Yearly Archives: 2025

Chough report – Second quarter

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Alderney
The pair of choughs seen in Alderney on 31st March continued to reside there into April. This news was shared by Alderney Bird Observatory (ABO). It’s great to know we have eyes and ears on the neighbouring islands, where choughs are concerned. Both female and hatched in 2023, these birds were identified as: Skomer (Black/Pink (L)) and Millport (Dark Blue/Pink (R)). Always observed together, they were also seen allopreening. Their spontaneous ‘girls trip’ to Alderney could have been to scout for some males, as unfortunately, the sex ratio in the flock has more females than males. Having failed in their endeavour, the pair returned to Jersey on 10th April.

Skomer and Millport are back from their week away in Alderney. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

The first of many
The first chick of the year was ringed on 1st May. This chick was from a new breeding pair, Alder & Angalsea, at a new nesting location. The male, Alder, hatched in 2022, and the female, Angalsea, in 2023. This young pair is rarely seen at the Sorel aviary during supplementary feeding times, so it was a big surprise when we received information on their success. The team set off, found the pair, their nest and chick! Although they only had one chick this year, we hope that in the coming years they will become more experienced and successful.

This year’s ring colour is: Brown. It will be coupled with three other individual identifier bands. The long-debated chough naming theme this year is: Biscuits, which turns out to be quite fitting as the biscuits brand McVitie’s is celebrating their 100th anniversary!

Hobnob showing off their new colour rings. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

New nest findings
The team has been working hard to find more chough nests across the island. With the help of Jersiaise ornithology members as well as Jersey residents, the team at Durrell has received more chough sightings, which in turn has helped narrow down the search for nest locations. This year, three new nests were located. The first nest was located in L’Etacq, which was breeding pair Alder and Angalsea’s nest. The second nest was found through word of mouth on social media. We contacted the landowners and they happily allowed us to monitor the nest, enabling us to establish the pair visiting were Portelet & Sallow. The third nest was also found in St Ouen and with landowners again giving us access, we concluded the third nest site belonged to Aspen & Jaune. 

Kevin displaying next to Wally, their partner. Photography by Charlotte Dean.

The nests found in St Ouen were unfortunately inaccessible without cherry pickers. The location of Sallow & Portelet’s nest was well hidden, but the landowners managed to send us regular nest updates, allowing us to know how many chicks to expect from them. Their nest contained four chicks!

Aspen & Jaunes nest could luckily be viewed from the ground, and they had two hungry chicks to feed. If any of the readers know of a chough nest site, please do not hesitate to email us at charlotte.dean@durrell.org as we’re eager to find out where all the choughs nest for future monitoring.

Two chicks at Aspen & Jaunes nest. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Ronez First walk around
Our first quarry walk around was on the 16th May – this is when we look around accessible chough nests to estimate chick ages so we can plan leg ringing sessions. The nests we could look into were Kevin & Wally, Dusty & Archirondel, and Iris & Sercq’s. Kevin & Wally had three chicks of ringing age; therefore, we ringed them on site. Dusty & Archirondel looked as though they had two chicks in their nest. Sercq & Iris had two much younger looking chicks than the other two pair’s nests we visited. Although we could only access three nests, we could hear chicks in other nests when walking around the site.

Two hungry chicks in Sercq & Iris’s nest. Photography by Tobias Cabarat.

Ronez ringing visit
The chough team visited Ronez again on the 25th May for the chough ringing visit. Our visit would not be possible without our collaboration with Ronez, as well as the generosity of 4Hire for allowing us the use of essential equipment to access nests free of charge. A total of seven nests were seen at the quarry this year, with six being accessible. Three of those nests required a cherry picker, and one required a scissor stair lift.

The first nest accessed was a new pairing; Percy & Remi. Percy & Remi had three hungry chicks in their nest, but unfortunately the weather was against us, so the chicks were left undisturbed. The second nest was another new pairing; Lee & Elm who had two chicks in their nest. The third nest was breeding pair Trevor & Noirmont, containing two chicks. The fourth nest investigated using the cherry picker was empty. The fifth nest was Dingle & Pyrrho’s, and this nest was accessed with a scissor lift.

Toby & Charlotte pulling chicks from Lee & Elm’s nest. Photograph by Bethea Billington.

One chick was found in the high nest, however chick calls were heard close by while this chick was being ringed. The staff explored around the nest site and found three newly fledged chicks hiding under a cupboard!  The sixth and last nest investigated belonged to Sercq & Iris, and two chicks were noted.

The one chick that was in Dingle & Pyrrhos nest. Photograph by Bethea Billington.

Plemont pair
The pair at Plemont weren’t visited as much this breeding season due to the stairs to the beach being replaced. However, once access was granted again, we managed a few afternoon observations. We also had some helpful Jersey residents monitoring the nest in our absence. Minty & Reys four chicks were witnessed leaving their nest for the very first time on 5th June and brought all four fledglings to the aviary on 11th June.

Two of the four chicks seen at the Plemont pairs nest. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Table 1, number of chicks in each nest visited so far.

Breeding pair

Number of chicks in nest

Alder & Angalsea

1

Kevin & Wally

3

Percy & Remi

3

Lee & Elm

2

Trevor & Noirmont

2

Dingle & Pyrrho

4

Sercq & Iris

2

Dusty & Archirondel

2

Aspen & Jaune

2

Sallow & Portelet

4

Minty & Rey

4

Bo & Flieur

Unknown

Pinel & Vicq

Unknown

Sarnia & Pine

Unknown

Kent & Rougenez

Unknown

Oronsay & Manitou

Unknown

Feta & Manchego

Unknown

Total

29

First ‘choughlets’ at the aviary
On the 5th June, the first pair to bring chicks near the aviary was Dingle & Pyrrho. Though the flyover was brief, the team spotted them. The next pair were Kevin & Wally, with two of their three chicks on 10th June. Minty & Rey brought their four chicks on the 11th June, who looked to be quite a handful! Dusty & Archirondel brought two chicks on 13th June, with Lee & Elm bringing their two chicks a little later on 17th. On the 18th, Sercq & Iris brought one chick, Sallow & Portelet brought three chicks, and Trevor & Noirmont brought two. Aspen & Jaune were seen feeding two chicks at the aviary on 20th June. Percy & Remi brought 3 chicks to the aviary on 21st June. Alder & Angalsea brought their chick to the aviary on 22nd. Finally, on the 25th June, Bo & Flieur surprised us when they were seen feeding a chick!

‘Choughlets’ all in a row on the aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Where have you seen the choughs?
April saw the most frequent sightings of choughs in St Ouen, which varied from inland sightings to observations along the coast. The highest number of choughs seen in a flock at St Ouen was seven in some horse fields along Mont Matthieu. The largest flock seen was 15 over Sorel. Choughs were however seen in many places around the island, including: Plemont, Corbiere, St Helier, Les Landes, Trinity, L’Etacq, Grosnez, Greve de Lecq, Grouville, Petit Port and St Catherine’s.

St Ouens seems to be the place to spot choughs lately. Choughs were seen most often during May – whether that be near the pond or further inland. The largest flock seen around the island was 23, flying over towards Ronez. Corbiere also saw 21 choughs. Apart from St Ouen, Ronez and Corbiere, the choughs were also spotted in various other places such as: Crabbe, Plemont, Les Landes, Grosnez, Le Pulec, Petit Port and White Rock.

Corbiere seemed to be the most popular place to see choughs in June. The three main places they were sighted were near the radio tower, in the Gorselands and La Rosiere quarry. The second most popular areas were Plemont and Les Landes. The largest flock was spotted in flight over Les Landes. However, the choughs were also seen in St John, St Ouens, St Mary’s, Grosnez, Greve de Lecq and Petit Port.

Parent and fledgling in flight over Grosnez. Photograph by Antony Morin.

Conservation Awards 2025
Durrell was invited to attend the 35th Jersey Conservation Awards anniversary as a potential candidate for a chance to win an award for conservation efforts across Jersey. This year’s event had several categories: School & youth group green award, Young conservationist of the year, People’s choice award, Best conservation project runner up and best conservation award. Each candidate entered gave a presentation on their projects. It was inspiring to hear about the fantastic conservation work that is on-going around the island. Durrell was lucky enough to receive the ‘Best conservation project award’ for the Red-Billed Chough Project.

Durrell Bird Team members accepting ‘The best conservation project’ 2025 for the Red-Billed Chough Project. Photograph by: Paul Wright.

Durrell’s Species Champion Award (DSCA)
Durrell’s education and chough team collaborated on a week-long event in June, where year 6 pupils of St John’s school took part in Durrell’s Species Champion Award (DSCA). The DSCA aimed to engage schools and local communities in wildlife conservation as well as to find better connections with nature. St John’s school chose the charismatic Red-billed Chough as their species champion and therefore were educated on the species through activities between 23rd – 27th June. The chough team gave a talk on the Red-billed Chough Project. During the week, the children learnt about ecosystems, chough diet, chough legends, created posters on the species, as well as taking a field trip to the Sorel aviary. They ended their week ‘championing’, by sharing what they had learnt with a reception class and their families.

Charlotte giving a talk on the chough project. Photograph by Alexandra Ward.

 

 

Chough report – First Quarter

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A new chough student
Bethea, our chough intern started in February, trained on all things choughs to enable them to service and monitor the Jersey chough population. This gives the rest of the team time to focus their efforts on other important tasks. Our intern has expressed interest in carrying out a research project on the chough population. We hope to gain valuable insights from the research carried out. Research may be on the horizon but there is still plenty of practical work to be done at the aviary. As it has been warming up, the grass has started to grow faster and therefore needs to be regularly cut to provide the choughs with somewhere to forage in the aviary. The team were recently trained in strimming equipment use and can now get to work.

Bethea hard at work strimming inside the aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Where have you seen the choughs?
Where have Jersey residents spotted choughs in the past three months? In January, the largest flock sighted was 12, seen beside the pond at Simon and Sands Ltd, St Ouen. Most frequent chough sightings were in St Ouen, mostly groups of two to four. At Crabbe flock sizes were up to six. Plemont saw the usual pair. However, a flock of five has also been seen flying over Plemont.  A pair of choughs were also seen flying over aMaizin! Adventure Park and Les Monts Grantez.

Spring daffodils and hungry choughs. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

February brought us more chough sightings across the island. The most consistent sightings were from Crabbe where flock sizes were seen between two and six, two of which were foraging and identified as Iris & Sercq. The largest flock of 24 was spotted at Grosnez Ravon. A lone chough was heard over Trinity. On one very rainy morning, business owner Jason, at Simon and Sands Ltd, witnessed 12 choughs taking refuge under the eaves of their shed. It’s good to see they know where shelter is when they need it! Another popular place to see choughs is just down the road from Simon and Sands Ltd, at St Ouen’s Pond, where flock sizes of four and up to nine have been seen.

Twelve choughs under the eaves at Simon and Sands. Photograph by Jason Simon.

During March, the most frequent flocks were seen in Corbiere, ranging from two to the largest flock of eight. Several sightings over Crabbe, Les Landes, Grantez and St Ouen. Choughs have been seen flying over St Johns Village as well as being spotted foraging in various green lane fields. A pair has been spotted hanging around St Helier.

Iris and Sercq foraging at Crabbe. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

An exciting adventure
On 31 March, the team were notified of some very exciting news. Two choughs had been seen in Alderney! The last time choughs had been spotted in Alderney was in 1991, almost 35 years ago. The pair were first seen flying from Fort Albert but stopped briefly on the golf course before gaining an unwelcoming reception from the local corvid population. We are hoping that, if the choughs stay on Alderney for a short period of time, will be identified to them at an individual level. So, watch out for the next report to find out who went to Alderney.

Choughs carrying nesting material. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Breeding season is upon us
During February, we saw old flames reigniting and even a few new pairs forming. Many of the previous breeding pairs have begun to form closer bonds, spotted sitting close together, engaging in allopreening and flying as pairs. On the other hand, many males and females have been witnessed fighting, likely over potential mates. The team have been monitoring the choughs closely and, from observations, suspect there will be around 17 potential breeding pairs this year. It could be a busy breeding season! It wasn’t long before the choughs were witnessed collecting nesting material too, with the first sighting of this year on 1st March.

A chough collecting wool straight from the source. Photograph by Bethea Billington.

Table 1. The seventeen potential breeding pairs.

Number

Breeding Pairs

1

Lee & Elm

2

Bo & Flieur

3

Percy & Remi

4

Kevin & Wally

5

Trevor & Noirmont

6

Dingle & Pyrrho

7

Dusty & Archirondel

8

Aspen & Jaune

9

Sallow & Portelet

10

Alder & Wally Jnr

11

Minty & Rey

12

Pinel & Vicq

13

Oronsay & Manitou

14

Sercq & Iris

15

Sarnia & Pine

16

Kent & Rougenez

17

Feta & Manchego

 

Annual Chough report 2024

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Background 

Red-billed choughs are considered a rare species in the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and north west France and, until recently, were classified as locally extinct in the Channel Islands. Changes in agricultural practices decimated their habitat and primary food source, resulting in their rarity. Several other bird species have suffered a similar fate. 

Birds On The Edge is a conservation initiative to restore coastal farmland habitat in order to benefit these species. The chough (caûvette in Jerriais) is the flagship for this work and in 2010 Durrell began a captive-breeding programme with the intention of releasing offspring into the wild. 

Intensively managed releases between 2013 and 2018, coupled with post-release monitoring and care have resulted in a highly successful reintroduction. The Channel Islands is home once again to a breeding population of choughs. 

Danny & Pyrrho’s family portrait. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

 

Notable Events and Successes in 2024 

The majority of our breeding success has been centred around our pairs nesting in Ronez Quarry. Interestingly, there were successful pairs from other areas around Jersey too and we hope to investigate these nest sites next year. A total of nine nests were checked at Ronez, six of which were active and successful. After the initial chick ringing visit, Ronez staff found another nest at the quarry which we’ll have to look out for in the next breeding season.

Kevin & Wally’s three chicks on first quarry nest checks. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

When visiting the nests at Ronez, fourteen chicks were found. Pairs that were nesting in the quarry were: Lee & Cauvette, Bo & Flieur, Trevor & Noirmont, Percy & Icho, Dusty & Archirondel and Kevin & Wally. On our checks at the quarry we presumed Red & Dingle had made a nest together. But unfortunately no chicks were found in their nest. Lee & Cauvette, Bo & Flieur, Kevin & Wally all had three chicks in their nest. Trevor & Noirmont and Percy & Icho both had two chicks in their nest. Dusty & Archirondel had a nest they were visiting, but on a second visit, it looked to be unsuccessful. We believe there were two other active nests at Ronez, however, neither of which was accessible; and with so many new pairings, it could have been anyone’s!

Table 1, chough breeding success at Ronez quarry.

Breeding Pair

Nest location 

Number of chicks in nest 

Number of chicks fledged 

Red & Dingle

Ronez

0

0

Lee &Cauvette

Ronez

3

3

Bo & Flieur

Ronez

3

2

Trevor &Noirmont

Ronez

2

2

Percy &Icho

Ronez

2

2

Dusty &Archirondel

Ronez

1

0

Kevin & Wally

Ronez

3

2
 

Totals

14

11


There were several nests that were never visually confirmed and some were from first time breeders; these pairs included: Danny & Pyrrho, Jaune & Aspen and Alder & Wally Jnr. Danny & Jaune had been a pair since 2021 however, had not been deemed successful. As we’ve lost a few older males and females in the flock, the pair split and re-paired with new partners. This seems to have worked in their favour as both new pairs: Danny & Pyrrho and Aspen & Jaune, brought two chicks to the aviary.

A completely new pair that bred for the first time this year was Alder & Wally Jnr. They brought one chick to the aviary; which is a huge success for the pair. We’re hoping that these pairs will continue to have successful breeding seasons going forward.

Another pair, Vicq & Pinel, that used to build their nest in a local stable in Trinity have successfully bred again.  Although the exact location of their nest is unknown, we do have our suspicions as to where it might be. Last year they brought their very first chick to the aviary and this year we were over the moon to see them arrive at Sorel with two chicks in tow.  We hope that this pair will continue to have successful breeding seasons in the future.

Minty & Rey with their five chicks. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Our Plemont pair; Minty & Rey, started the breeding season very early, they were a good few weeks ahead of the rest of the choughs that were breeding. The first signs of chicks in the nest brought us great joy; there were five hungry beaks waiting for their lunch. It seemed the pair had a feeding schedule, where one would chase off ravens and/or crows; while the other would feed the chicks. It seemed quite energetically consuming, however it was working in their favour; as their chicks grew up very quickly. We waited patiently for them to arrive at the aviary and sure enough, two of the five chicks managed to make it to Sorel. Although they lost a few chicks (which is inevitable in the wild) they still had a pretty successful year.

Table 2, chough breeding success in other locations across the island.

Breeding Pair

Nest location 

Number of chicks in nest 

Number of chicks fledged 

Danny &Pyrrho

Ronez

2

2

Aspen & Jaune

Unknown

2

2

Alder & Wally Jnr

Unknown

1

1

Pinel & Vicq

Unknown

2

2

Minty & Rey

Plemont

5

2
 

Total

12

9


Over the course of 2024 we’ve had a total loss of nine birds. Six of which were chicks and three of which were long-standing breeding adults. However, an overall of 26 chicks were hatched in the breeding season, the most chicks produced since the project began! 20 of those 26 chicks managed to fledge from their nests, bringing the total population to a whopping 63 birds! The team hope that next year will be just as fruitful.

Table 3, indicating the current population size as well as the flock’s sex ratio. 

Population size 

Males 

Females 

Unknown 

63

22

35

6


In 2024, there were twelve breeding pairs, ten of which fledged chicks. A total of 26 chicks were hatched, the most since the project began!

Activities in 2024

Primary activities continued as detailed below:

Supplemental feeding 

Provision of supplemental food continues daily at Sorel. Attendance by the flock varies seasonally and between individuals. It remains a reliable way to ascertain population size. There are currently sixty-three individuals of which over two thirds are now wild-hatched (Released: 11: wild hatched: 52). Due to the steep increase in population size, the supplementary feed has been adjusted.

Supplemental feeding allows staff to closely monitor health issues and inter-flock behaviour. Concerns can be flagged up quickly and often dealt with on the spot.  

A pair eating from a feeder in the Sorel aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.


Notable leavers and losses  

The last and only chough left from the first batch of releases, ‘Red’, at the age of twelve, has sadly disappeared during the breeding season. Her partner Dingle was seen arriving alone, leading us to assume that Red was incubating in a nest. Dingle was then seen with another female named Iris. This is not unheard of in males, and they can sometimes be seen hanging out with other females while their partner is incubating. As Red has not been seen since May, she is believed to have died.

After the breeding season had ended and the chicks were no longer hanging off their parent’s beaks, Cauvette disappeared. We noticed her disappearance from her partner, Lee, arriving to the aviary alone. Since Cauvette’s disappearance, Lee has gained a lot of female attention. He’s now often seen flying to the aviary along with two other females (Elm and Willow). It will be interesting to see if Lee pairs up with either of these females next breeding season, but for now, we think he’s enjoying being a lady’s man!

Cheddar, a male juvenile from Minty & Rey’s nest this year has also disappeared leaving the last male chick from their nest, Sakura as the sole survivor.

Red & Dingle on a feeding station. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Research and monitoring 

There has been no sign of island hopping, it seems that females Portelet and Archirondel, who had been taking weekend trips to Guernsey have found a reason to stay on island. Both females have managed to pair up with other males in the flock. Portelet has paired with Sallow, a male hatched in 2022. Archirondel has paired up with Dusty; the very first wild hatched chough for the project in 2015. As the sex ratio of the flock is evening out, it will be interesting to see if any other choughs in the flock will decide to island hop in the future.

The team have been notified of various nesting sites from Jersey residents via the Birds of the Edge website this year. Many of these sites have been investigated and will be monitored once the breeding season heats up next year. The team appreciate the time and effort bird enthusiasts around the island dedicate to this project to enable us to gain the most information we can on the chough population.

Public sightings – where have you seen the choughs this year?

The choughs have been seen all across Jersey by you, the Jersey residents. This year we received 263 public sightings! But we ask for you to keep them coming in! Sightings can be sent to us via the birds on the edge website on the ‘Seen a chough’ page or sent to us directly by email: charlotte.dean@durrell.org.

The places that choughs were seen in the largest flocks were: Sorel with 30, Corbiere with 16, Les Landes and St Ouen with 15, Noirmont and St Brelades with 14. The hotspots where the most sightings were recorded were: Corbiere, St Ouen, Noirmont, Les Landes and Plemont. However, the choughs were also seen in various other places around the island. It’s great to see how much the choughs are dispersing across the island. Let’s see if we can beat 263 sightings next year; keep looking, keep reporting and keep enjoying the red-billed choughs flying around your neighbourhood.

Veterinary cases 

One of the choughs, Kevin had been seen with a black toe on his right foot which was in turn causing lameness. They were caught, weighed and examined by the Durrell veterinary team at the aviary. The chough seemed to have had trauma to the toe which had bled and dried on the toe making the toe look black in colour. It was however, still swollen. The chough was given a shot of pain relief and anti-inflammatory as well as having the toe thoroughly cleaned. They were then re-released and have been healthy ever since.   

Kevin’s injured digit. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Minty & Rey, the pair that nest in Plemont almost exclusively were very successful this year. They managed to hatch five choughlets! Unfortunately, on one of the nest monitoring trips, one chick was found directly beneath their nest and headless. The Durrell veterinary team carried out a post-mortem to determine cause of death – due to its injuries it was suspected to of died from impact (fell from the nest) and then scavenged.  

Percy. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Lee, one of our continually breeding males was looking under the weather during the breeding season. They were witnessed falling asleep on a feeding stand in the aviary. A faecal sample was retrieved and examine by our veterinary team. It showed some signs of parasites. Choughs generally carry low levels of parasites but can heightened in stressful situations (e.g. breeding season) or in ill health. As this bird had chicks to feed the team didn’t want to intervene unless absolutely necessary; thankfully he seemed to of perked up the next day.

Missing claw on Rougenez. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Rougenez, a chough that was hatched in 2022 was caught and re-ringed this year due to losing vital colour rings (We couldn’t identify them without their individual colour combination). Once caught and weighed we noticed that they had a claw missing on their left foot. It had completely healed over and doesn’t seem to affect the way it exists.

Our bi-annual pooled faecal samples were taken over a couple of days. This involves collecting a great deal of fresh faeces from anywhere it’s seen at the aviary and submitting it to our laboratory to be examined for parasite loads. There were very low amounts of coccidian found within the faecal samples which showed that the population as healthy as it can be. Low levels of coccidian in choughs are relatively normal however can elevate when they bird becomes sick or stressed.

 

Release aviary maintenance 

The site services team have been hard at work during the autumn and winter period refreshing the Sorel aviary. The new netting was purchased, fitted and replaced. This could only be carried out thanks to the generosity from the Jersey Country Enhancement scheme. The wooden framework and release hatches have been stripped down, section by section, reconstructed and erected. The last of the heavy work left in the aviary is replacing the shelves.

First looks at the aviary after storm Darragh. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Jersey was hit by another storm; Storm Darragh. It wasn’t as powerful as Storm Ciaran but unfortunately it still did a great deal of damage to the aviary. A section of the roof was bent out of shape, the aluminium panelling had collapsed in several places, a few holes had emerged on the new netting and the guttering had been found across the field. Luckily we have a great site services team which can help with any significant repairing tasks.

Disconnection of poly tunnel structure. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

 

Choughs on the newly refurbished aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Chough report – Forth quarter (October – December)

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The results are in
This year’s breeding season was a huge success. The pairs fledged more chicks than in any year previously. We sent off biological samples to find out what the sex ratio of chicks is this year, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. This year’s chicks have given a sex ratio of 9:11 (Males: females). To see the sexes of each individual, check out our updated chough ID list on our ‘Seen a chough’ page. The overall sex ratio of the flock is now: 22: 35: 6 (Males : Females : Unknowns). The flock’s sex ratio is starting to even out, allowing more breeding pairs to arise in the future – which is great news! Although the newly fledged chicks will unlikely be ready to reproduce next year; there is always time to surprise us!

Angalsea & Islay foraging. Photograph by Mick Dryden.

Supplementary feed adjustments
The chough population has grown from 32 in 2021 to 63 in 2024. The supplementary feed given has therefore been increased to account for such continued growth in population. The supplementary feed is provided in containers with specific dimensions for the species. Choughs have long bills which they use to probe soil for invertebrates; therefore the feeding boxes are at a depth for them to perform normal foraging behaviours to gain food. The depth of these feeding boxes also reduces inter-species interactions in the aviary. Continuing to provide a supplementary feed allows us to monitor the population at an individual level. Although, not all choughs are seen as regularly as others; this indicates that they must be finding adequate food sources from the island.

Two choughs using the feeding boxes at the aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Chough adventures
A chough was found in the basement of the Atlantic hotel, Corbiere in October. The chough was identified as Neufchatel, a young female bird which hatched earlier this year. The basement of the Atlantic hotel is a floor and a half below ground level and access into the building is by a long staircase from outside. The chough was found by an employee at the hotel and was successfully released from the basement. They have been seen happy and healthy at the aviary ever since.

Neufchatel and several other juveniles foraging. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Chough movements
During October, the largest numbers seen in a flock together were 14 at Noirmont and St Brelades Bay. Choughs were seen in flock sizes of five at Les Landes and with a pair seen in L’Etacq. Pairs were being regularly seen along the south-westerly coast including Corbiere, Petit port, Noirmont, Beauport and various locations within St Ouens. Choughs are also being seen on the south-eastly corners of Grouville golf course. A pair were also spotted in St Helier.

Throughout November, the choughs were seen in various places across the island. A flock of 18 were spotted at Les Mielles golf course. The most frequently occurring numbers were seen in St Ouen with a flock of 15 seen at the sand pits. However, they were also seen in smaller numbers at Corbiere, Les Landes, St Peters and St Helier.

There were fewer overall sightings received for the choughs during December. The largest flock seen was nine over the pond in St Ouen and five at La Moye golf course. Other sightings were of pairs or singular individuals around St Ouens, twice in Crabbe in three separate places within St John.

Choughs watching us in the field. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Aviary refurbishments and Storm Darragh’s disasters
The aviary was having its last and final repairs carried out over the winter period. The last of the wooden framework was erected, and most of the shelving had been replaced. The sites service team was close to finishing the repairs, however, another storm hit Jersey. It was not as strong as storm Ciaran but it still caused some significant damage. Due to strong winds, the aviary was unserviceable over the course of Storm Darragh (the weekend) as the government advised for only essential travel. As the aviary is next to the coast, it was unwise for us to visit the site. All preparations had been carried out prior to the storm to ensure that the aviary was open and safe for the choughs. When Monday came, the team had the job of assessing all the damage: a part of the roof had been torn off and bent out of shape, the aluminum paneling had collapsed in several places, a few holes emerged in the aviaries new netting, the guttering had disconnected and a few days later the supporting poles disconnected. It’s safe to say, we’ve got a lot of repairs on our hands!

The damage caused by storm Darragh. Photographs by Charlotte Dean.

Some Festive enrichment over the holidays
It’s that time of year again when we must remember to share the Christmas joy with everyone, including our red-billed choughs. The team ensured the choughs could send their Christmas letters to Santa this year. Merry Christmas everyone and have a great start to the new year!

Choughs lining up to send their letters to Santa. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.