Birds

[pebbles]

Well this year I've seen plenty of Swallows flying over Eastney, last year I only saw one, so any increase has to be good, I wonder if that will change when building work starts though? Also seen a few Mediterranean gulls, one of which raised a youngster which is also a real treat to see. Some people sitting on the beach were treated to the sight of a seal one weekend.

[eastneyboy2k]

Today we saw a pair of Kestrels with a chick learning to fly - right on top of the old buildings at Fraser Range. The empty QinetiQ buildings are increasingly being used by birds for nesting.

[L H B]

Endangered bird hops to rescue of nudist beach

The nudists who have frequented Eastney beach in Portsmouth for more than a century thought they were on the way out.

Qinetiq, a British defence technology company, wants to build 131 luxury apartments there, potentially leaving the nudists very unwelcome.

But help is at hand, and it has taken the form of a tiny and rather rare friend. The Dartford warbler is one of the few species of warbler to winter in Britain. And now it is has come to the nudists' rescue.

Qinetiq had received planning permission to develop its flats on Eastney beach on the condition they widen an access road leading to the land. But at a special meeting of the city council earlier this week, protesters successfully pushed the council to carry out a further environmental study to see if the flats will endanger the bird's natural habitat.

As a result, the warbler may soon discover its safest haven is in the company of naked humans.

_{By Amol Rajan
Thursday, 25 September 2008
www.theindependant.co.uk}

[eastneyboy2k]

Last week a lady birdwatcher on the beach reported having recently seen a Dartford Warbler on the SINC. She is hopefully now going to make a formal report to the appropriate authorities.