by Michael Dryden
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26 August 2026
26.08.2026 One of several juvenile Caspian Gulls on the West of the Island at the moment, thanks to Romano for this image from Petit Port yesterday A cloudy start to the day became sunny, ahead of a rain bearing front late this afternoon, warm at up to 26c in a light south-southeast wind. This morning's tallies from St Ouen's Pond included a Barn Owl , 900 Swallows , 15 Sand Martins , 20 House Martins , 16 Yellow Wagtails, a Hobby , a Peregrine , 9 Wheatears , 18 Sedge Warblers , 25 Reed Warblers , 15 Willow Warblers , 3 Blackcaps , 6 Chiffchaffs , 3 Teal , a Shoveler , 2 Greenshanks , a Redshank , a Green Sandpiper , 2 Common Sandpipers , a Dunlin , 40 Goldfinches , 17 Grey Herons , a Sparrowhawk , 4 Marsh Harriers , 3 of them juveniles. At the Scrape were a Stonechat , a Willow Warbler , 2 Linnets , a Common Sandpiper and a Marsh Harrier . In the Sandpits were 2 Barnacle Geese , a Great Crested Grebe , 9 Little Grebes , 3 Common Sandpipers , 2 Grey Herons , 33 Tufted Ducks , 14 Linnets , 4 White Wagtails , hundreds of Coots , 6 Great Black-backed Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull . On Mont Matthieu were a Barn Owl , 3 Shovelers and a Willow Warbler , with another Barn Owl seen at St John's Manor. Also in St Ouen's Bay were 5 Caspian Gulls , 9 Yellow-legged Gulls , 260 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 105 Great Black-backed Gulls and 45 Mediterranean Gulls , while at Petit Port were 10 Caspian Gulls , 4 Yellow-legged Gulls, 18 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 56 Herring Gulls , 47 Mediterranean Gulls , 2 Common Sandpipers and 34 Curlews . Many of yesterday's migrants at Noirmont had departed by this morning. Counts included 3 Wheatears , 2 Whinchats , 3 Redstarts , a Spotted Flycatcher , 3 Stonechats , 2 Willow Warblers , 4 Whitethroats , 4 Dartford Warblers , 2 Tree Pipits , 4 Yellow Wagtails , 37 Swallows , 21 House Martins , a male Marsh Harrier , a Peregrine and 2 Ravens . A flock of 70 Herring Gulls which landed in the car park at first light included a Caspian Gull and a Yellow-legged Gull, while offshore were 11 Sandwich Terns, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 5 Gannets . At Grands Vaux reservoir were 2 Common Sandpipers , a Green Sandpiper , 2 Kingfishers , a Grey Heron and 12 Long-tailed Tits . A Wheatear was seen at La Rocque. On Beauport Common were a Wheatear , a Whitethroat , 2 juvenile Stonechats and a Great Spotted Woodpecker and over Red Houses this afternoon were a Swift , a Sparrowhawk and 2 House Martins . Back to yesterday , and a visit to Les Ecrehous saw a Whimbrel , 34 Ringed Plovers , 50 Turnstones , a Dunlin , 5 Common Sandpipers , a Willow Warbler , a Peregrine with a juvenile Common Tern, also 2 Grey Seals . Yesterday evening, at St Ouen's Pond, were 900 Swallows , 15 Sand Martins , 16 Yellow Wagtails , a Snipe , 4 Common Sandpipers and 4 Marsh Harriers .