18.08.2025 A great image of the 3 Little Terns on St Ouen's Beach last night. Note that the adult bird on the left is wearing a colour-ring from Ireland
Many thanks to Romano for the picture. RDC
A muggy day of medium level cloud with the off light shower in a moderate to fresh Easterly wind.
The seabird invasion off the West coast continued today and seen from Corbiere during a morning-long seawatch were an Arctic Skua, a Great Crested Grebe, a Black Tern, 646 Sandwich Terns, 44 Common Terns, 230 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 146 Mediterranean Gulls, 85 Black-headed Gulls, a Common Gull, 43 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 20 Gannets, 9 Cormorants, 22 Shags, a Redshank and 3 Little Egrets. Also seen were 7 Swifts, a Peregrine and a Wheatear. Roosting at Petit Port at noon were 267 Sandwich Terns, 59 Common Terns, 59 Mediterranean Gulls and 25 Curlews as well as the usual Oystercatchers and Herring Gulls.
Seen off Le Hurel were 200 Black-headed Gulls, 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 33 Sandwich Terns, a Common Tern, 36 Turnstones, 3 Curlews, a Dunlin, a Redshank, a Greenshank and a Grey Plover. At the Gunsite were 30 Sandwich Terns and 3 Curlews.
At St Ouen's Pond were 4 Grey Heron, a Pochard, a Little Grebe, 2 Marsh Harriers, 20 House Martins, 10+ Swallows and a Reed Warbler and on the Scrape were 3 Teal, 2 Snipe, 2 Kestrels, 40 Linnets, 6 House Martins and 5 Swallows. A Willow Warbler was in a garden at Red Houses this evening.
Evening update: An adult Roseate Tern was roosting at Petit Port this evening.
A Fulmar which was seen, stuck on a ledge on the North coast, near Grand Becquet, was successfully recovered by the States Fire Service yesterday evening. The bird was in good condition, but weak after it's ordeal and is now recuperating in care at the JSPCA. Congratulations to all concerned.
Below: For those interested in such things, below are the ringing details on a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, seen yesterday at Petit Port. Please note the "place" ringed in Poland, only 48 digits long!
17.08.2025 Juvenile Peregrine at Corbiere this morning. Image: MD A fine and warm day, but with a strong and gusty easterly wind. It was a second busy day at Corbiere, with Tuna boils attracting lots of birds. Counts there included 252 Balearic Shearwaters, 6 Manx Shearwaters , 2 Arctic Skuas , 425 Sandwich Terns , 57 Common Terns , with another 70 "commic" terns further out, a Little Tern, 15 Cormorants , 153 Mediterranean Gulls , 51 Black-headed Gulls , 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 3 Grey Herons, a Little Egret , 2 Common Sandpipers, an Oystercatcher , 2 Peregrines , a Sparrowhawk , 2 Wheatears and a Chiffchaff seen, also a Grey Seal. At Petit Port were 22 Sandwich Terns and 52 Mediterranean Gulls . At Le Pulec were 24 Curlews , 150+ Sandwich Terns , 23 Shags and a Stonechat . Around the Scrape at St Ouen's Pond were a Shelduck , 2 Green Sandpipers , 3 Snipe , 2 Yellow Wagtails , a White Wagtail and 14 Linnets . Evening update: In St Ouen's this evening were 3 Little Terns, including an adult with an Irish colour-ring, a Black Tern , 55 Common Terns , 180 Sandwich Terns , 2 Yellow-legged Gulls , 26 Mediterranean Gulls , 67 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 64 Great Black-backed Gulls . Below : Another view of the Peregrine at Corbiere. Image: MD
16.08.2025 Juvenile Common Gull in St Ouen's Bay, image thanks to Romano RDC A clear and warm day in a fresh to strong Easterly wind It was a busy morning at Corbiere in the strong wind conditions. Seen passing through the morning were 74 Balearic Shearwaters , 5 Manx Shearwaters , 228 Sandwich Terns, 220 Black-headed Gulls , 68 Mediterranean Gulls , 2 Yellow-legged Gulls , 188 Herring Gulls , 45 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 33 Great Black-backed Gulls , a Fulmar , 94 Gannets , 13 Cormorants and 75 Shags . 3 Wheatears flew in and 2 Peregrines were hunting there too. 135 Mediterranean Gulls were roosting in Petit Port Bay, a day record for the site, also 18 Black-headed Gulls , 44 Sandwich Terns , 23 Curlews , a Grey Heron and 12 Little Egrets were present. Around St Ouen's Pond and Scrape were a Little Stint , a Wood Sandpiper , a Green Sandpiper , a Common Sandpiper , a Ringed Plover , 3 Snipe , a juvenile Shelduck , a Teal , 2 Reed Warblers , a Willow Warbler and a Grey Heron . A Spoonbill flew in near El Tico but has not been reported since and in St Ouen's Bay were 40+ Sandwich Terns, feeding offshore. 2 Wheatears were at Le Pulec. Seen at a windy Noirmont were 7 Wheatears , a Golden Plover , 3 Tree Pipits , 2 Willow Warblers , 15 Sand Martins , a House Martin , with another Swift seen over Beauport. At La Rocque were 94 Black-headed Gulls , 4 Sandwich Terns , a Redshank and 2 Wheatears and seen from Webber Lane were 3 Ringed Plovers , 2 Turnstones , 3 Redshanks , 46 Black-headed Gulls and 3 Great Black-backed Gulls . 9 Cattle Egrets were at Grouville Marsh and a Pied Flycatcher visited a garden in St Clement. Evening update: A Turtle Dove was on the North Road in St John, near the Millenium Cross and 7 Curlews were in St Aubin's Bay. In St Ouen's Bay this evening were 20 Common Terns , 100 Sandwich Terns , 3 Yellow-legged Gulls , 48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 78 Great Black-backed-Gulls , 18 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Dunlin .
15.08.2025 . A newly arrived Yellow Wagtail at Noirmont this morning. Image: MD A mainly fine and warm day in a moderate to fresh easterly wind. There were more signs of Autumn migration getting underway today. At Noirmont, yesterday's Nightingale was still present near the bunker, but also still elusive. Also on the ground were 9 Wheatears , a Redstart , 4 Whitethroats , a Dartford Warbler and 3 Willow Warblers . Flying over, or landing a were a Hobby , 2 Tree Pipits , the first 2 Yellow Wagtails of the Autumn passage, a flock of 4 Black-tailed Godwits , 82 Swallows , 65 Sand Martins , 6 Swifts , 45 Black-headed Gulls , 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , also 2 Swallowtail butterflies heading North. Offshore, c 600 Gannets were following a trawler heading back towards the French coast. Local birds seen included 2 Marsh Harriers , 8 Buzzards , a Kestrel, 32 Ravens in the air together, and 6 Jackdaws . At St Ouen's Pond this morning were 120 Swallows , 10 Sand Martins , 20 House Martins , 3 Willow Warblers , 12 Sedge Warblers , 20 Reed Warblers , a Snipe , a Pochard , a Shelduck , a male Reed Bunting , 6 Marsh Harriers , a Sparrowhawk , 2 Ravens and a Great Spotted Woodpecker . On the Scrape were 2 Green Sandpipers , a Wood Sandpiper , a Little Stint , a Teal , a Sedge Warbler , a Reed Warbler , a juvenile Shelduck , a Kingfisher , and good numbers of Swallows . On St Ouen's Beach this afternoon were 12 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls , 224 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 211 Great Black-backed Gulls , 3 Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Common Gull . On Mont Matthieu before daylight this morning were a Wheatear and a Barn Owl. A Wheatear and a Stonechat were seen at Plemont and another Wheatear was at the Gunsite in St Aubin's Bay. Another Swallowtail butterfly was seen on Old St John's Road on the north side of St Helier. A few extras from the north side of St Ouen's Pond yesterday evening include 120 Swallows , 10 Sand Martins , 10 Reed Warblers , 3 Sedge Warblers , and a Willow Warbler . A Barn Owl was also heard there. Below : Gulls on St Ouen's Beach this afternoon, image by courtesy of Romano da Costa
14.08.2025 A Wood Sandpiper on the Scrape this morning. Image: MD A fair to fine day, becoming very warm in a westerly wind. Some good interest on the ground at Noirmont today included a Nightingale which was still present this evening, near the bunker, a Spotted Flycatcher , a Redstart , 2 Wheatears , 4 Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler and a Dartford Warbler . Some light passage overhead included 150 Swallows , 60 Sand Martins , 30 House Martins, 3 Swallows , a Whimbrel and 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls . A morning visit to Les Ecrehous saw 220 Sandwich Terns , 40 Common Terns , 30 Turnstones , 48 Ringed Plovers , 11 Grey Plovers , a Whimbrel , 2 Redshanks , 14 Little Egrets , a Whitethroat and 10 Rock Pipits . At St Ouen's Pond Scrape were a Little Stint , 2 Green Sandpipers , a Wood Sandpiper , a Common Sandpiper , a Snipe , a Lapwing , a Reed Bunting , a male Greenfinch , 4 Reed Warblers, the Yellow-crowned Bishop again and overhead, 100 Swallows , 10 Sand Martins , 8 House Martins . In St Ouen's Bay were 2 Yellow-legged Gulls , 230 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 175 Great Black-backed Gulls and in petit Port Bay were 32 Curlews , 76 Mediterranean Gulls , 4 Black-headed Gulls and 142 Oystercatchers . A Honey Buzzard flew over Winston Churchill Park in St Brelade this morning, 12 Redshanks were at St Aubin and overhead Red Houses this afternoon was an anting party of 30+ Black-headed Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull , with a Sparrowhawk , 2 Buzzards and a Swallow also seen. Yesterday evening, a maize field in Trinity held 160 Swallows with a Raven flying over there.
13.08.2025 Little Stint and Green Sandpiper on the Scrape this morning. Image: MD An overcast day with a little light rain at times. On and around the Scrape this morning were a Little Stint , 2 Wood Sandpipers , 2 Green Sandpipers , a Dunlin , a Redshank , a Snipe , a ring-tailed Hen Harrier , a juvenile Marsh Harrier , 3 Shelduck 3 Teal , a juvenile Peregrine , the Yellow-crowned Bishop again, a Willow Warbler , 4 Reed Warblers , 100 Swallows , a House Martin , 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 40 Great Black-backed Gulls . Seen from the GaP Hide at the Sandpits were 200 Coot , 8 Tufted Ducks , a Pochard , a juvenile Shelduck , 3 Barnacle Geese , 4 Little Egrets , 5 Oystercatchers , good numbers of Black-headed Gulls and 7 Great Black-backed Gulls , A Honey Buzzard was in a garden on Mont les Vaux, while at Noirmont were a Wheatear , a Golden Plover and 2 Common Scoters . At St Aubin were 13 Turnstones and 12 Redshanks, and 2 Common Sandpipers . A second Honey Buzzard flew up out of Grands Vaux, heading off south, also 60 House Martins and 30 Swallows were feeding there. In Grouville Bay, as seen from Seymour, were 146 Black-headed Gulls and 6 Mediterranean Gulls , and at La Rocque were 12 Sandwich Terns and 42 Turnstones . At Pontac were 84 Oystercatchers , 2 Grey Herons , 32 Sandwich Terns, 6 Cormorants , 2 Mediterranean Gulls and 3 Black-headed Gulls . 20+ Swallows and 15 Starlings were seen in St Martin. At the Gunsite in St Aubin's Bay were 4 Sandwich Terns , 3 Curlews , 22 Swallows , 2 Swifts and 8 House Martins . Evening update : At Noirmont this evening were a Pied Flycatcher , and a Redstart. In St Ouen's Bay this evening were 3 Yellow-legged Gulls , 85 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 78 Great Black-backed Gulls, 66 Mediterranean Gulls , a Whimbrel , 4 Ringed Plovers and 2 Sanderlings . Below : Thanks go to Jo Bramley for this video clip of the Little Stint at the Scrape yesterday.
12.08.2025 An immature Yellow-legged Gull in St Ouen's Bay, image courtesy of Romano RDC A cloudy to fair day in a west-southwest wind. Waders finally started to appear on the Scrape today, although disturbance by on-going management work there did make them unsettled. Seen through the day were 2 Wood Sandpipers, 5 Green Sandpipers , 2 Common Sandpipers , 2 Greenshanks , a Little Stint, and a Lapwing , with a Shelduck , a Shoveler , a Teal and a Kingfisher also seen. In the Sandpits were a Common Sandpiper , 19 Little Grebes , 26 Tufted Duck , 3 Barnacle Geese , 200 Coot , 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 3 Little Egrets . Seen at Seymour were 170 Black-headed Gulls , 2 Mediterranean Gulls , a Common Gull , 12 Sandwich Terns , 12 Little Egrets and a Great Crested Grebe and at St Aubin were 12 Redshanks. A Whinchat was a new arrival at Noirmont, with a Willow Warbler, 2 Swifts , 24 Swallows , a Raven , 2 Kestrels and an unidentified bat sp, which flew out of the gun cover at the bunker, presumably having been roosting there. Offshore were 4 Sandwich Terns and 4 Gannets but little else. Corbiere's contribution was curtailed by the arrival of low cloud and a west-southwest wind, but did include 43 Manx Shearwaters , 23 Balearic Shearwaters , 26 Gannets , 6 Cormorants , 6 Sandwich Terns , 146 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 26 Great Black-backed Gulls , 21 Mediterranean Gulls , 48 Black-headed Gulls , a flock of 4 Snipe , 2 Peregrines and 2 Ravens . 78 Mediterranean Gulls were in Petit Port Bay. Evening update : In St Ouen's Bay was a second Dutch ringed Caspian Gull of the week, also 4 Yellow-legged Gulls , 135 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 35 Mediterranean Gulls . On the North side of St Ouen's Pond were 8 Grey Herons , a probable Purple Heron , a Kingfisher , 3 Sedge Warblers , 5 Reed Warblers, a Whitethroat , 5 Sand Martins , 5 Swallows , 6 Marsh Harriers, a pale phase Buzzard , a Barn Owl and 2 overflying Green Sandpipers .
11.08.2025 A Caspian Gull wearing a Dutch colour-ring, in St Ouen's Bay yesterday. Image courtesy of Romano, RDC A fine and warm day at c28c in a moderate easterly wind. A Spoonbill flew south over St Ouen's Bay this morning and seen on the Scrape there, were 5 Green Sandpipers , 2 Grey Herons , a Lapwing , a Grey Heron , 3 Teal , a female Shoveler , a Kingfisher and 5 Willow Warblers . On St Ouen's Pond were 5 Grey Herons and feeding overhead were up to 30 Swifts , 20 House Martins and a flock of c 100 Swallows . A Wheatear was on the northside of St Ouen's Pond also 3 Clouded Yellow Butterflies . On St Ouen's beach were 6 Yellow-legged Gulls , 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 80 Mediterranean Gulls, 250 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Sandwich Terns . A busy morning at Corbiere saw 158 Balearic Shearwaters , 29 Manx Shearwaters ( with many more shearwaters distantly ), 5 Common Scoters , 37 Shags , 20 Cormorants , 2 auks ( probably Razorbills ), 50 Gannets , 4 Fulmars , 432 Black-headed Gulls , 36 Mediterranean Gulls , 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 19 Great Black-backed Gulls , 2 Kittiwakes , a Whimbrel , 27 Curlews , 7 Sanderlings , 5 Ringed Plovers , a Turnstone , 2 Wheatears , 2 Peregrines , 6 Little Egrets and a large male Grey Seal seen. At Petit Port were 151 Black-headed Gulls , 25 Mediterranean Gulls , 2 Sandwich Terns and a Curlew . Another Wheatear was at Grosnez. 9 Cattle Egrets were at Grouville Marsh, 4 Cirl Buntings were on Grouville Common and 3 Ringed Plovers , 128 Oystercatchers and a Curlew were at Robin Bay, La Rocque. At Grands Vaux reservoir were a Kingfisher , a Grey Heron and a Lesser Black-backed Gull . Yesterday evening, in Petit Port Bay were 29 Curlews and 5 Little Egrets .
10.08.2025 One of our regular wintering Curlews , colour-ringed in Poland, with thanks to Jo Bramley for the image. A fine and warm day in variable light winds. Movement past Corbiere this morning was dominated by shearwaters, especially early on, when a Great Shearwater, 973 Balearic Shearwaters and 62 Manx Shearwaters moved northwards. 79 Gannets , 6 Fulmars , 40 Sandwich Terns , 11 Black-headed Gulls , 20 Mediterranean Gulls, 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , an adult Yellow-legged Gull , 16 Great Black-backed Gulls , 9 Cormorants and 20 Shags were also seen as well as 4 Curlews , a Turnstone , 2 Peregrines, a Marsh Harrier, 3 Swifts , 10 Swallows and a Sand Martin . In Petit Port Bay were 64 Mediterranean Gulls , 30 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Whimbrels . Seen on the north side of St Ouen's Pond were a ring-tailed Harrier sp , a Wheatear , 15 Sedge Warblers , 15 Reed Warblers , 5 Willow Warblers, 8 Cetti's Warblers , 100 Swallows , 30 House Martins , 5 Sand Martins , 2 Marsh Harriers , 2 Grey Herons and a Clouded Yellow butterfly. 6 Shelduck were on St Ouen's Pond and a Lapwing and a Sedge Warbler were seen at the Scrape. At Le Pulec were 35 Oystercatchers , 2 Little Egrets and 2 Grey Seals . In St OIuen's Bay were a Dutch ringed Caspian Gull , 3 Yellow-legged Gulls , 86 Great Black-backed Gulls , 11 Mediterranean Gulls, 27 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Sandwich Terns . 143 Black-headed Gulls and 2 Mediterranean Gulls were at St Aubin and a Wheatear was at Noirmont. Later, a Hobby was seen over the Scrape and 2 Hobby were seen at Grosnez. Below : A Cattle Egret attending to its duties in Grouville, video courtesy of Jo Bramley.
09.08.2025 A juvenile Sandwich Tern at La Rocque, image courtesy of Romano RDC A Yellow-crowned Bishop appeared at the Scrape today, the second record of this African species for the Island, potentially from the introduced population on the Iberian Peninsula. A brisk early morning passage of seabirds at Corbiere saw 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 325 Balearic Shearwaters heading North in an hour, also 11 Manx Shearwaters , with large numbers being seen at a Tuna boil off Grosnez later. Other species passing Corbiere included 120 Gannets , 6 Fulmars , 22 Shags , 17 Cormorants , 14 Sandwich Terns , 27 Mediterranean Gulls , 8 Black-headed Gulls , 31 Great Black-backed Gulls, a Curlew and a Turnstone , with a pod of c10 Bottle-nosed Dolphins feeding to the south of the headland and a Marsh Harrier hunting over the headland. At St Ouen's Pond this morning were 5 juvenile Shelduck and at the Scrape, a Yellow-crowned Bishop of debatable origin. In St Ouen's Bay were 87 Mediterranean Gulls including 2 juveniles, and 32 Black-headed Gulls . At Le Catillon were 4 Cattle Egrets with another Cattle Egret at Route des Cotils in Grouville. Oddity of the day was a Seahorse , seen on a floating twig at Plemont. Over Red Houses was a flock of c60 Ravens and in a garden there, were 2 Willow Warblers . Evening update: 12 Redshanks were roosting at St Aubin over the high tide this evening and at Bouley Bay this afternoon, 5 Buzzards , 2 Peregrines and 3 Choughs were in flight, with another 7 Buzzards seen over Mont Matthieu.
08.08.2025 Another fine image from John Ovenden, this time of a juvenile Willow Warbler . A dry day with high cloud and a light west-northwest wind. It was another varied day for birds around St Ouen's Pond and from Dawn, 120 Swallows , 10 Sand Martins , 40 Sedge Warblers , 4 Willow Warblers , 20 Reed Warblers , and a Green Sandpiper , also a Kingfisher at the North Canal. At the Scrape were 8 Grey Herons ( but no Purple Heron ), a Kingfisher , 2 Water Rails and 8 Linnets . 4 waders flew off from the Scrape, including one smaller bird, but all remained unidentified. On St Ouen's Beach were a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull , 64 Great Black-backed Gulls , 51 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 45 Herring Gulls , and 23 Mediterranean Gull . On Mont Matthieu were 2 Choughs , a Cetti's Warblers and 7 Buzzards soaring. At Noirmont were a Wheatear , 3 Willow Warblers , 10 Swifts and 5 Dartford Warblers . At least 28 Ravens were seen in flight over Red Houses later. Seen around Les landes were 2 Marsh Harriers , 2 Peregrines , a juvenile Stonechat , 16 Swallows , 11 Meadow Pipits and 2 Dartford Warblers . Seabird movement past Corbiere featured mainly gulls this morning, with 527 Herring Gulls , the majority of them juveniles, 80 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 35 Great Black-backed Gulls , a juvenile Kittiwake , 15 Mediterranean Gulls , 9 Black-headed Gulls, also 2 Balearic Shearwaters , 3 Manx Shearwaters , 88 Gannets , 5 Fulmars , 10 Cormorants , 33 Shags and a Little Egret . At Petit Port this afternoon were 29 Curlews , a Whimbrel , 6 Little Egrets , a Grey Heron , 12 Mediterranean Gulls , 11 Black-headed Gulls , 7 Great Black-backed Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull . At La Rocque were 152 Sandwich Terns , 5 Grey Herons and a Turnstone and at Seymour were 75 Black-headed Gulls . Another Kingfisher was at Grands Vaux and in Bonne Nuit Bay were 195 Herring Gulls and 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls . Late evening update : At Petit Port, a Common Sandpiper , and at La Rocque were 16 Ringed Plovers, 14 Turnstones , a Common Sandpiper , a Yellow - legged Gull, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and 50 Sandwich Terns and at Greve d'Azette were 5 Swifts . A Peregrine was seen over Tabor Park in St Brelade and on the 7th, a Cuckoo was seen flying in off the sea towards Sorel late evening.
