Category Archives: Top News

Campaign to create Seabird Reserve moves to next stage

Posted on by
3

A campaign by Birds On The Edge to save the Island’s much loved puffin by the creation of a Seabird Reserve has moved a step closer with the submission of a planning application for a section of profile fencing.

The proposed Seabird Reserve will require the erection of a one-mile predator proof fence to protect the puffins, their eggs and chicks from non-native predators such as rats and ferrets (mammals like these are a threat to seabirds worldwide). An application is being submitted for the erection of a temporary section of the fence so that people can see for themselves what the Seabird Reserve might look like.

The profile fencing section will be a 15-metre-long section constructed in the same area where the real fence would be proposed in the future.  The mock-up will be identical in height, colour, and overall look of a real predator fence. It will be in place for a minimum of two months before being removed, to give all members of the community the opportunity to visit the area and see the section for themselves. The public will also be encouraged to engage with the project via a range of platforms including drop-in sessions, opinion polls, and social media.

 

It is hoped that this will demonstrate to the public both the visual impact the fence will have on the landscape as well as the protection that it will afford to coastal wildlife. The BOTE Partnership will also use the opportunity to help boost understanding of the project and wider appreciation of the wildlife found at Plémont.

BOTE ultimately wants the people of Jersey to see and decide for themselves if this project is a fair compromise in order to protect the puffins and other wildlife from becoming extinct in Jersey.

BOTE’s Cris Sellarés, Project Officer, commented on the application:

“There are now likely to only be eight puffins left in Jersey.  If we don’t do something now, there is a real risk that we will lose the iconic seabird which plays such an important part in Jersey’s natural and cultural heritage.

However, BOTE fully recognise that such a strategy comes at a price and the proposed fence will have some visual impact upon the coastal landscape. It is, therefore, imperative that Jersey’s community has the opportunity to assess the impact for themselves and decide whether they feel this project should go ahead. Such decisions are never easy but undoubtedly will be increasingly required if our community is going to play a full and active role in addressing the current biodiversity crisis.

The continuing loss of biodiversity in Jersey through local extinctions will inevitably result in a denuded and poorer environment for this generation and those that follow on. Already we have seen the loss of the yellowhammer and turtle dove and alarming declines in such species as starling and cuckoo. The time has now come to decide whether we wish to see the puffin and other seabirds follow suit or actively attempt to find solutions.”

Glyn Young, co-founder of BOTE said:

“Provision of a predator-proof fence to protect our Island’s remaining puffins and other seabirds may be the last hope we have to keep these wonderful birds in Jersey. Seabirds today face a multitude of global problems from changing sea temperatures and overfishing to pollution and human disturbance. They need safe areas to nest and rear their young away from non-native predators, who if left free to access nest sites would eat the birds’ eggs and chicks. The proposed site, free of predators, will likely see the return of former breeding seabirds such as the Manx shearwater and storm petrel too. They visit our coast annually but recognise that the Island is currently unsafe for nesting. BOTE invited Kirsty Swinnerton to draft an initial proposal in 2018. Delayed by the pandemic it is exciting to see this project progressing so well. Fencing of this kind has been very successful in protecting endangered seabird populations in Hawaii, New Zealand and elsewhere. Without making bold advances like this, Jersey will face the loss of large components of its natural environment and become a poorer place”.

March volunteer activity

Posted on by
Reply

Sunday 13th March 2023 – White Rock, Rozel, Trinity 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

Task Come and help us manage some scrub on the headland of White Rock, above Rozel. Gorse has started to encroach into this area and is in need of cutting back so patches of short turf grassland can benefit from the work.

+If you have any questions, or if you wish to be added (or removed) to/from the Wild About Jersey email list, please contact either Julia Clively (tel: 441600; j.clively@gov.je) or Jon Parkes (tel: 483193; jon.parkes@nationaltrust.je).

The site Meet at White Rock car park, off La Rue du Câtel, Trinity.

Jersey phone directory: Map 5, GG6. Google maps here

Time Meet at 10.15, ready to start work at 10:30. We will finish work at approximately 12:30 to give us the chance for a catch up over a cuppa.

Parking White Rock car park.

Tools needed Please bring cutting tools such as loppers and pruning saws if you have any but we shall provide some tools. Please do bring your own gloves if possible.

Clothing needed Do wear appropriate (waterproof) clothing and sturdy boots and gloves, we go ahead whatever the weather 😊

Children All are welcome, although we do ask that volunteers under 16 years of age are accompanied by an adult. Due to the uneven ground, a reasonable level of fitness is required.

Refreshments Kim the Kake will provide us with some of her excellent home-made cake and a hot drink at the end of the task but *Please make sure you bring your own mug or reusable cup*

Hope to see you there!

February volunteer activity

Posted on by
Reply

Sunday 12th February 2023 – Grantez, St Ouen 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

Task Field cricket habitat restoration at Grantez.

Due to the depletion of heathlands and grasslands, field crickets are now some of the rarest species of crickets in the UK and Channel Islands. However, a population of them has been discovered at Grantez. We will be clearing and burning the gorse bushes to allow the grass to grow back and provide a habitat for the crickets.

If you have any questions, or if you wish to be added (or removed) to/from the Wild About Jersey email list, please contact either Julia Clively (tel: 441600; j.clively@gov.je) or Jon Parkes (tel: 483193; jon.parkes@nationaltrust.je).

The site Please click on screenshot (right) for where to park on the day. We will be working in a field near the Grantez Sunset Festival site.

Jersey phone directory: Map 1, F8. Google maps here

Time Meet at 10.15, ready to start work at 10:30. We will finish work at approximately 12:30 to give us the chance for a catch up over a cuppa.

Parking See maps above.

Tools needed All the tools/equipment will be supplied, but please do bring your own gloves if possible.

Clothing needed Please keep an eye out for the weather forecast as it could be wild and wet, so please wear appropriate (waterproof) clothing and sturdy boots and gloves.

Children All are welcome, although we do ask that volunteers under 16 years of age are accompanied by an adult. Due to the uneven ground, a reasonable level of fitness is required.

Refreshments The wonderful Kim will be providing cakes and refreshments for us. *Please make sure you bring your own mug or reusable cup*

Hope to see you there!

 

Jersey’s 22nd annual Great Garden Birdwatch – 4th and 5th February 2023

Posted on by
2

Counting birds in the garden for a good cause, as well as for fun

By Andrew Koester, Survey coordinator and Glyn Young

The Action for Wildlife Jersey and Birds On The Edge annual Great Garden Birdwatch returns this year for its 22nd year in succession and it is hoped that as many people as possible will help to build up a picture of the health of the Island’s bird population. 

This year, the Great Garden Birdwatch will be held over the weekend of 4th and 5th February. The method of the count is very straight forward. Basically, you just need to grab a coffee, a comfy seat a handy garden bird guide and then look out into the garden for an hour on either Saturday or Sunday morning and write down what birds you see and the maximum number of each species at any one time.

Oh, and for one weekend a year, red squirrels are birds. We’re not sure what they think about that, we’ve tried asking but they are too busy – maybe they accept that it’s an honour.

Everyone who takes part in the count is a citizen scientist and doing their own small bit to help us understand our garden birds that bit better. Most of all though, it’s fun and will remind you how important our birds are to us and how much we need them to help us feel alive and well. And they’ll take your mind off things. So, please complete either an online form or download a copy (below) and email it on one day over the weekend and help us see how our birds are doing.

If you do see an red-billed chough, don’t be surprised and don’t forget – squirrels are birds!

Please use the online survey form Great Garden Birdwatch Survey Form 2023 or download from this website here and then return the form to us by any of the following methods: By Email: afw.jersey@outlook.com or birdsote@gmail.com by Message to Action for Wildlife Jersey on Facebook

Thank you for your participation in this year’s survey.

Andrew Koester, Survey coordinator and Glyn Young, Birds On The Edge

Chough report – December 2022

Posted on by
1

By Charlotte Dean

Juveniles taking their pick

We may not have all our chicks blood sampled and sexed yet but there are plenty of signs of relationships developing between the juveniles and a few of our young females. We’re still seeing Sallow, a (potential) male chough from Kevin & Wally’s brood, getting very friendly with Portelet, a female which was wild hatched in 2020. Birch, another potential male chough from Dusty & Chickay’s brood, is becoming acquainted with Chewbacca. As the juveniles settle into their places within the flock, more may be taking their pick of the single ladies of the group. Rocco who was wild hatched in 2020 has been seen arriving at the aviary and allopreening with Alder another potential male from Dusty & Chickay’s clutch. Without the blood sample results we cannot be one hundred percent certain yet that these are true pairs emerging, but looking at the size of these birds, and we have some weights, we have a good idea that they are. Looking at behaviours we’ve been seeing between these new acquaintances too, it could be that within the next few years, or even next year, we’ll hopefully have a few new wild hatched pairs to produce truly wild chicks!

Grazers bring the goods

The National Trust for Jersey’s shepherd is currently managing the coastal landscapes by moving sheep (the grazers) around the Island. Some of those sheep are currently in several fields around Sorel, where the choughs spend most of their time foraging alongside them. The sheep act as a natural land management tool to help restore vegetation and plant and bird communities. The sheep graze in neighbouring fields around the aviary and on the coastline giving our choughs and other bird species a good place to forage. Choughs, favour shorter length grasslands and this is typically where insect diversity is higher. But the choughs do not only forage alongside the sheep, the sheep also provide the choughs with tasty insect larvae that are found in their faeces. During the year we’ve had sightings of the choughs regularly returning to a field containing cattle in St Mary; cattle provide similar benefits to the sheep. But once the cattle were moved, it was not a shock to find that the choughs had moved on to a new foraging spot. It won’t be too long until the choughs start using the grazers for another purpose too – their wool!

Everyone deserves a present

It’s coming to the end of the year, 2022, and we all know what that means, Christmas! But it’s not only us humans who get to enjoy celebrating over the Christmas holidays; the choughs deserve a piece of the joy at Sorel as well. The keepers got creative this year by making some ‘Christmas present’ enrichment. Compared to the scary bright orange pumpkin that loomed in the field at Halloween, the choughs were much less cautious of their new ‘Christmas present’ in one of their usual foraging fields. With some insect persuasion it wasn’t long until the choughs approached their Christmas gift. Interestingly, it was not the juvenile choughs that approached the present first, it was the adults.

End of year review

The wild chough flock on the island has a population of 43 currently. To our knowledge we’ve had no adults go missing over the course of this year. We have also had our highest record of chick survival since the project began; lucky number thirteen. There may be more breeding pairs in the coming year too, not just from the juveniles, as we located our highest number of nest sites around the Island – 15 nests! Who knows, we may even have a breeding pair nest in Guernsey as we know at least two of our females enjoyed a weekend trip away. The chough team are looking forward to what the new year brings for this growing population.

 

UK may ban sandeel fishing to save seabirds

Posted on by
Reply

From BirdGuides

The fishing of sandeels in British waters might be banned this year under UK government plans to protect Atlantic puffin and (black-legged) kittiwake numbers

The tiny fish are important parts of seabird diets and many are harvested, mainly by non-UK fishing boats, to be made into feed for farmed salmon and livestock. While the largest threat to their population numbers is heating seas under climate breakdown, industrial fishing pressures them further.

A call for evidence by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) last year found that the industrial fishing of sandeels could be negatively affecting the populations of some of the UK’s endangered seabird species.

Now, as revealed by the Guardian, sources at the department have confirmed that a ban on the practice will be put in motion early this year, starting with a consultation of stakeholders in January. While the move is likely to dismay some in the fishing industry, wildlife campaigners have welcomed a potential ban.

The RSPB’s head of marine policy, Helen McLachlan, said: “A UK-wide ban on industrial trawling for sandeels would be gamechanging in our efforts to help save our threatened seabirds. The UK’s globally important seabird colonies are in trouble with iconic birds like puffins and kittiwakes at risk of being pushed to the brink of extinction.

“A ban on sandeel fishing in UK waters would protect the very fish that our amazing seabirds, their chicks and many other marine species need to survive. Over the last few decades our seabirds have declined in the face of increasing threats from climate change and other human activity.

“We’re running out of time to save some of the UK’s most loved wildlife and a ban on industrial sandeel fishing could be the single greatest thing decision-makers can do next year to throw our seabirds a lifeline.”

Chough report: November 2022

Posted on by
Reply

By Charlotte Dean

Wind, rain & DIY!

The wind and rain have been battering the aviary a lot this month, so the keepers have been kept hard at work carrying out regular aviary structure checks, keeping the hatch wires tight and tying down and fixing any loose panelling. With all these strong winds, the aviary definitely has a low groan, while still standing strong. Thanks to the strong winds and heavy downpours it’s been a month of aviary surprises. As you will see in the photograph, one of our release hatches broke at the hinges – just goes to show how windy it has been! Thankfully, it wasn’t a hatch that is regularly used so it didn’t cause any harm to the keepers or the birds. The hatch was fixed but will eventually be replaced with a new one in the New Year. Considering the aviary was built almost 10 years ago, it is surprising that it doesn’t have more wear and tear and, despite the terrible weather, it is quite clear that it doesn’t stop the choughs from having fun!

Colour-rings

It has come to that time of year when colour rings start dropping off our choughs; this is most likely caused by the drastic change in temperature making the already long worn colour rings brittle enough to fall off. This in turn can bring identification concerns, but nothing a catch-up and re-ring can’t fix! If we can catch them that is. We have recently had a few of our adults fly into the aviary with colour-rings missing but thankfully these are some of our pairs and, therefore, it’s easy to know who’s who by identifying the other bird in the pair. We can just be thankful though that they’ve been lost and haven’t caused any ring-related issues. As choughs are relatively large birds, we use ‘wrap-around’ plastic rings which can, luckily very rarely, trap toes and/or claws; but in most cases, other ring options can have similar problems.

When a chough has its toe and/or claw stuck in a colour-ring, it doesn’t worry the keepers too much as this is a common occurrence for some birds. Furthermore, trapped digits are often more common in female choughs during the breeding season as their rings get stuck while they’re incubating. However, the birds generally manage to correct themselves without the keepers intervening. At the moment, however, we have a two adults in the flock that have their digits stuck in their colour rings, which we are closely monitoring. So far, they’ve not shown any signs of injury, but it may be that they will be caught up in the near future if the problem doesn’t naturally correct itself.

Juveniles catch-up

An attempt was made at the end of November to catch some adults with plastic ring issues; however, as ever, the adults outsmarted the keepers and flew away before they had a chance to set up! As we had arranged a ‘back up’ of other happy helpers to the aviary, we took the opportunity to catch some unsuspecting juveniles that let their hunger get the better of them by entering the aviary. So, five of the thirteen 2022 chicks were caught in the aviary. Although the newest additions to this wild populations have already been given names, we took blood samples from the briefly held juveniles to find out their sexes! The first five choughs caught, and blood sampled were: Willow, Liberty, Pine, Sallow & Birch. The blood samples themselves will take a few weeks to be processed and for us to receive the results. However, on visual observations, some choughs are more obvious through sexual size dimorphism than others. Male choughs are generally much heavier and larger than female choughs. On close inspection it became very clear that Sallow is a very large bird and most likely a male, it was the largest of all five caught. Portelet, a female which hatched in 2020, has been warming to Sallow of late and was spotted waiting outside the aviary for Sallow’s release. This brings great hope for a new pairing of Sallow & Portelet in the near future. Birch was quite average in size, however, but like Sallow & Portelet; Chewbacca was also seen waiting outside the aviary for its release so there could be another pair on the horizon. In the meantime, watch this space!

 

Chough report – September 2022

Posted on by
Reply

By Charlotte Dean

Chough breeding pair bonds

This month, the aviary has been surprisingly quiet. Now that the fledgling season and drought is over on the Island; the choughs seem to be less frantic when it comes to gaining sustenance within the aviary. Choughs arrive to the feed in small trickles on the majority of days. The young choughs are arriving earlier than the adults to wing-beg at the keepers and presumably to get their fill before the adults take over feeding stands. The lack of food desperation is allowing adult pairs in the flock to express their affections towards their partners more often as of late. As choughs are generally monogamous, it’s brilliant to see that the parent pairs of this breeding season still have a great bond. This can be observed as pairs allopreen and/or feed one another. Hopefully they will bring more success in their next breeding season.

Queen Elizabeth II

The choughs have seen some big events in Jersey since 2013 and on 8th September they were witness to the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth after 70 years on the throne. The Queen has been known locally as ‘Duke of Normandy’ and toasted as ‘La Reine, notre duc‘ (‘The Queen, Our Duke’), although this tradition can be very confusing. Jersey had a public holiday for the funeral on 19th September and the Zoo was shut that day; but for the team, and the choughs, life went on.

Eyes, head, legs & feet.

What are we referring to? Ticks of course! They don’t only affect mammals; they affect all species, so that includes birds. It’s come to that time of the year where the ticks become more active. A bite from a tick can spark many detrimental cascading affects in both birds and mammals. This means the keepers need to be extra vigilant when it comes to monitoring their birds. Thankfully, as choughs have a communal based social life it poses less of a threat due to their mutual preening.

Strimming in session

It may still be a hot September so far; but the drop in temperature from the past few months has allowed the keepers to change their priorities to some well needed vegetation clearing. The hedgerow to the right of aviary was becoming so over-grown that the team couldn’t see over the bank to the field behind. The view isn’t a necessity but is useful to see what and/or where the choughs are if they haven’t braved (or bothered?) going inside the aviary for the supplementary feed. But it’s not just the view that this over-grown bank causes as a problem; it also greatly reduces the functionality of the hatch wires. The wires can easily get tangled between the fern and other vegetation on the bank. Now that it’s been cleared, we should be able to carry out more catch-ups in the future if necessary, with ease – if the choughs don’t out smart us!

Rodent activity

Although in Jersey we’re now starting to get some wet weather, it seems that a few furry friends are still making their way into the Sorel aviary to make use of our water tray and likely, some free food. As we have no intention in trapping protected species, the team came up with a great idea to try and identify the culprits, on camera with the use of camera traps. However, we’ve not managed to get any footage of our four-legged friends. So far, the main footage captured has been magpies enjoying a good bathe. The rodent population may have foiled us so far, but the camera traps did make light by capturing some rather elegant footage of two choughs drinking from the water tray in synchronous drinking.

 

A very special guest

On 28th September we were very pleased to show Max Benatar, visiting the Island from Germany for a course at Durrell, the choughs at Sorel. Max is no stranger to the birds; he was our student in 2014 and formed a great affection for the chough flock. While Max was proud to have been part of the project and to learn of its ongoing success, he was possibly most pleased to catch up with an old favourite, Dingle. The photographs show that Max has changed his appearance over the years, while, and take it from us, Dingle looks just the same!

 

 

Channel Islands birds in 2021

Posted on by
Reply

Our bird lists updated

At around this time every year we update the list of all those bird species recorded in the Channel Islands. Records will have been verified by each island’s ornithological committees. Where once birds may have been shot to confirm ID, records of new species and rarities became submitted through detailed notes and, today, they are often shown to us in high quality photos that leave little doubt about identification. We still like the notes.

Interestingly, while our overall bird list and those of the islands continue to increase, there have also been some species lost. We are always revising our opinions and, sometimes, we learn more about a species and question older records’ validity. Jersey’s first black-eared (in 1980) was scrubbed when we started to consider that it had almost certainly been a desert wheatear but that the observer was no longer confident. We also lose species to taxonomic splits.

As bird taxonomy becomes more and more detailed through use of some very fine, molecular level, ways of determining differences between species, we are often seeing traditional sub-species ‘elevated’ to species level. Then, that warbler for instance that we recorded but didn’t get a photo of may become several different warblers. But, which one was ours? Did we get sufficient detail noted to know which it was? You’ll see the problem in the full list. Especially in the warblers!

We also, well those of us of a certain age, grew up with a very set, long-established, view of the order that species occur in. We start with divers and grebes and end with crows. Well, actually that went out years ago as we learn more about relationships between birds and can even age when particular groups evolved. As a duck enthusiast, I’m pleased that they now rightly start off the CI List. They followed the pheasant, partridges and quail last year. So, species you are looking for may not always be where you expect them. They may also not be with old friends in the list and may have new company – have you got used to hawks and falcons not being related? Or that falcons and shrikes are next to each other in the list?  And that grebes and divers aren’t closely related, and that crows are nowhere near the end?

So, back to the updated list. After being restricted to home over most of 2020, we began to travel again in 2021. However, the birds at home were still a draw it seems and records came in in good numbers. 

We had two additions to the list which strangely went up by five! Guernsey’s Bonaparte’s gull in February and March and an October eastern olivaceous warbler in Jersey were the proper additions. The other increases came from re-organising warblers. However, as some of the older records of Bonelli’s and subalpine warbler are not identified to newer species, the list total could go down again in future.

Other notable birds were first ruddy shelduck and green-winged teal in Jersey (the former most likely from the establishing population in northern Europe) and a first rustic bunting in Alderney. Alderney saw their first corn crake in 43 years and first stone curlew in 134 years! Remarkably Alderney also saw their fourth great bustard in seven years, all from the UK reintroduction project, and the only bustards (of two European species) likely to have enjoyed their visit to the Channel Islands! 

Breeding species continue to have mixed fortunes but it is very pleasing to note that short-eared owl bred in Guernsey and nightjars bred for a second year in Jersey.

And the individual islands’ totals? Jersey now has 340 recorded species, Guernsey 331, Alderney 308 and Sark 226. 

Read and download the full list Working List of Birds of the Channel Islands 2021