Hayling Island Ringed Plover Project - 2022 Update from Trevor Codlin

***Ringed Plovers struggle with the consequences of human disturbance on the Hampshire coast. ©Paul Sterry/Nature Photographers Ltd***

The Hayling Island Ringed Plover project involves fencing off a critical area of coastal shingle at Hayling Island on the south coast of Hampshire, to help prevent disturbance during the breeding season. Part of the overall funding needed for the project came from a grant from Birds on the Brink. Trevor Codlin, who is leading the project, writes: ‘I have now secured all the funding required to erect the fence, and have also received SSSI consent from Natural England to erect it. A meeting is planned shortly involving all the interested parties – Natural England, RSPB, Bird Aware and Coastal Partners - and the plan is to have the fence erected by the end of February. ‘

Trevor continues: ‘In the interim, the project team is working on a communication strategy and building a blog site where we can keep everyone up-to-date. I attended two really useful seminars from the RSPB Life on the Edge project and there was lots of very useful information from people who have been working with plovers for many years.’

***One of the 2021 Ringed Plover nests, which ultimately failed. ©Trevor Codlin***

Trevor adds: ‘2021 proved to be a difficult year for the Ringed Plovers: I counted seven pairs attempting to breed, but did not see any young hatch. We monitored three nests with cameras and all were predated. Unfortunately, our camera traps failed, so we did not identify the culprits, although likely suspects are Carrion Crow and Hedgehog. Two nests were made in areas heavily used by dog- walkers (close to the existing enclosure, but outside it), and the eggs were disturbed from the nest, suggesting that there was some interference; in both instances the parent birds deserted. We are planning to use nest cages in 2022 to try increase nesting success.’

To illustrate the level of disturbance to which Hayling Island’s coastal habitats are subjected, this image is a snapshot of a typical day on the southern end of the island, in the vicinity of where Ringed Plovers attempt to nest in spring, and Dunlins and Ringed Plovers attempt to roost at high tide in winter. ©Paul Sterry/Nature Photographers Ltd

‘This winter there has still been a good high tide roost present, mainly consisting of Ringed Plover (150+) and Dunlin (50+). Unfortunately, disturbance has again been a key issue, with birds being continuously flushed by dogs and walkers. Ringed Plover is not listed as a feature of interest on the SSSI citation, and this will be discussed with Natural England; mention of the species would lend additional weight to the project.’