17.07.2026 Oystercatchers at play over Petit Port MD
A warm and mainly clear day in a light northeast wind.
At St Ouen's Pond and Scrape this morning were 3 Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Oystercatchers still sitting and 3 Lapwings plus the juvenile bird. In Le Braye Sandpits were 5 Common Sandpipers, 3 White Wagtails, a Yellow-legged Gull, 40 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, a Gadwall, and 5 Grey Herons. On St Ouen's Beach were 20 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Common Gulls, 51 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 36 Great Black-backed Gulls.
Seabirds passing Corbiere included 2,235 Balearic Shearwaters, 31 Manx Shearwaters, a Guillemot, 28 Gannets, 28 Shags, 4 Cormorants, 34 Mediterranean Gulls, 14 Black-head Gulls, 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 23 Great Black-backed Gulls, 7 Sandwich Terns and a Common Sandpiper, while in Petit Port were a Whimbrel, 18 Curlews, 44 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Sandwich Terns.
On the ground at Beauport were a Whitethroat, 2 Dartford Warblers with a juvenile, a male Stonechat with onr juvenile and overhead, 10 Swifts. This afternoon, over Red Houses were a Sparrowhawk and a Buzzard being hassled by a Lesser Black-backed Gull.e
On Grands Vaux reservoir were 2 Teal, a Grey Heron, a Bullfinch and 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and in Vallee des Vaux was a singing Firecrest. 9 Swifts were seen over Gorey Castle and at Icho Tower were a Curlew, a Whimbrel, a Redshank, a Turnstone and 4 Little Egrets.
Yesterday evening, a Barn Owl was seen near Cowley Farm.
16.07.2026 A Green Sandpiper about to take a bath at the Scrape this morning. MD A warm and sultry day with high cloud this morning and isolated heavy showers this afternoon, winds lighter but still from the east-northeast. Yesterday's heavy showers had partly refilled the Scrape and new to there were a Green Sandpiper , possibly two, and a Common Sandpiper. Also around were 4 adult Lapwings , with the fast growing juvenile still present and 2 Oystercatchers . Feeding overhead were 20+ Swifts , 10 Sand Martins , 4 Swallows , 4 Mediterranean Gulls , 5 Black-headed Gulls , a singing Skylark and a Clouded Yellow butterfly. Some early morning passage past Corbiere included 620 Balearic Shearwaters , 21 Manx Shearwaters , 2 Guillemots , 2 Fulmars , 19 Gannets , a Kittiwake , a juvenile Mediterranean Gull and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls . In Petit Port Bay were 42 Mediterranean Gulls , 4 Black-headed Gulls , 21 Curlews , a Whimbrel , a Common Sandpiper and a Redshank . In St Ouen's Bay were 2 Yellow-legged Gulls, 37 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 25 Great Black-backed Gulls , 2 Common Gulls , 185 Black-headed Gulls and 5 Mediterranean Gulls . At La Rocque were 160 Sandwich Terns , 75 Mediterranean Gulls , 240 Black-headed Gulls , 2 Common Gulls and 2 Whimbrels . Among birds in care at the JSPCA at the moment are a juvenile Cuckoo , found near Sandybrook with a damaged wing, also a Peregrine in a similar condition.
15.07.2026 A Bar-tailed Godwit in Summer plumage on St Ouen's Beach yesterday, image courtesy of Jo Bramley A mainly dry day, despite the Island being surrounded by hefty showers, winds still in the east-northeast but a little les windy than yesterday The shearwaters still haven't deserted us and seen passing Corbiere this morning were 2,652 Balearic Shearwaters and 19 Manx Shearwaters . Also seen were 4 Common Scoters , 7 Guillemots , 2 Fulmars , 55 Gannets , 5 Little Egrets arriving from the southwest, 2 Grey Herons doing likewise, 2 Whimbrels , a Kittiwake , 30 Mediterranean Gulls , 22 Black-headed Gulls , 40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 33 Great Black-backed Gulls, 11 Sandwich Terns , 3 Swifts and a White Wagtail . In Petit Port Bay were 32 Mediterranean Gulls , 16 Curlews , a Redshank and 3 Little Egrets . On St Ouen's Beach this afternoon were an adult Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Common Gulls , 15 Great Black-backed Gulls , 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 4 Sandwich Terns , a Common Sandpiper , 2 Turnstones and 37 Mediterranean Gulls . 10 Shags and 4 Bottle-nosed Dolphins were offshore. In Le Braye Sandpits were 2 Common Sandpipers , a Teal , 3 Lapwings , 2 Grey Herons , 6 Little Egrets , 5 Little Grebes , 15 Black-headed Gulls , a Stonechat , a Cetti's Warbler , 15 Sand Martins and 4 juvenile Oystercatchers . At St Aubin were 8 Redshanks . Evening update : On Les Ecrehous today were a Purple Sandpiper , 70 Sandwich Terns and a Willow Warble r.
14.07.2026 A juvenile Marsh Harrier about to be "Lapwinged" at the Scrape today MD After yesterday's rain, it was back to dry conditions, but brighter in a strong east-northeast wind. This morning's seawatch from Corbiere recorded 1,190 Balearic Shearwaters , 21 Manx Shearwaters , 6 Guillemots , a Fulmar , 88 Gannets , 6 Cormorants , a Kittiwake , 25 Mediterranean Gulls , 34 Black-headed Gulls , 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 4 Sandwich Terns, 3 Curlews , 3 Little Egrets arriving, a Swallow and a Sand Martin . In Petit Port Bay on the falling tide were 36 Mediterranean Gulls , 2 Black-headed Gulls , 2 Whimbrels , 24 Curlews , and a Redshank . On St Ouen's Pond Scrape were 2 Dunlin , 2 Lapwings with their chick, 2 Oystercatchers , a juvenile Marsh Harrier , 12 Swifts , 6 Sand Martins and 2 Swallows . In St Ouen's Bay this afternoon were 93 Great Black-backed Gulls , 39 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 69 Black-headed Gulls , 17 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Dunlin , a Bar-tailed Godwit and 4 Sandwich Terns . At St Aubin were 68 Black-headed Gulls including 3 juveniles, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Great Black-backed Gulls . On the East coast, 20 Mediterranean Gulls , 2 Sandwich Terns and 2 Grey Herons were seen from Seymour Slip. On the Ecrehous today were c100 Sandwich Terns , 12 Sanderlings and a Grey Plover Further counts this evening included 34 Mediterranean Gulls and 3 Common Gulls at Petit Port and 2 Common Gulls, 9 Mediterranean Gulls , 100 Black-headed Gulls and a Whimbrel at La Pulente.
13.07.2026 Teal arriving on the Scrape yesterday MD Near gale force winds from the East-northeast made for challenging seawatching, this morning, before a band of showers passed to leave a cloudy later afternoon. An amazing 5,525 Balearic Shearwaters moved north past Le Pulec this morning, a significant proportion of the World population of this red listed species. Also defying the conditions were 20 Manx Shearwaters , 28 Fulmars , 145 Gannets , 3 Guillemots , 23 Shags , 10 Cormorants , 3 Kittiwakes , 23 Mediterranean Gulls , 4 Black-headed Gulls , a Common Tern , 51 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , and a Little Egret from the west. Also seen were 17 Curlews , 2 Peregrines , a Marsh Harrier , a Raven , a Swift and 2 Grey Seals . 20 Mediterranean Gulls were at Petit Port. At St Ouen's Pond Scrape were 5 Teal , the juvenile Shelduck , a Grey Heron , 2 Lapwings with their chick and a Little Ringed Plover . On or over St Ouen's Pond were 4 Tufted Ducks , 2 Grey Herons , a Snipe , 9 Swifts , 10+ Swallows , 15 House Martins and 20 Starlings . Among the odd collection on the Sandpits were a Little Grebe , several Black-headed Gulls and 3 Barnacle Geese , also of dubious heritage. Seen over St Mary were a Sparrowhawk and 2 Choughs . Evening update: In Grouville Bay this eveniing were c 85 Mediterranean Gulls , a Common Gull , 120 Black-headed Gulls , 4 Sandwich Terns , a Common Tern, 6 Swallows and a Sand Martin and at Petit Port were 31 Mediterranean Gulls, a Common Gull , 15 Black-headed Gulls and 6 Curlews . Below : Thanks again to Jo Bramley, this time for her video clip of the Lapwing chick / juvenile, still on the Scrape. JB
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 .
