Jersey Birds

19.01.2025 Another superb image of a Bittern at the Wetland Centre, courtesy of Romano RDC Another cold (4c) day, with overcast conditions in a fresh south-southeasterly wind. Numbers of birds on St Ouen's Pond this morning, made it look a little like Swan Lake without the Swans ! Counts there included a Bittern , 215 Brent Geese , 280 feral Greylags ( including one Swan Goose ), 96 Lapwings , 5 Golden Plovers , 9 Snipe , 54 Mediterranean Gulls , 18 Black-headed Gulls , 13 Wigeon , 25 Teal , 19 Shoveler , 40 Mallard , 5 Pochard , a Tufted Duck , 2 Little Grebes , a Grey Heron, a Cormorant , a Chiffchaff , 4 Reed Buntings and a Water Pipit ! Things were quieter at Corbiere, birds seen there including a Red-throated Diver , 2 Red-breasted Mergansers , a Fulmar , 17 Gannets , 2 Razorbills , 5 Guillemots , 4 Cormorants , 49 Shags , a Grey Heron, 16 Kittiwakes , 3 Common Gulls, 19 Great Black-backed Gulls and a Raven . At La Rocque were a Great Northern Diver , a Slavonian Grebe , a Black-necked Grebe , 140 Dunlin and 90 Grey Plovers , while in Grouville Marsh were 32 Coot . In La Sente were 69 Redshanks , 4 Greenshanks , 5 Lapwings , 26 Grey Herons , 24 Little Egrets and 3 Bullfinches . 7 Cattle Egrets were near Grouville Church and a further 17 Cattle Egrets were in St Clement, near the Church. On Grouville Common were 8 Song Thrushes and 4 Redwings . 10 more Cattle Egrets were at Cowley Farm. Bramblings are very scarce this winter, so sightings of singles in a garden on Mont Cochon and at the Trinity Orchard were welcome, with a Fieldfare also at the latter. In Beaumont Marsh were 380 dark-bellied Brent Geese , 2 Shoveler and a Teal and at St Aubin were 28 pale-bellied Brent Geese and 33 Redshanks . In Vallee des Vaux today were garden visitors, 4 Bullfinches , 2 Goldcrests , 2 Firecrests , 6 Redwings , and a Blackcap with 22 Ravens and 6 Woodcock in flight and 300 Chaffinches across the valley. Another 150 Chaffinches were in Rue des Touettes in St Mary.

18.01.2025 A Great Northern Diver with it's favourite food, at La Rocque this morning MD A cold (3c) day with overcast skies in a moderate east-northeast wind. La Sente continues to be good value and around the water today were 50 Brent Geese , including 3 juveniles, 62 Redshanks , 5 Lapwings , 8 Grey Herons , 5 Cattle Egrets , 7 Little Egrets , 5 Snipe and a Raven while in the small field by La Sente Cottage were 4 Bullfinches , a Serin , 30 Chaffinches , 3 Goldfinches , a Reed Bunting , a Buzzard , 2 Song Thrushes and a Pheasant . At Le Petit Catillon were 2 Short-eared Owls . Seen from La Rocque and Seymour over the morning high tide were 5 Great Northern Divers , 5 Black-necked Grebes , 3 Slavonian Grebes, 2 Great Crested Grebes , 14 Red-breasted Mergansers , 2 Common Scoters , 500 + Brent Geese , 140 Shags , a Grey Heron , 6 Little Egrets , a Lesser Black-backed Gull , and 100+ Black-headed Gulls . Among waders looking to roost there were 255 Grey Plovers , a Bar-tailed Godwit , 160 Sanderlings , 200+ Dunlin , 46 Curlews and 25 Turnstones . A male Black Redstart was in Robin Bay. and a Peregrine was hunting offshore. Redwings were liberally scattered around the Island in small flocks which included 45 on Mont Matthieu, 30 in a sheep field at Les Marais, 12 at Gorselands and at Crabbe. Also at Crabbe were a male Hen Harrier, 450 Chaffinches , 300 Linnets , 2 Reed Buntings , 2 Ravens and a Kestrel . On Mont Matthieu were 72 Skylarks , 6 Song Thrushes and 200 Chaffinches and a Dartford Warbler was seen at Grantez. At Le Pulec were 18 Rock Pipits , a female Black Redstart , a Grey Wagtail and 8 Little Egrets . Another 40 Skylarks and 30 Chaffinches were at Plemont. Around Handois reservoir were 6 Tufted Duck , 40 Mallard , 6 Goldcrests , 2 Firecrests , a Short-toed Treecreeper and a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker . At St Aubin were 19 pale-bellied Brent Geese , 34 Redshanks and 10 Turnstones .

17.01.2025 A beautiful image of one of the Purple Sandpipers near Corbiere yesterday, with thanks to Romano. RDC A dry but mainly overcast day in a moderate southerly wind, feeling cold at 7c This morning's sightings of birds passing Corbiere in the grey conditions, involved a Red-throated Diver , a Black-throated Diver , a Black-necked Grebe feeding south of the lighthouse, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers , 4 Common Scoters , 3 Brent Geese, 18 Gannets , a Fulmar , 406 Razorbills , 30 Guillemots , 12 Cormorants ( mostly now in breeding plumage), 56 Kittiwakes , 4 Mediterranean Gulls , 2 Black-headed Gulls and 23 Curlews , with 7 Purple Sandpipers roosting and 8 Rock Pipits also present. Offshore were a Porpoise and a Bottle-nosed Dolphin . 2 Peregrines were seen nearby, at Gorselands and the Brambling again visited a garden at Beauport. On St Ouen's Pond were 7 Wigeon , 18 Shovelers , 5 Teal , a Pochard , 2 Little Grebes , 75 Lapwings , 4 Snipe , 3 Grey Herons , 2 Stonechats and a Water Pipit . A Merlin was seen at the Scrape. At Causie Lane in St Clement were a Cattle Egret , a Grey Heron , 105 Stock Doves , 6 Moorhens and 300 Brent Geese in a nearby field. 4 Cattle Egrets were seen at Fauvic. At La Sente were 53 Redshanks , 5 Lapwings , 7 Little Egrets , 3 Grey Herons , a Song Thrush , 5 Bullfinches and 2 Ravens . At Beaumont Marsh were 65 dark-bellied Brent Geese including 3 juveniles which are very scarce this winter, 7 Shovelers , a Snipe and a Chiffchaff . In St Catherine's Woods were 23 Redwings , 19 Blackbirds , a Grey Wagtail , 8 Long-tailed Tits , 2 Ravens , a Buzzard and an overflying Marsh Harrier . A pair of Tufted Duck were seen on the small reservoir by St Catherine's Tower yesterday.

16.01.2025 A Reed Bunting in the conservation fields at Crabbe MD An overcast start to the day cleared to fine conditions through daylight hours, with winds light from the southeast. Counts at the Crabbe conservation area today included both a male and a ring-tailed Hen Harrier , 2 Peregrines , a Kestrel , 2 Ravens , a Lapwing , 6 Reed Buntings , 200 Linnets , 50 Chaffinches and 6 Stonechats . At St Ouen's Pond early on were a Bittern , 6 Wigeon , 75 Lapwings , 76 Brent Geese and 2 Little Grebes , with 43 Ringed Plovers near Sands. Behind the Pond, 4 Choughs were on an outbuilding roof. 400 Chaffinches were at Plemont also a pale Buzzard and 6 Woodcock flew over Vallee des Vaux at Dusk. Passing Corbiere through the morning were an our of season Manx Shearwater, 2 Red-throated Divers, 422 Razorbills , 19 Guillemots , 5 Fulmars , 16 Gannets , 18 Cormorants , 51 Shags , 4 Brent Geese, 58 Kittiwakes , 3 Common Gulls , 4 Mediterranean Gulls , 57 Great Black-backed Gulls , 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , a Black-headed Gull , a Peregrine and 48 Curlews heading into Petit Port Bay. 14 Purple Sandpipers and 5 Turnstones were roosting nearby and 6 Common Dolphins were feeding offshore. Also in Petit Port were 2 Brent Geese, a pair of Shelduck and a Grey Heron . At La Sente were 61 Redshanks , 7 Cattle Egrets , 2 Little Egrets and 8 Grey Herons and in Rue du Pont were 10 Brent Geese , 2 Marsh Harriers, a Kestrel and 5 Little Egrets .  Yesterday's count of Brent Geese produced a total of 1,746 adult birds, but no juveniles at all. Details can be downloaded from the Resources page on this website.

15.01.2025 A Cattle Egret at La Sente this morning MD After a few clear days, it was back to the overcast and drizzle, and eventually hill fog today, but milder in light winds. The latest in the round of co-ordinated Wader and Brent Goose counts were made today in good calm conditions for seeing birds in the sea in particular. The results will be published here in due course. In Grouville Bay this morning, other species apart from the above, included 2 Great Northern Divers , 9 Great Crested Grebes , 10 Black-necked Grebes , a Slavonian Grebe , a male Pintail , 13 Common Scoters , 23 Red-breasted Mergansers, 510 Black-headed Gulls , 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Common Gulls . At La Sente were 57 Redshanks , 5 Lapwings , a Snipe , 2 Cattle Egrets , 2 Ravens , 6 Bullfinches , a Redpoll , 40 Redwings and 5 Reed Buntings . In the small orchard by La Rocque Church were a Marsh Harrier, 8 Redwings and a Reed Bunting and at La Rocque point was a male Black Redstart . In Grouville Marsh were 14 Cattle Egrets , 10 Coot , 200+ Black-headed Gulls , a Lesser Black-backed Gull and 19 Common Gulls . Passing La Coupe were a Great Northern Diver , 11 Razorbills , 3 Guillemots , 4 Common Gulls , 3 Kittiwakes , 35 Gannets and 6 Porpoises . Round the corner at Rozel Harbour were a single Brent Goose, a Grey Wagtail and in the valley, a Great Spotted Woodpecker . In St Aubin's Bay by West Park were 2 Black-necked Grebes , a Great Crested Grebe and a Little Egret and at St Aubin were a Black-necked Grebe, 2 Grey Herons and a Little Egret with a Black Redstart on boulders near Jardin de la Mer and a Kingfisher at the New North Quay. In Beaumont Marsh were 5 Shovelers , a Teal , a Grey Wagtail , 9 Meadow Pipits , a White Wagtail and a Grey Heron . Seen from the Wetland Centre at the Pond were a Bittern , 3 Wigeon , 9 Teal , 16 Shovelers , 8 Pochard , 4 Tufted Duck , 2 Little Grebes , a Sparrowhawk , and in the fields behind the Pond were 76 Lapwings and 12 Choughs . On the Scrape were 2 Teal and another Grey Heron . In the Sandpits were 6 Pochard , 24 Tufted Duck , 6 Little Grebes , 3 Mediterranean Gulls and 30 Black-headed Gull . At Corbiere were a Raven , a Sparrowhawk and a Song Thrush and at Petit Port were 17 Mediterranean Gulls . Elsewhere, in a field on Hydrangea Avenue in St Ouen were 2 Cattle Egrets , and 2 Stonechats , at the St Brelade's Deport orchard were 7 Redwings , in St Peter's Valley were a Grey Wagtail and 2 Firecrests , In Rue de la Presse in St Peter were 250 Chaffinches and an unusual garden visitation in St Martin was made by 2 Cattle Egrets !

14.01.2025 A Song Thrush at the Scrape MD The fine weather continued today with a little more high cloud than before, giving a pleasant day at 8c in a light south-southeast wind. Another morning of auks passing Corbiere, although less than yesterday with 1,283 Razorbills and 48 Guillemots seen, as well as a Red-breasted Merganser , a Fulmar , 6 Gannets , 5 Cormorants , 47 Kittiwakes , 11 Mediterranean Gulls , 23 Great Black-backed Gulls and the 2 Peregrines heading out to sea at sunrise. In Petit Port were 30 Curlews and 3 Brent Geese . Off Grosnez was a raft of 31 Fulmars and at Plemont were another 51 Fulmars and a Red-throated Diver , while on the ground at Plemont were 4 Reed Buntings , 150 Chaffinches , 25 Stock Doves , 4 Song Thrushes and a Kestrel , but the fields there have now been cut. A Peregrine and a Grey Heron were seen at Ile Agois. Around the fields at Crabbe were 20 Redwings , 2 Song Thrushes , 80 Linnets , 50 Chaffinches , 6 Reed Buntings , 2 Kestrels , a Raven and 2 Choughs . A Bittern was at the Wetland Centre of St Ouen's Pond and a Merlin was in the backfields there, with a pair of Shelduck at La Pulente. At Beaumont Marsh were 2 Teal , 6 Song Thrushes , 4 Chiffchaffs , a Pied Wagtail and a Marsh Harrier . In Grouville Marsh were 32 Cattle Egrets , 12 Common Gulls, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 120 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Grey Herons , 22 Redwings and a Grey Wagtail . At La Sente were 5 Lapwings , a Grey Heron and a Raven , with 13 Tufted Duck and a Chiffchaff seen at Grands Vaux and another 10 Cattle Egrets plus c500 Starlings at Cowley Farm. A Song Thrush was in song in Vallee des Vaux this evening, where 6 Woodcock flew over at Dusk. A Pintail and a Grey Wagtail were at Queen's Valley

13.01.2025 Saturday's fleeting visitor to the Scrape, with thanks to John Ovenden for his fine image of the Avocet JO Another fine day, but still cold in a south-easterly wind. Seabirds were on the move past Corbiere again this morning, counts there including 2,330 Razorbills , 54 Guillemots , 5 Red-throated Divers plus one very distant diver sp , a Shelduck , a Fulmar , 6 Gannets , 2 Little Gulls , 45 Kittiwakes , 13 Common Gulls , 6 Mediterranean Gulls with more in St Ouen's Bay and 11 Great Black-backed Gulls , also a Peregrine was hunting offshore. Single Common Dolphin and Bottle-nosed Dolphin were also seen. On St Ouen's Pond were 6 Pochard , 4 Tufted Duck , 20 Teal , 10 Wigeon , 20 Shovelers 12 Brent Geese , 3 Grey Herons , 18 Snipe , 60 Lapwings and 2 Stonechats . A Hen Harrier was at the Scrape and another Hen Harrier ( a ring-tail) was at Crabbe. Seen from Seymour in Grouville Bay this afternoon, were 450 Dunlin , 85 Sanderlings , 66 Ringed Plovers , 95 Grey Plovers , 36 Turnstones , 12 Curlews , 2 Slavonian Grebes and a Peregrine . 7 Lapwings were in Route des Hetres, St Peter and the garden-visiting Brambling was seen again at Beauport. On the Scrape this evening were 74 Lapwings , 15 Teal , a Grey Heron and a Peregrine , while in the St Helier Marina was a roost of 220 Wagtails , mainly Pied but with some numbers of White Wagtails also involved.

12.01.2025 A female Peregrine arriving at Corbiere with it's breakfast (a Turnstone ), at first light this morning MD At last, a fine day but with a cool south-southeast wind. Seabirds passing Corbiere this morning were mainly of one species, with 2,652 Razorbills counted in just over two hours. Playing minor roles were 29 Guillemots , 14 Gannets , a Fulmar , 67 Kittiwakes , 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Common Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. 2 Peregrines were hunting offshore, albeit fairly briefly. Passing La Coupe during the same period were a Great Skua, 2 Great Northern Divers , 5 Red-throated Divers , 6 Kittiwakes , 14 Common Gulls , a Mediterranean Gull , 79 Razorbills , 5 Guillemots , 26 Gannets and a Peregrine . 18 Curlews were at Petit Port. Along the North coast, at Plemont, were a male Hen Harrier , 4 Marsh Harriers , a Sparrowhawk ,, 2 Kestrels , a pale-phase Buzzard , 200 Chaffinches , 15 Goldfinches , 20 Linnets , 15 Reed Bunting , 8 Long-tailed Tit s, 40 Skylarks , 2 Grey Herons , 3 Ravens , 2 Choughs , 6 Song Thrushes , 2 Redwings , 120 Stock Doves and 320 Woodpigeons off the sea, heading East. At Crabbe were a ring-tail Hen Harrier , 2 Kestrels and 70 Linnets and by the Sorel aviary were 2 Fieldfares with 10 Song Thrushes, and a Dartford Warbler . On St Ouen's Pond this morning were 10 Wigeon , 24 Shovelers , 32 Teal , 6 Pochard , 5 Tufted Duck , 2 Brent Geese , 2 Grey Herons and 4 Snipe , while on the Scrape were 7 Snipe , a Water Rail, a Song Thrush and a male Stonechat . At Beaumont Marsh were 70 Brent Geese , 5 Snipe , a Shoveler , a Firecrest and a Grey Wagtail . Seen at La Sente were 7 Grey Herons , 12 Little Egrets , a Lapwing , 2 Snipe , 7 Redshanks , 5 Bullfinches and 2 Song Thrushes . 300 Brent Geese were at Causie Lane, and 3 Curlews plus a Raven were at La Rocque. At Le Roncier were 12 Cattle Egrets, 3 Stonechats , 6 Linnets , 180 Chaffinches , 6 Chiffchaffs , 12 Goldfinches and 4 Ravens . In a field on Hydrangea Avenue in St Ouen were 2 Stonechats and and in a flooded car park at Secrets were 2 Water Pipits . and at Seymour in Grouville Bay this evening were 200 Brent Geese and 4 Curlews . Below : Courtesy of John Ovenden, a short video of yesterday's colour-ringed Avocet on the Scrape JO

11.01.2025 Ringed waders seem to be proliferating in the Island at the moment. This suitably named Ringed Plover, was pictured by Romano near Sands in St Ouen's Bay, having been ringed in Finland, and previously seen here in 2020, but probably present each Winter since RDC A fair to fine day for a change, with a cold feel in an Easterly wind. Another ringed wader seen today was an Avocet from the Netherlands, present briefly at the Scrape this morning ( but long enough to be photographed), it later arrived in Guernsey on a tour of the Islands. Other birds seen on the Scrape through today included 75 Lapwings , a Grey Heron , 4 Wigeon and a Shelduck . On St Ouen's Pond were a Bittern , 12 Shovelers , 21 Teal , 6 Wigeon , 6 Pochard , a Little Grebe , a Snipe and a Water Pipit . In the Sandpits were 27 Tufted Ducks , 6 Pochard , 5 Little Grebes and 12 Black-headed Gulls with 3 Buzzards overhead. Passing St Catherine's / La Coupe this morning were 2 Great Northern Divers , 5 Black-throated Divers , 7 Red-throated Divers , 4 Common Scoters, 109 Gannets , 169 Razorbills , 16 Guillemots , 13 Brent Geese , 25 Kittiwakes , 24 Common Gulls and 28 Black-headed Gulls . A colour-ringed Curlew on the rocks at Fliquet was probably our regular winter visiting one from Poland. 6 Bottle-nosed Dolphins moved past there heading South. Cattle Egrets featured well on the East of the Island and these included 43 at Le Roncier, 3 at La Sente, and 5 at Grouville Marsh. Also at La Sente were 3 Redshanks , a Lapwing , 3 Grey Herons , 10 Little Egrets , 150 Brent Geese, 2 Common Gulls , 17 Black-headed Gulls , 4 Bullfinches , 2 Pied Wagtails and 2 Song Thrushes . In a flooded orchard field opposite La Rocque Church were 28 Redwings and 9 Fieldfares and at Le Roncier were a Common Gull , 5 Little Egrets , 40 Redwings and a pair of Stonechat . In Beaumont Marsh were 85 Brent Geese, a Black Redstart , 2 Stonechats and 4 Shovelers and at Grands Vaux were 10 Tufted Ducks , a Grey Heron , a Lesser Black-backed Gull and 2 Cormorants . On the North coast, at Rozel, were 13 Brent Geese and at Ile Agois was a Sparrowhawk , while behind the energy from waste plant at La Collette was a Grey Seal . Evening update: Seen at Grouville Marsh this evening were 30 Reed Buntings, 5 Chiffchaffs , 3 Cetti's Warblers , 2 Grey Wagtails , 20 Redwings , a Great Spotted Woodpecker , 4 Woodcock , 4 Water Rails, 2 Barn Owls , 2 Ravens and 70 Jackdaws . At Croix au Maitre was another Barn Owl. Below : This Ringed Plover , also pictured at Sands, was ringed on the Polish Coast. Image by RDC