by Michael Dryden
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26 Jun, 2024
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).