26.06.2024 A beautiful male Dartford Warbler collecting food recently at Les Landes, image with thanks to Andrew Hall
A sunny and very warm day (27c) in light winds.
New on the scene today were 2 Cattle Egrets in stunning breeding plumage, with cows at Mont a L'Abbe.
Birds are starting to move now, despite June not yet being out and at Corbiere this morning 130 Swifts flew over in two hours, also a White Wagtail. Offshore it was quiet again with 7 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 5 Guillemots, 4 Fulmars, 34 Gannets, an early Common Gull, a Kittiwake, 7 Black-headed Gulls, two of them juveniles, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Sandwich Tern and a Curlew seen. 4 Ravens and 2 Peregrines were also seen. At Petit Port this morning, roosting Curlew numbers had risen to 29, while at La Pulente the Shelduck family was still present but only 3 young were in evidence ( 4 still there yesterday) & Little Egrets were also there.
Odds and ends around the St Ouen's Pond area included a Grey Heron, 2 Barnacle Geese, 2 Oystercatchers, 15 Swifts and a Little Egret, while on the Kempt Tower pools were 2 Little Grebes with 2 young, Tufted Ducks with 4 young and Coots with 2 young. In the Sandpits were 2 Grey Herons, 2 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Little Grebes, a male Pochard, 28 Tufted Duck, 74 Coot, 9 Oystercatchers including 2 juveniles, 3 Little Egrets and 2 Cormorants.
At St John's Manor were Tufted Duck with 4 large young and in St Brelade's Bay, 300 Herring Gulls were feeding on dead Sand Eels ( reason unknown).
