Take part in Great Coastal Birdwatch

Bird Aware Solent is, once again, inviting coastal residents and visitors to take part in the annual Great Coastal Birdwatch, running from Saturday, October 18, to Sunday, November 2.

Now in its seventh year, the event celebrates the spectacular arrival of thousands of migratory birds that spend the colder months along the Solent’s shores. Travelling from as far as Siberia, Greenland and Canada, the birds seek the area’s rich feeding grounds of mudflats and saltmarshes.

Taking part is simple: anyone visiting the coast can record the number of different bird species they spot in up to an hour, and share their sightings with Bird Aware at iw.observer/birdaware

Bird Aware ranger, Eloise Mott, said: “Watching thousands of birds arrive on our shores each autumn is truly breath-taking. These migrations remind us how important this area is for wildlife.”

Last year, around 100 different species were recorded, including ospreys, dunlins, black-tailed godwits and lapwings.