Stint on Havergate, courtesy of David Fairhurst, Nov 2011 Definately an unsual record for Havergate in November but in a county contact they do overwinter. Having overwintered in other estuaries in the past 20 years or so. Little...

I appreciate that for some not being able to visit Havergate is a source of tremendous frustration, so I will do my best to bring some kind of flavour of what's going on, on the island at the moment. Currently Havergate island is undergoing the biggest change of a generation with both lagoons...

Its been something of a purple patch for birds on the Havergate reserves for birds over the last week or so. The highlights include a rough legged buzzard (twice), a short eared owl, a couple of hen harriers, a firecrest, two whooper swans and at least one spotted redshank. There has also been some...

As people who visit the website will be aware, the island closed its doors to the general public at the beginning of October this is to enable the contractors to access the island and carry out the vital works as part of the EU life+ project. It is my pleasure and excitement to be able to announce that...

One of Havergate's star species but also one of its hardest to see as quietly gone about having a great year. Starlet Sea anemone's have almost every protection and status imaginable. They have their own Biodiversity action plan (BAP), are a red book species in the United Kingdom and even...

The results are in, 99% of all birds have fledged and after a changeable summer, the 2011 Havergate island breeding bird story is ready to be told. The final counts of the large gulls where 460 herring gulls and 1030 lesser blacked backed gulls , a grand total of 1490 large gulls, how does...

The weather finally took a turn for the better on Havergate this week after what seemed like almost daily thunder showers, lightning strikes, torrential downpours and a nagging wind. Now as the season starts to enter its final lap we can start to make some early estimates on how things have gone...

By mid June the results of the breeding season start to come in, although how successful it proves to have been in terms of chick production will have to wait for next month. Starting with the good news Common Terns continue to strengthen there foothold on the island with the colony increasing...