Chichester Harbour Conservancy and the Friends of Chichester Harbour complete shingle recharge of Stakes Island

Five hundred tonnes of shingle were used to raise the bank to one metre above the current high tide level.

The recharge aims to help boost tern breeding in Chichester Harbour by creating more favourable habitat conditions, and was undertaken as part of the ‘Return of the Tern' project.A recent report by Natural England concluded that CHicester Harbour was in "unfavourable declingin" condition and also identified that terms were in long term decline. ‘Return of the Tern' is a partnership nature recovery initiative undertaken by the Friends of Chichester Harbour and Chichester Harbour Conservancy, delivering a series of projects that will assist the population of Little Terns and Common Terns in Chichester Harbour.With the latest stage completed, a new video is now being unveiled to showcase the project's various undertakings. The four key aspects featured are: the commission and launch of five new tern rafts; conducting fish population surveys last summer, completing a draft nature recovery plan - and autumn's Stakes Island recharge. The video can be viewed on Chichester Harbour Conservancy's YouTube channel at: youtu.be/99j5HEynTRo

Stakes Island is a man-made ridge of mud and shingle located south of the Chidham Peninsula in Chichester Harbour. The area currently supports a small number of nesting attempts from Common Terns, Little Terns, Black-headed Gulls, Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers. Terns have suffered from low breeding success in Chichester Harbour for at least the last 15 years primarily due to their nest sites flooding on a high tide. By heightening the bank with the shingle recharge, the site has been much improved as a naturally-occurring nesting habitat. It has also improved Stakes Island as a high tide roost for wintering wader bird species.

Jess Vagg, Project Manager of Return of the Tern said: “It was essential that this work took place in one of the two short windows in spring or autumn to minimise disruption to the summer and wintering birds in the Harbour. We'll now be keeping a close eye on Stakes Island to see how the shingle migrates and the impact it has on nesting terns and other birdlife. We are hopeful that we will see Common Terns and perhaps even Little Terns nesting on the raised area on Stakes Island this spring."With the capital works to restore Stakes Island successfully completed on schedule, we are now excited to see this unique project benefitting the terns this spring and on into the coming years in Chichester Harbour.”

The 18-month ‘Return of the Tern' campaign has been funded by a £182,300 grant that the Friends of Chichester Harbour received in August 2021 from the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

As the latest activity of the ‘Return of the Tern' campaign, the Stakes island project was carried out from October 6 to 14 2022, with Walcon Marine managing the works. Half of the shingle was bought in by barge from Southampton with the remaining portion delivered to Itchenor, and then barged out to Stakes Island.