Jersey Birds

12.07.2026 Thanks go to Jo Bramley for this nice image of Common Terns , facing into wind on St Ouen's Beach this morning. JB An overcast start to the day was replaced by clear skies, then high level cloud this afternoon, with winds increasingly strong and gusty from the east northeast, still warm at 28c. The seabird counts continued off the West coast this morning, with 4,986 Balearic Shearwaters seen heading north past Le Pulec in 45 minutes, this a record day count for Jersey of this red-listed species. Also seen from Le Pulec were 40+ Manx Shearwaters , 15 Fulmars , 20 Gannets , 12 Mediterranean Gulls and 1000+ mostly Herring Gulls . Counts from Corbiere were more sedate and included 557 Balearic Shearwaters ( some, but not all, liable to be in the Le Pulec count) Others passing Corbiere included 14 Manx Shearwaters , 4 Fulmars , 79 Gannets , 4 Guillemots, a Kittiwake , 21 Mediterranean Gulls, 19 Black-backed Gulls , a first winter Yellow-legged Gull, 92 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 50 Great Black-backed Gulls , a Curlew , 16 Swifts , 3 Linnets and a Raven . On St Ouen's Beach were 48 Great Black-backed Gulls , 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 67 Black-headed Gulls . By Sands slip were 2 Common Terns (above), 57 Black-headed Gulls and a single Mediterranean Gull . On and around the Scrape were a Juvenile Shelduck , 6 Teal , a Little ringed Plover , 4 adult Lapwings and a single chick, 2 Oystercatchers , 4 Snipe , 10 Sand Martins , 7 Swifts , a House Martin and 3 Swallows, with a few Black - headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls passing overhead. Later this afternoon, a Honey Buzzard followed by a male Marsh Harrier flew over Red Houses heading East at low level, the former likely to be looking for an overnight roost somewhere close by. At Petit Port were 6 Mediterranean Gulls. In Grouville Bay this morning were 44 Mediterranean Gulls , 4 Sandwich Terns , 28 Curlews and 2 Whimbrels , while at the Gunsite in St Aubin's Bay were 4 Curlews . At St Catherine's Woods and reservoir were 20 Swallows and House Martins . A good selection of local birds seen in St Mary included 2 Red-billed Choughs , a Buzzard , a Peregirne , a Blackcap , 5 Long-tailed Tits and a Great Spotted Woodpecker near the church. Evening update: Additional counts of Mediterranean Gulls today Included 83 at Seymour and another 97 at La Rocque.

11.07.2026 A Reed Warbler at Kempt Tower pools. MD Another hot and sunny day, but with a freshening wind from the East to liven things up. A surprise on St Ouen's Pond Scrape was a juvenile Shelduck , so, with all our adults having left two weeks ago, was it bred in Jersey or elsewhere? Also on the Scrape were a Green Sandpiper , 2 Lapwings with their chick and a Snipe . A further 2 Snipe were seen on St Ouen's Pond. In the Sandpits were a Common Sandpiper , a Little Ringed Plover , a Lapwing and 42 Black-headed Gulls . In St Ouen's Bay were 3 Yellow-legged Gulls , 95 Great Black-backed Gulls , 74 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 100+ Black-headed Gulls and 32 Mediterranean Gulls , including 7 juveniles. Some lively activity passing Corbiere this morning involved 2,681 Balearic Shearwaters moving North, 40 Manx Shearwaters , 50 Gannets , 6 Fulmars , 8 Guillemots , 7 Cormorants, 62 Mediterranean Gulls, 74 Black-headed Gulls, 54 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Yellow-legged Gull, 30 Great Black-backed Gulls , a Curlew , 10 Swifts and a Sand Martin . In Petit Port Bay were 5 Mediterranean Gulls . At St Aubin were 17 Mediterranean Gulls and 45 Black-headed Gulls and at Beaumont were 2 Swallows and 6 locally breeding House Martins . In Grouville Bay were 46 Mediterranean Gulls including 9 juveniles, so with 157 Mediterranean Gulls seen today it is safe to say they are back! Yesterday evening in Grouville Bay were c80 Black-headed Gulls , 12 Curlews and 6 Great Black-backed Gulls .

10.07.2026 A juvenile Linnet at St Ouen's Pond Scrape. MD The fine weather continues, with clear skies and today, more by way of an Easterly wind. Hot at 30c A busy first two hours of daylight at Corbiere saw 3,172 Balearic Shearwaters flying into St Ouen's Bay, along with 63 Manx Shearwaters , 2 Common Scoters , 5 Guillemots , 3 Fulmars, 33 Gannets, 6 Cormorants , 20 Mediterranean Gulls , 13 Black-headed Gulls , 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 30 Great Black-backed Gulls and 6 Sandwich Terns , also 2 Swifts . At Petit Port this afternoon were 6 Curlews , 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Little Egret . In Grouville Bay were a Great Crested Grebe , 43 Mediterranean Gulls , 32 Black-headed Gulls and a Greenshank at Seymour Slip. 11 Sandwich Terns were at La Rocque. Later this afternoon, between Seymour and La Rocque were a Curlew , 4 Greenshanks , a Sandwich Tern , 5 Little Egrets and a roost of c40 Mediterranean Gulls . The water level at the Scrape is going down at a steady rate now. On there this morning were a Greenshank , the 2 Lapwings with their chick, 2 Oystercatchers , 2 fledged juvenile Marsh Harriers , a Grey Heron and 3 Teal . A Swift was flying overhead along with a few Swallows . In St Ouen's By this evening were a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, 48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 22 Great Black-backed Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull . 6 Swifts and 3 Swallows were feeding over Noirmont later morning and a Dartford Warbler was seen near the gate on the cliffpath at Sorel.

09.07.2026 Peregrine at Le Pulec this morning. MD The fine and hot weather continued today, reaching 31c in a moderate easterly wind. The seabird bonanza continued off of Le Pulec, albeit a little further offshore than yesterday. An estimated 3000 Balearic Shearwaters were joined by 1000+ Herring Gulls and small numbers of Manx Shearwaters, 3 Common Scoters, 2 Sandwich Terns, Mediterranean Gulls , Black-headed Gulls , Lesser Black-backed Gulls , Guillemots and Gannets . Passing Corbiere early on were 47 Balearic Shearwaters , 13 Manx Shearwaters , 5 Common Scoters , 13 Guillemots , 3 Fulmars , 49 Gannets , 2 Sandwich Terns , 13 Black-headed Gulls , 28 Mediterranean Gulls , also a Grey Seal. Overnight ringing at Plemont trapped and released 3 Manx Shearwaters , with 10+ birds in the vicinity, and a Storm Petrel. On St Ouen's Pond Scrape were 3 Little Ringed Plovers , but only briefly, the 2 Lapwings with their fast growing chick and 2 Oystercatchers . The odd couple of Pink-footed Goose and Barnacle Goose were in the Sandpits together. Good numbers of both Sand Martins and House Martins were flying by the Cutty Sark this afternoon. On St Ouen's Beach this afternoon were 93 Great Black-backed Gulls , 74 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 60 Herring Gulls . In Grouville Bay were 31 Mediterranean Gulls , 75 Black-headed Gulls and 3 Swifts , with another 5 Swifts at Archirondel as well as a Peregrine . 6 Little Egrets were seen at Bel Croute. Below: Swallowtails have been seen in good numbers on the Island, recently, with this one posing at Le Pulec this morning MD

08.07.2026 A fine image of a pale Balearic Shearwater , image courtesy of John Ovenden JO The fine weather continued today, with light northerly winds and a temperature of 29c The quiet times are with us as we wait for the start of the Autumn migration proper. Balearic Shearwaters are with is in large numbers at the moment, with a count of the feeding birds off of Le Pulec in flat conditions, came to 3,400 birds. Also in the feeding area were 620, mainly Herring Gulls and a few Gannets and Lesser Black-backed Gulls , with 2 Peregrines , 4 Ravens , 3 Curlews and 16 Cormorants also seen. Off of Corbiere first thing were 73 Balearic Shearwaters , 9 Manx Shearwaters , 9 Common Scoters , 6 Guillemots , 27 Gannets , 23 Black-headed Gulls , 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Swifts , a White Wagtail and 2 Peregrines . Bottle-nosed Dolphin s were seen at Corbiere, and later on , in St Ouen's Bay. In St Ouen's Bay were 104 Great Black-backed Gulls, 41 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 37 Black-headed Gulls , a Mediterranean Gull and 2 Sandwich Terns . At Les Landes this morning were a Peregrine , 17 Swallows , 2 Swifts , 48 Meadow Pipits , 28 Linnets , a Skylark , 7 Stonechats , 2 White Wagtails and a Raven . At the Scrape this morning were the 2 Lapwings with their chick and 2 Oystercatchers . In St Catherine's Woods were a Bullfinch , a Jay and a Buzzard and in Vallee des Vaux were a fledged juvenile Bullfinch with an adult male in attendance. Evening update : Swifts featured this evening with 25 over Sandybrook, 6 at Plemont and 6 over Grouville Bay and a Common Sandpiper was seen at Plemont. Below : Another nice image by John Ovenden, of a raft of Balearic Shearwaters off the West coast

07.07.2026 Sedge Warbler at the Scrape yesterday. MD A fine and hot day (30c) in light winds. Evening update : A Quail was seen in flight at Portelet this evening and 10 Storm Petrels were off the West coast, also a raft of c200 shearwaters were near Corbiere. In St Ouen's Bay were 92 Great Black-backed Gulls and 66 Lesser Black-backed Gulls .6 Swifts were seen over St Helier. The glut of shearwaters off the West coast continued today, with an estimated 2000 - 3000, mainly Balearic Shearwaters , feeding off Le Pulec with gulls. Seen passing Corbiere and heading in that direction were 389 Balearic Shearwaters , 13 Manx Shearwaters , 7 Guillemots , 57 Gannets , 7 Cormorants , 44 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 6 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Black-headed Gulls . Also seen were a Curlew heading South and 2 Swifts . In Petit Port Bay were 26 Curlews and a Whimbrel and at Le Pulec were 22 Curlews . Around St Ouen's Pond were 2 Grey Herons , a Common Sandpiper , a Sedge Warbler , 2 Whitethroats , 2 pairs of Stonechats feeding young and many pairs of Reed Warblers doing likewise. On the Scrape, the 2 Lapwings were still present with their chick, also 2 Oystercatchers and a White Wagtail and around Kempt Tower were a little Grebe , 2 Stonechats , a singing Whitethroat , several pairs of Reed Warblers and a family of 5 Swallows . At La Haule in St Aubin's Bay were 230 Black-headed Gulls , 25 Mediterranean Gulls, including 5 juveniles, and at St Aubin were 4 Redshanks . A Stonechat was on Beauport Common and a Dartford Warbler was at Gorselands. At Crabbe this morning were 4 Swifts , 2 Swallows , 2 Dartford Warblers , 3 Whitethroats , 2 Ravens , 2 Peregrines and good numbers of Linnets . In St Catherine's Woods were 2 Firecrests , 4 Short-toed Treecreepers , a Bullfinch , 8 House Martins , 5 Swallows and Moorhens on a second brood of 2 chicks. Back to yesterday evening when, in La Braye Sandpits were 220 Coot, 48 Tufted Ducks, 2 Little Grebes , 6 Swifts , an estimated 60 Sand Martins and 2 juvenile Marsh Harriers .

06.07.2026 The juvenile Black Redstart which was at Corbiere this morning. MD Early morning fog soon cleared to a fine and very warm day in light winds. A short seawatch from Corbiere this morning saw 209 Balearic Shearwaters, 3 Manx Shearwaters , 6 Guillemots , 2 Fulmars , 10 Gannets , and 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , while on the headland were a juvenile Black Redstart , 7 Rock Pipits and 2 Choughs . The feeding patch at the north end of St Ouen's Bay was very active again with gulls and shearwaters and on St Ouen's Beach were 50 Great Black-backed Gulls, 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 17 Black-headed Gulls and 4 Mediterranean Gulls . Roosting at Petit Port were 19 Curlews . At St Ouen's Pond were 4 Grey Herons, 3 Tufted Ducks , 2 Oystercatchers , 15 Swifts , 12 Sand Martins and 6 Swallows and on the Scrape were 2 Lapwings , still with a fast-growing chick, 2 Oystercatchers , 3 Shovelers , a Sedge Warbler , 5 juvenile Reed Warblers , a male Stonechat and 2 further Swifts . This morning, at St Aubin, were 32 Black-headed Gulls , 5 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Redshanks and 13 Swifts were seen over St Catherine's. Below: A Golden-ringed Dragonfly on the path to the Scrape Hide this morning. MD

05.07.2026 Female and juvenile Shovelers on the South Canal. MD Another cool and overcast morning, giving way to a fair afternoon in a west-northwest wind. Gulls are returning to the Island, post breeding now and in Grouville Bay today were 43 Mediterranean Gulls , c100 Black-headed Gulls and also, a Sandwich Tern . In St Ouen's Bay were 74 Great Black-backed Gulls , 37 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 41 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Mediterranean Gulls , and 11 Herring Gulls . Offshore in St Ouen's Bay, the feeding patch was busy again with hundreds of Gulls , Shearwaters , Auks and Gannets seen. Another quiet morning off Corbiere saw 30 Balearic Shearwaters , 10 Manx Shearwaters , 57 Gannets , 4 Fulmars , 16 Guillemots , 17 Shags , 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 27 Great Black-backed Gulls , 6 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Black-headed Gulls pass in three hours. 20 Curlews were at Petit Port. In St Aubin's Bay were 42 Black-headed Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull , 3 Redshanks and 7 Swifts . At St Ouen's Pond and Scrape were a Grey Heron, a Lapwing , 2 Oystercatchers , 2 Swifts , 10+ Sand Martins and 10 Swallows . A family of 4 Stonechats was on Les Blanches Banques. On the north of the Island, a Chough , a singing Blackcap , a Chaffinch and a Blue Tit family were seen near St Mary's Church, while at Les Platons were a Peregrine , 3 Ravens , a Dartford Warbler and a Swallowtail butterfly and at Victoria Tower were another 3 Swallowtails .

04.07.2026 Green Sandpiper on the Scrape this morning. MD An overcast morning with light drizzle and a cloudy afternoon in a cool (18c) west-northwest wind. Shearwaters were around in good numbers offshore in St Ouen's Bay this morning, with an estimate 1000 mainly Balearic Shearwaters joining many gulls feeding there.In contrast, only 23 Balearic Shearwaters and 7 Manx Shearwaters passed Corbiere early on. Others seen there included an inbound Great White Egret heading North, a Common Scoter , 8 Guillemots , 2 Razorbills , 22 Gannets , 2 Fulmars , 12 Black-headed Gulls , a Mediterranean Gull , 24 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 32 Great Black-backed Gulls . Also seen was a pod of c10 Bottle-nosed Dolphins , 3 Ravens and a Marsh Harrier . 17 Curlews were in Petit Port Bay. On Les Ecrehous this afternoon were c200 Common Terns including varying sized chicks, 6 Turnstones and 2 Gannets . At St Ouen's Pond and Scrape were 2 juvenile and one female Shovelers , 2 Lapwings with a half-grown chick, 4 Oystercatchers , a Green Sandpiper, a Grey Heron and 2 Stonechats , with 3 Swifts overhead. Over St Catherine's breakwater were 9 Swifts . Below : Thanks to John Overton for this video of some of the many feeding gulls and shearwaters in St Ouen's Bay, looking south towards Corbiere.