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17.12.2024   It was an organised Brent Goose and Wader count day today. Here is a flock of Grey Plovers with a Turnstone passing through

Grouville Bay (MD). Results of these counts will be published on the Resources page in the next few days.

It was a bleak morning for the counts, but at least it was dry. A temperature of 9c in a cutting southerly wind did not daunt the hardy counters though!


Seen passing through Grouville Bay prior to the count were 6 Great Northern Divers, 4 Red-throated Divers, 2 Shelduck, 35 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Sandwich Tern, 7 Mediterranean Gulls, 14 Common Gulls, 153 Sanderlings  in a mixed flock of small waders, 27 Bar-tailed Godwits  and 4 Gannets, with close on a thousand Black-headed Gulls also in the Bay. Around La Rocque were 3 Great Northern Divers, a Great Crested Grebe, a Slavonian Grebe, a Kittiwake, 5 Common Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull, a Redwing and a Black Redstart. On Grouville Common were 5 Redwings and at Le Hocq was a roost of 130 Curlews, also a Sandwich Tern  and another Black Redstart.  At La Sente were 18 Grey Herons and 10 Little Egrets.


At the Scrape on St Ouen's Pond were a Short-eared Owl and a male Hen Harrier, while seen from the Wetland Centre were 5 Teal, a pair of Shoveler, c40 Lapwings, 12 Snipe, a Grey Heron, a Little Grebe, 3 Brent Geese and a Peregrine  and in the backfields behind the Pond were 5 Brent Geese and 25 Lapwings. In the Sandpits were 2 Pochard, 17 Tufted Duck, 8 Little Grebes, a Grey Heron, 30 Lapwings and 22 Great Black-backed Gulls. In St Ouen's Bay were 43 Ringed Plovers, a Sanderling and a Dunlin and at La Pulente were 6 Brent Geese, a Shelduck, 7 Grey Herons, a flock of Black-headed Gulls  and 9 Mediterranean Gulls.


Also in St Ouen's Bay, offshore at Le Pulec, were hundreds of Razorbills, a Guillemot, 27 Mediterranean Gulls, a Kittiwake, 10 Gannets and at Le Port, 3 Mediterranean Gulls.  Petit Port held 14 Brent Geese, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, 190 Oystercatchers and a Little Egret.


Near Bel Royal in St Aubin's Bay, as well as the Brent Geese, were 2 Black-necked Grebes, 4 Great Crested Grebes and c 50 Black-headed Gulls. At Beaumont Marsh were a Teal, 2 Shovelers, 2 Water Rails, 4 Snipe, 3 Blackcaps and 2 Chiffchaffs.


Below: Redshanks and a large flock of mixed waders in Grouville Bay this morning   MD

by Romano da Costa 26 March 2026
26.03.2026 A Rock Pipit , taken by Mick The first Ring Ouzel of the year has been in a garden in Grouville, first being seen on there on the 22nd. Around St Ouen's Pond were 6 Swallow , a Sand Martin , a pair of Reed Bunting , a Water Pipit , 4 Stonechat , 25 Linnet , 26 Shoveler , 11 Teal , 4 Lapwing , a Redshank , 2 Oystercatcher , 3 Snipe , a Grey Heron and the White-fronted Goose . At La Sente were 4 Black-headed Gull , 3 Redshank , 2 Shoveler , 18 Little Egret and 5 Cattle Egret . Up at sorel were 4 Swallow , 6 Snipe were at Grouville Marsh and 6 Swallow and 2 Teal were at Grands Vaux. In Grouville Bay were 4 Wheatear , a Sanderling and a Grey Plover .
by Romano da Costa 25 March 2026
25.03.2026 A Great Crested Grebe at La Rocque RdC Seen at La Sente were 92 Brent Geese , 2 Shelduck , 34 Little Egret , 5 Cattle Egret , 4 Black-headed Gull , a Common Gull , 6 Redshank, a Snipe , 2 White Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail. In Grouville Bay were 424 Brent Geese , 61 Oystercatcher , 4 Curlew , a Common Gull , a Great Crested Grebe , a Sandwich Tern and a Wheatear while at La Rocque were a Black-necked Grebe , 2 Gannet and 2 Wheatear . At Grouville Marsh a Peregrine was seen carrying a Kestrel it had just caught! In St Brelades Bay were 4 Pale-bellied Brent Geese with another 30 at St Aubins at the same time.
by Romano da Costa 24 March 2026
24.03.2026 A Starling showing off his glossy coat RdC Seen at La Sente were 5 Greenshank , 11 Redshank , a Snipe , 2 Shelduck , 3 Cattle Egret , 12 Little Egret and 2 White Wagtail while at Queen's Valley were a Greenshank , 6 Cormorant and a Tufted Duck . Up at Sorel were 18 Song Thrush , a Swallow and 4 Stonechat while at St Ouen's Pond were 12 Shoveler , 8 Tufted Duck , 14 Teal , 2 Snipe , 4 Lapwing , 12 Sand Martin and a Black-headed Gull with a Wheatear near Sands. At Grands Vaux were 4 Teal and a Grey Wagtail was again in Vallee des Vaux. Yesterday, 350 Sanderling were seen on the Ecrehous.
by Romano da Costa 23 March 2026
23.03.2026 A Buzzard flying by. A common species on the island with an estimated 40 pairs. Photo by Mick. In Grouville Bay this morning were 560 Brent Geese and 9 Common Scoter while at La Sente were a Little Ringed Plover , 6 Greenshank , 17 Redshank and 18 Little Egret . At Grouville Marsh from dawn were 10 Chiffchaff , 5 Cetti's Warbler , a Firecrest , a Bullfinch , 9 Cattle Egret , 5 Snipe , 4 Teal , 2 Water Rail and a White Wagtail and at Grands Vaux were 6 Tufted Duck and a Grey Heron . A Grey Wagtail was still in Vallee des Vaux. Around St Ouen's Pond were 26 Shoveler , 15 Tufted Duck , a Pochard , 2 Shelduck , a Grey Heron , 2 Oystercatcher , 5 Marsh Harrier , a Mallard with 9 ducklings, a Skylark and a Reed Bunting . At Beauport were 2 Wheatear , a Redwing and a pale Buzzard .
by Romano da Costa 22 March 2026
22.03.2026 The first Willow Warbler of the year arrived today, the exact same date as 2025. Here's a photo I took earlier RdC Seen at La Sente today were 3 Little Ringed Plover , 19 Redshank , 6 Greenshank , 2 Shelduck , 5 Black-headed Gull , 2 Common Gull , 7 Lesser Black-backed Gull , 6 Little Egret and 18 Cattle Egret . Around St Ouen's Pond were the White-fronted Goose , 20 Teal , a Wigeon , a Shelduck , 2 Stonechat , a Reed Bunting and 17 White Wagtail next to Sands while in the Sandpits were 5 Shelduck and at Petit Port were 105 Oystercatcher and 6 Brent Geese . A lone Swallow was at Noirmont. On the north coast a Willow Warbler , 2 White Wagtail and 4 Song Thrush were at Egypt and at Plemont were a Puffin and 28 Razorbill . 44 Pale-bellied Brent Geese , 6 Redshank and 4 Black-headed Gull were at St Aubin and 23 Brent Geese were at Beaumont Marsh. On Grands Vaux were 2 Teal and 10 Tufted Duck while in the grounds of the Zoo were a Water Rail , 4 Bullfinch , 5 Greenfinch , 3 Chiffchaff , 3 Blackcap , 2 Firecrest and 2 Tufted Duck . In Vallee des Vaux were 3 Chiffchaff .
by Romano da Costa 21 March 2026
21.03.2026 A male Stonechat singing away next to a field of Daffodils in St Ouen's Bay RdC Seen at La Sente were 2 Shelduck , 21 Redshank , 7 Greenshank , 2 Little Ringed Plover , 12 Little Egret , 11 Cattle Egret , 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull , 3 Black-headed Gull , 2 Common Gull and a Cetti's Warbler . Up at Sorel were 7 Song Thrush , 5 Blackbird , 2 Stonechat , 3 Dartford Warbler , 4 Chiffchaff , 2 Raven and 2 Peregrine while flying over were 114 Meadow Pipit , 13 Linnet and 2 Chaffinch . Around St Ouen's Pond were 28 Shoveler , 9 Teal , 2 Tufted Duck , 2 Black-headed Gull , a Wheatear and 2 Stonechat while at Kempt Tower were 3 Tufted Duck , 2 Little Grebe and a Water Rail . At Beaumont Marsh were 49 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and 10 Brent Geese . Elsewhere, 2 Wheatear were at Corbiere, a Dartford Warbler and 3 Chiffchaff were at Gorselands, 9 Chiffchaff were at Noirmont, 4 Buzzard over East Riding and 2 Redwing were in Vallee des Vaux.
by Romano da Costa 20 March 2026
20.03.2026 A distant record shot of today's Little Ringed Plovers , thanks to Alan Gicquel. At La Sente today were 2 Little Ringed Plover , 2 Shelduck , 41 Brent Geese , 21 Little Egret , 26 Cattle Egret , 25 Redshank , 7 Greenshank , a Lesser Black-backed Gull , 3 Common Gull, a Black-headed Gull and 5 Song Thrush. Around St Ouen's Pond were 37 Teal , 11 Brent Geese , a Wigeon , 34 Shoveler , 6 Tufted Duck , the White-fronted Goose , 18 Sand Martin , a Swallow , a Water Pipit , 6 Song Thrush , 5 Lapwing , 3 Snipe , 2 Oystercatcher , 5 Wheatear , 4 Skylark and a Reed Bunting while at Kempt Tower were 3 Little Grebe , 3 Tufted Duck and 2 Wheatear . Near Jersey Pearl were 7 Wheatear , a pale Buzzard was over St Ouen's Church and 5 Shoveler and a Wheatear were on Mont Matthieu. At Petit Port were 103 Oystercatcher , a Common Gull and 7 Brent Geese . Beaumont Marsh held 57 Pale-bellied Brent Geese , 12 Brent Geese , 7 Snipe , 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Firecrest while at Noirmont were a Dartford Warbler , 3 Chiffchaff and a Swallow . In Vallee des Vaux were a Grey Wagtail , a Firecrest and a Blackcap .
by Romano da Costa 19 March 2026
19.03.2026 The first Swallow of the year was seen flying through St Ouen's Bay this afternoon. No photo of today's so here's one I took earlier RdC Seen at St Ouen's Pond were the White-fronted Goose , a Sand Martin , 4 Shelduck , a Wigeon , 29 Shoveler , 18 Teal , 6 Brent Geese , 3 Lapwing , 2 Skylark , a Stonechat and a Wheatear . At Corbiere were 24 Purple Sandpiper and a Turnstone while at Beaumont Marsh were 30 Brent Geese and at First Tower was a Black-headed Gull . Up at Le Catillon were 7 Common Gull and 12 Black-headed Gull while at Grouville Marsh were a Siskin , 9 Snipe and 2 Raven . At La Sente were 104 Brent Geese , 2 Shelduck , 22 Redshank , a Greenshank , 26 Little Egret and 6 Cattle Egret and at Grands Vaux were 2 Teal .
by Romano da Costa 18 March 2026
18.03.2026 A female Marsh Harrier at St Ouen's Pond MD Seen around St Ouen's Pond were the White-fronted Goose , 14 Teal , 2 Lapwing , 2 Shelduck , a Pochard , 6 Tufted Duck and 24 Shoveler while at Kempt Tower were a Little Grebe , 6 Tufted Duck , 3 Coot , a Cetti's Warbler and a Chiffchaff . Up at Sorel were 12 Song Thrush , 2 Stonechat , 3 Chiffchaff , a Dartford Warbler , 12 Raven , 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull , 4 Linnet , 14 Meadow Pipit and a Peregrine with 10 Gannet offshore. Les Landes were 2 Wheatear , 30 Linnet , 4 Stonechat , 20 Raven and a Peregrine with a pair of Stonechat at Le Pulec. At La Sente were 24 Brent Geese , 2 Shelduck , 23 Redshank , 6 Greenshank, 19 Cattle Egret , 11 Little Egret , 2 Common Gull and 6 Pied Wagtail . Beaumont Marsh held 66 Brent Geese which included 35 Pale-bellied , a Little Egret and 3 Chough . In Vallee des Vaux were a Grey Wagtail , 2 Blackcap , 2 Bullfinch and a singing Greenfinch .
by Romano da Costa 17 March 2026
17.03.2026 A Lapwing at St Ouen's Pond MD Seen at St Ouen's Pond were 20 Sand Martin , a Water Pipit , 34 Shoveler , a Pochard , a Wigeon , 14 Teal , 4 Lapwing , a Snipe , a Water Rail and a singing Reed Bunting while at Kempt Tower were 3 Little Grebe , 11 Tufted Duck , 4 Stonechat , 3 Chough and 2 Wheatear with 2 more Wheatear on the Blanches Banques and another 2 at Grosnez. On Mont Matthieu were 11 Shoveler and 2 Tufted Duck . At La Sente were 2 Shelduck , 2 Shoveler , 8 Little Egret and 2 Pied Wagtail while 16 Cattle Egret were near the Seymour Inn and a Grey Heron was at Handois. Yesterday evening 182 Alba Wagtail were roosting in the Marina.
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