Jersey Birds

28.06.2026 . A Lapwing at the Scrape, St Ouen's Pond. MD A weak cold front at lunchtime brought a little rain, leaving the Island in a cooler westerly air stream. Two very well hidden Quails were still calling at 0430 this morning at Le Coin du Boulivot. At the Scrape, St Ouen's Pond, the two Black-tailed Godwits were still present along with just two Lapwings and a Grey Heron . At La Rocque this morning c100 Black-headed Gulls , 15 Curlew and a Grey Heron . In Grouville Bay at low water 73 Black-headed Gulls , 11 Mediterranean Gulls and 3 Little Egrets . Four Curlews were on the beach at St Aubin and 21 Curlews were roosting at Petit Port this afternoon along with 65 Oystercatchers . Peregrine Falcons were seen at Les Landes, near Wolfs Caves, near Crabbe and at Sorel. Stonechats were found at Le Pulec, Mourier Valley and Sorel Point.

26.06.2026 Three Black-tailed Godwits were on the Scrape for a second day, this morning, including this fine looking individual. MD After yesterday's record 39c, a much cooler day in the mid-twenties, with a west-southwest wind. On St Ouen's Pond Scrape and surrounds were 3 Black-tailed Godwits , a Common Sandpiper , 8 Lapwings with 2 chicks still, 4 Oystercatchers , 2 Grey Herons , 2 Tufted Ducks , Reed Warblers and Cetti's Warblers feeding young, 12 Great Black-backed Gulls , 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 4 Swifts , 10+ Sand Martins and 10 Swallows . Early morning passage past Corbiere was a little less busy than in recent days, but still involved 826 Balearic Shearwaters , 30 Manx Shearwaters , 6 Fulmars , 22 Gannets , 6 Guillemots , 5 Common Scoters , 11 Shags , 3 Cormorants , 28 Black-headed Gulls , 2 Mediterranean Gulls , a Kittiwake , 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 25 Great Black-backed Gulls , and 12 Swifts . Evening update : At the Grainville cricket ground wasa family of 4 White Wagtails . Extras for St Ouen's Pond today include asinging Sedge Warbler, 15 Swifts and 2 juvenile Stonechats . Near Les Landes were Reed Warblers feeding young and a Whitethroat collecting food. A Tree Pipit was seen in St John.

25.06.2025 One of today's Black-tailed Godwits over the Scrape this morning. MD The hottest day so far in the current heatwave, and possibly ever at 37c in a moderate southeast wind. The Scrape hide was a good place to be this morning, given the weather conditions and reward was in the form of 3 Black-tailed Godwits , one of which soon moved on. Also on the Scrape were 10 Lapwings plus 2 ( of the original 4) chicks from last week, also 2 Oystercatchers . Also seen over the Pond and Scrape were 10+ Black-headed Gulls , 30+ Swifts , a House Martin , a few Sand Martins and Swallows , a pair of Tufted Ducks and a singing Sedge Warbler . Several Clouded Yellow butterflies were also present. The excellent numbers of seabirds continued to pass Corbiere from first light and included a very early Sooty Shearwater , 1,536 Balearic Shearwaters , 33 Manx Shearwaters, 13 Guillemots , 38 Gannets , 2 Fulmars , 6 Cormorants , 5 Sandwich Terns , 3 Mediterranean Gulls , 21 Black - headed Gulls, 2 Kittiwakes , 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 68 Great Black-backed Gulls , a steady trickle of Swifts , with at least 90 seen, and a single Swallow . Swallows with 4 fledged young were seen at Millais Farm in St Ouen, and a Whitethroat was seen at Ouaisne yesterday. Below : A different angle on one of the Black-tailed Godwits . MD

24.06.2026 . This immature Common Gull was among the multitude of birds feeding off the northwest coast at the moment, image courtesy of John Ovenden. The heatwave continues, with temperatures reaching 34c in humid air and only light winds. Shearwaters were very active from dawn this morning, and counted passing Corbiere heading north in less than three hours were 1,760 Balearic Shearwaters and 66 Manx Shearwaters. Other species passing included 13 Guillemots, 25 Gannets , 2 Fulmars , 8 Cormorants , a Grey Heron, an incoming Little Egret , 2 Mediterranean Gulls , 2 Black-headed Gulls , a Kittiwake , 5 Sandwich Terns , 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 38 Great Black-backed Gulls, 42 Swifts , 3 Swallows and a single Woodpigeon . 15+ Bottle-nosed Dolphins were close in to the lighthouse rocks too. Many of the shearwaters finished up off the northwest of the Island, where they were joined by hundreds of Gulls in feeding parties, and more rafts of shearwaters were seen all the way between Guernsey and Jersey, from the paper delivery boat and others. On St Ouen's Pond Scrape this morning were 7 Lapwings , 4 Oystercatchers , a Grey Heron and a singing Sedge Warbler . Inland around the Island today at Pont Marquet were 4 Firecrests , a Goldcrest , 4 Short-toed Treecreepers , a Blackcap . a Song Thrush , a Jay and a juvenile Moorhen . In Waterworks Valley, 250 Herring Gulls were on Millbrook reservoir, a pair of Moorhen were with 2 juveniles on the valley mud pond, along with a Tufted Duck with a juvenile, and on Dannemarche reservoir were 2 Moorhens , 4 Tufted Ducks , a Short-toed Treecreeper and a Chiffchaff . Seen from Grainville cricket pitch were 2 Swifts , a White Wagtail , a Sparrowhawk and an overflying Black-headed Gull , with another 3 Swifts over Havre des Pas and 2 more Swifts over Garden Lane. In St Catherine's Woods were a White Admiral butterfly, 3 Commas , several Red Admirals and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth .

23.06.2026 This beautiful juvenile Black-headed Gull was pictured passing Corbiere lighthouse this morning. MD Another sunny and very hot day (35c) in a southeast wind. In the Sandpits in St Ouen's Bay this morning were a Pochard , 26 Tufted Ducks , a Little Grebe , 5 Little Egrets , 2 Grey Herons , 12 Black-headed Gulls , 3 juvenile and 3 adult Marsh Harriers , 105 Coot , 6 Reed Warblers , 3 Cetti's Warblers , 2 Whitethroats , a Stonechat , 3 White Wagtails , 4 Swifts , 40 Sand Martins and 2 pairs of Oystercatchers . The usual array of odd wildfowl there included 2 Barnacle Geese , a Bar-headed Goose , a Whooper Swan and 2 Black Swans . On St Ouen's Pond Scrape were a Redshank , 5 Lapwings , 2 Oystercatchers , a pair of Tufted Ducks , a female Shoveler with 6 young (on the South Canal), a Whitethroat and a Grey Heron while overhead were 9 Black-headed Gulls , 8 Swifts and a Peregrine . 2 Clouded Yellows were also seen. At Kempt Tower were a pair of Tufted Ducks with a single well grown chick, a Little Grebe , and 2 singing Whitethroats . Passing Corbiere from first light were 464 Balearic Shearwaters , 40 Manx Shearwaters , 21 Guillemots , 3 Fulmars , 16 Gannets , 29 Black-headed Gulls , 13 Mediterranean Gulls , a Kittiwake , 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 29 Great Black-backed Gulls , 12 Swifts , 13 Swallows and a White Wagtail . Later on, at Le Pulec was a feeding frenzy offshore, which included c 500 Shearwaters ( same ones as above), several hundreds of Herring Gulls and 3 Guillemots . On Les Landes this morning were a Marsh Harrier , a Peregrine , 11 Swifts , 7 Swallows , 5 Greenfinches , 10 Goldfinches , 16 Linnets and 2 Stonechats , with a flock of 35 Starlings also seen in St Ouen. At Manor Farm, Vinchelez were 13 active House Martin nests, but at Francheville Farmn no House Martins have bred this year due to the presence of a Sparrowawk . La Feverie Farm has 5 breeding House Martin nests, which is less than last year. At La Rocque were 2 Little Egrets and 9 Swifts .

22.06.2026 Guillemot with young off the northwest coast, image courtesy of John Ovenden JO A scorching day, reaching 34c in clear skies and an easterly breeze. A sign of the times today was the first returning Green Sandpiper , seen on the Scrape. On St Ouen's Pond were 3 Tufted Ducks , a Grey Heron , 2 Little Egrets , 5 Swifts , 2 Sand Martins , and the usual Cetti's Warbler and Reed Warblers . It was a busy morning off the West coast and seen passing Corbiere were 620 Balearic Shearwaters, 78 Manx Shearwaters , 21 Guillemots , 38 Gannets , 8 Cormorants , 13 Shags , 29 Mediterranean Gulls , 51 Black-headed Gulls , 6 Kittiwakes , 31 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 54 Great Black-backed Gulls, 4 Sandwich Terns , 64 Swifts , 17 Swallows and 15 Bottle-nosed Dolphins moving East along the South coast. A Marsh Harrier and a Peregrine were on the headland and good numbers of butterflies over the sea included a Clouded Yellow and several Red Admirals . In Petit Port Bay were 4 Curlews with the usual Oystercatchers , but recent lack of sightings of Shelduck may mean they have all headed off now.

21.06.2026 Many thanks to John for this image of an immature Puffin to the north of Grosnez this week, presumably born last year and not necessarily in Jersey! Image: JO fine and hot day (28c), in a light easterly wind, with the forecast of much hotter days to come this week. Early passage past Corbiere included 121 Balearic Shearwaters , 29 Manx Shearwaters, 7 Guillemots , 36 Gannets , 3 Cormorants , a Mediterranean Gull , a Kittiwake , 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 35 Great Black-backed Gulls , 126 Swifts , a White Wagtail and 3 Woodpigeons . A Marsh harrier and 3 Ravens also flew by. 5 Curlews were in Petit Port Bay. Later in the morning, a feeding frenzy off of Le Pulec involved 720 Balearic Shearwaters , 16 Manx Shearwaters , a Fulmar , a Mediterranean Gull and several hundreds of Herring Gulls . On the Scrape field at St Ouen's Pond were 7 Lapwings ( 5 juveniles), but the female with her new brood of 4 chicks was keeping a low profile. 2 Swifts and a Grey Heron flew over there. At St Aubin were 18 Swifts , 12 Black-headed Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull . Extra reports from yesterday included 15 Swifts , 2 White Wagtails and a Clouded Yellow butterfly at the Farmer's cricket ground in St Martin.

20.06.2026 Lapwings are having a good breeding season this year. With only a couple of pairs on the Island, they have raised 5 juveniles which are now happily flying with the adults. The real bonus today was the first sighting of a second brood of 4 chicks on the Scrape field, with the juvenile birds joining in with the adults to mob passing predators. Fingers are now being re-crossed! MD There was a cloudy start to the day, slowly clearing to fine conditions by this afternoon. There was plenty of activity offshore at Corbiere this morning with rafts of feeding Balearic Shearwaters added to passing birds to total at least 750 birds. Also seen were 17 Manx Shearwaters , 20 Guillemots , 2 Razorbills , 30 Gannets , 10 Cormorants , 33 Shags , 46 Lesser Black-backed Gulls , 60 Great Black-backed Gulls , 2 Kittiwakes , an adult Mediterranean Gull , a Sandwich Tern , 91 Swifts , 22 Woodpigeons , 2 Peregrines off the sea, a female Marsh Harrier, and a Buzzard . A loose pod of c25 Bottle-nosed Dolphins moved slowly south and a few Common Dolphins were seen further to the north. At the Scrape this morning, as well as the Lapwings , were the pair of Oystercatcher , a Skylark , Tufted Ducks with three chicks, also a second pair, a Marsh Harrier and a Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. Kestrels were active near to Plemont and another pair of Kestrels were with 3 fledged young at Beauport. At the pond in Waterworks valley was another pair of Tufted Ducks with 3 young. An Oystercatcher was seen feeding on the grass verge near Hunt Brothers at La Collette, oblivious to the passing traffic.

19.06.2026 A close up of a Balearic Shearwater off of Jersey's West coast, with thanks to John Ovenden for the image. JO It was another morning spoiled by fog, but with a fine afternoon following, winds light from the northwest. Seen through the murk at La Rocque this morning were a Whimbrel , 10 Curlews , 65 Oystercatchers , 6 Grey Herons , 4 Little Egrets, 2 Swallows and a House Martin , also a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on the harbour wall. A further 67 Oystercatchers , a Grey Heron and another Whimbrel were at le Hocq. At Fountain Lane were 3 singing Reed Warblers and 2 singing Cetti's Warblers . At Rue des Pres were 9 singing Reed Warblers , 3 singing Cetti's Warblers and a Marsh Harrier . Swifts featured again, with 42 over Vallee des Vaux, 3 at St Catherine's and 12 over Red Houses this afternoon. Odds and ends at St Ouen's Pond Scrape included a female Shoveler , 2 Oystercatchers and 2 juvenile Lapwings .