Medmerry Islands Restoration

Description

The Medmerry nature reserve was created just over a decade ago and covers a large area of coastal realignment, surrounded by farmland, lagoons and supporting habitat. At its centre are four islands created during the ground work phase of the realignment project (before the coastal breach was carried out). These islands were topped with shingle in crescents on their western edge with the purpose of providing habitat for breeding seabirds and shorebirds. These are birds that nest on the ground, laying their eggs directly into small bowl shape that they create on bare shingle or sand. In the first two years after creation, the islands saw interest from breeding little terns (including unconfirmed breeding), Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher. Since this point however, vegetation has steadily increased on the bare shingle until the point of it being unusable for breeding by the designated seabird and shorebird species. As a result, by 2023, only a single pair of Oystercatcher nested on these islands. The RSPB are now in a position via the Solent Seascape Project to restore these areas to bare substrate and set the conditions for a large seabird colony to form. Our aim would see the site utilised by early succession species first (Ringed Plover, Little Tern, Oystercatcher) with the conditions being created for colonisation by Black-headed Gulls, Sandwich Tern and Common Tern. (see attachment for further detail)