Jersey Birds
24.03.2024 Fulmar at Grosnez this morning MD
A cloudy day with a gusty west-northwest wind feeling cold at 12c
Seen at St Ouen's Pond this morning were 20 Shovelers, 2 Wigeon, a Pochard and 2 Oystercatchers and at the Scrape were a White-fronted Goose, a Pink-footed Goose, 200 Brent Geese, 7 Teal, a Hen Harrier, 6 Lapwings, a Swallow and 8 Sand Martins.
At Corbiere were 18 Purple Sandpipers, a Peregrine and a Wheatear and in Petit Port Bay were a pair of Shelduck. On Ouaisne Common were a singing Little Grebe, 15 Chiffchaffs and 2 Bullfinches, with a recently dead Guillemot washed up on the beach.
Seawatching from Grosnez was routine, with birds seen including a single Manx Shearwater, 41 Fulmars, 57 Gannets, 10 Razorbills, 7 Guillemots, 11 Kittiwakes, 33 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Ravens, 2 Kestrels and a Peregrine.
At La Sente today were 2 Shelduck, 2 Teal, 33 Cattle Egrets, 4 Little Egrets, 2 Common Gulls, 8 Black-headed Gulls, the Little Ringed Plover, 25 Redshanks, 4 Greenshanks, a Willow Warbler, 34 Pied Wagtails and 8 White Wagtails. In Grouville Bay were 4 Wheatears and in Vallee des Vaux were 11 Siskins, 5 Bullfinches and 4 Blackcaps, also a Sparrowhawk.
This evening, 14
Redshanks were at St Aubin, and
560 Crows were at Le Catillon!
Extras for yesterday include 2 Short-eared Owls in Grouville Bay, 5 Siskins. 6 Bullfinches and 3 Blackcaps in Vallee des Vaux.
A big thanks goes to Neil and Alli for organising and leading an evening visit to Plemont yesterday, for a "Beginners Seabirds" event:
Beginners Seabirds at The Plemont Seabird Reserve - Sat 23rd March 17.00
Firstly, a big thank you to the hardy folk who joined us for this event on a rather unappealing evening.
The conditions weren’t ideal, with a fierce North Westerly and rough seas but we battled on nevertheless.
One bird, which particularly enjoys a strong wind, is the Fulmar. This bird is related to the albatrosses, flies with stiff wings and loves gliding, so the stronger the wind the better!
We also enjoyed sightings of Raven, Gannet, Kestrel and a number of different Gull species, with a touch of Botany thrown in.
For our next beginners event we shall revisit Plémont with the hope of more settled weather!
Mick Dryden
Romano da Costa
Tony Paintin
