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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...

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...

For the first time in a couple of years there is a sense of normality about the island this year. This is the first time since I arrived in my post that there hasn't been a big or major project on the island. In 2010/11 the October storm went through its 25 year refit which took it out of action...

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...

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 –...

Despite the lack of blogs recently its been a busy time on Havergate Island. The last two weeks have seen a flurry of activity, some great birds and a real sense that the seasons are once again on the change. Going back a couple of weeks to a cold February morning myself and the now sadly departed...

If visitor trips where football or cricket teams then the trips out to Havergate would be described as being in a bad run of form! The last three trips have all had to be cancelled due to a combination of factors. The December visit due to snow, ice and freezing conditions and the January and February...

As part of the ongoing EU Life + website the staff on Havergate are re –designing the saline lagoons. Anyone who has visited Havergate will know that the islands suffer from significant cliffing in places and that part of the island is virtually impossible to see into from the hides. There...

So, after 23 years of service the October Storm is being retired. Well, not retired but definitely overhauled. It’s been 23 years of faithful service she has seen storm surges to glorious sunny days, a succession of different skippers and ferried out what must be well in to the 1000’s...

It’s been a little while since I “blogged” about events on the island. Last week was dominated by the Havergate adventure, the annual four day visitor event organised by the Woodbridge local group. Its a long four days for all involved but a big thanks must go to the volunteers who...

As the year rolls on thoughts begin to turn from breeding birds to passage birds. However, If I was asked to use just one word to sum up the breeding season, I’d say long. The gulls were on eggs by Mid March with the first chicks hatching in mid April. Then we had the encouraging signs of 23...

Finally, just after I was about to give up on them, the Common gulls have swung into action. Laying there eggs in some fabulous locations. I was expecting them to lay out in the open, in a big dense colony, like their close cousin the Tern. However, they’ve completely taken me by surprise by nesting...

So, after waving good bye to the first residential volunteers last week, I decided to take myself out and spend three days and nights alone on Havergate Island. This is useful in terms of thinking about what needs to be done on the island not only by myself but also by the incredibly helpful volunteers...

After the success of our first dedicated Hare weekend back in mid April, it was decided that the time had come to count our Hares on Havergate. The Hares have been in good form recently boxing, chasing and looking quite stunning in the bright early morning sunshine and for us on Havergate this count...