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wildlife in and around Guernsey

4/6/2025

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Alderney wildlife sightings
The Alderney Wildlife Trust has reported sightings of  bottlenose dolphins, grey seals and 2021's first butterfly,  the Red Admiral while the island is also home to blonde hedgehogs, the lesser-spotted palmate newt and birds including the Dartford warbler and grey wagtail. The  Bird Observatory on Longis bay provides accommodation for bird watchers and researchers, so allowing them to get even  closer  to the island’s winged inhabitants. 

​Staff from the Alderney Wildlife Trust have teamed up with Visit Alderney to provide a series of virtual walks starting with Fort Albert and Bibette Head Trail, which can be watched on the Trust's YouTube channel here.
Guernsey wildlife
Guernsey wildlife
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Wildflowers, insects and marine life in Guernsey
Swathes of yellow gorse and bright pink common storksbill are emerging along the south coast with endemic ferns  and orchid fields prolific  at Les Vicheries on the west coast. Bee orchids were found for the first time last year in St Germain.


 
For amateur entomologists, the rare black backed meadow ant, once found across the British Isles, now live only on the cliffs in Guernsey as well as  some neighbouring Islands.  Nests are marked  with red flags. The rare glanville fritillary butterfly is a frequent sight in Guernsey despite falling numbers in the UK, where they’re now spotted in just a few coastal locations.
 
In bays around the island and off neighbouring Herm, underwater meadows of seagrass are visible at low tide.  These act as a nursery for schools of fish and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.  Large pods of dolphins travel along the south coast cliffs with Havelet bay recorded as the most popular sighting spot. You might also see the shy brown Guernsey vole, considerably larger than its European counterpart,  as it is occasionally visible in the fields. 
 
Read about one of my visits to Guernsey and Sark HERE

Puffin watching in Herm & Sark
 From mid-March to July, puffins migrate to the islands to breed, especially on  Herm and Sark. In normal times, visitors can take a boat trip around the islands, while the more adventurous may prefer a puffin-kayaking trip with Outdoor Guernsey.
 
Sark’s Gouliot Headland, declared a ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention, is carpeted with anemones, sponges and soft corals,  seen during spring low tide. Herm is a Ramsar site designated for its intertidal area and breeding bird populations.
 
Bird nesting in Lihou
The tidal island of Lihou also a Ramsar site is home to over 150 species of birds including the striking black-backed gull. Lihou’s rocky outcrops and shingle banks offer the perfect nesting environment. The absence of visitors last year meant that breeding pairs of internationally important species including European shags and oystercatchers were seen nesting around the island. Over the past few years the species have been in decline due to human interference. However, Lihou's unique location and lockdown measures enabled the birds to breed successfully.
 more at  www.visitguernsey.com        
images (c)  Andy Marquis - Guernsey Wildlife and Nature Photography /The Bailiwick DolFin Project/ Rod Ferbrache

Guernsey birdlife
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Two more bird feeders for you to make

16/4/2025

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See the National Trust website for lots more ideas and inspiration.
Click here  to see how to make a plastic bottle bird feeder

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Spring is here! Top ten signs of it in your garden

9/4/2025

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  • Spring has sprung, and the RSPB has created a list of ‘top ten signs of spring’ that you can see from your home!
  • Join in the conversation #NatureIsOpen
  • Connection to nature has a positive impact on both physical health and emotional well being. 
The RSPB has collected top ten signs of spring that you may see from your garden:  
  1. Birds building nests – birds only spend a small part of the year making nests, so now is the time to be on the look-out. They use a huge range of materials!  Chaffinches use sticky cobwebs to make pads on the branches, forming ‘anchors’ for their nest.   Long-tailed tits create a pouch-shaped home with as many as 2,000 feathers inside as padding.   Blackbirds and house martins use mud to make their nests.   Starlings love fresh cut green leaves – nothing goes to waste.
  2. ​Hedgehogs waking up – while birds are making their beds, hedgehogs are just getting out of theirs. They come out of hibernation around March/April and are on the hunt for food and water. They’ll have lost around a third of their weight during hibernation. You can help them by putting out a clean bowl of water or a meat-based cat or dog food.
3  Migrants returning – spring sees the return of migrant birds to the UK. In your garden you may be able to admire swooping swifts, marvel at sand martins balancing on telephone wires or hear the nightingales chirping call.

4  Bats waking up – you may start to see bats coming out to feast on insects in your garden – a single pipistrelle bat can eat 3,000 gnats in one night!

5  Bluebells – if you have any bluebells, now is the best time of year to see them burst into bloom, transforming the ground into a sea of blue.

6  Dragonflies return - the common darter dragonfly will start to come out. These regular visitors to gardens perch on vegetation, walls, fences, garden canes and washing lines as they wait to catch their prey,  which, for a common darter dragonfly, is pretty much anything they can catch.


​7  Frogspawn in ponds/toadlets emerging - If you have a pond in your garden, you may start to see tiny toadlets emerging. They love  juicy insect larvae, spiders, slugs and worms, so you can create a toad haven by making your garden as insect-friendly as possible. Leave your leaves to dissolve in the ground rather than raking them up, planting wildflowers, or building a bug hotel!

8 Blossoms – if you’ve got crab apple or cherry trees in your garden they’ll be starting to burst into bloom. Bees love crab apple’s pink blossoms, while the cherry tree blossom holds both the male and reproductive parts in the same flower.

9 Grass snakes waking up - Grass snakes start to wake up from hibernation around now to look for a mate, so you might see one in your garden or  park. The females lay eggs in places such as compost heaps where the rotting vegetation can keep the eggs nice and warm, so be sure to check any piles in your garden before moving them.

10 Dawn chorus for early risers on light mornings – from around March to July birds are looking to defend their territories and attract a mate, which means an early start! The first birds start singing about an hour before sunrise, with skylarks, song thrushes, robins and blackbirds starting off the choir. The early part of the day is perfect for birds, dark enough that predators can’t see them and the still air can carry song about 20 times as far. There’s always the RSPB bird radio if you can’t get enough and want to listen to birdsong throughout the day.    
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​All images (c) RSPB - click on individual images for photographer's details
​
RSPB website
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Celtic routes wildlife

11/12/2024

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Flora, fauna and all kinds of wildlife are enjoying benefits of a huge decrease in global carbon emissions and footfall reduction in some of our treasured outdoor spaces. These include  the Celtic Routes counties Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in Wales and Wicklow, Waterford and Wexford in Ireland.

Dolphin Spotting off New Quay, Ceredigion
Cardigan Bay is famed for bottlenose dolphins and has a population of around 250 attracted by abundant feeding grounds, undisturbed habitat and clean waters. It’s possible to see dolphins year round, but prospects are best in summer when there’s plenty of mackerel in the sea.   Improve the odds of seeing them and colonies of seabirds by taking a charter boat trip into Cardigan Bay.  Bottlenose dolphins are highly intelligent and extremely sociable and often leap alongside boats riding the bow wave making them fun to observe up close. 

Pembrokeshire Islands

The seven islands, Caldey, Grassholm, Middleholm, Ramsey, Skokholm, Skomer and St Margaret’s are uninhabited now except Caldey, although many are nature reserves with wardens. Skomer, Ramsey and Caldey are the most accessible with daily boat trips from the mainland between Easter and October while the others can be seen up close from a boat. Skomer, Skokholm and Grassholm are grouped together as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of their puffins, Manx shearwaters, and gannets. Day visits are not currently permitted, but boat trips touring around the islands are operational.
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Seal Spotting at Cemaes Head, Pembrokeshire
Autumn is the best time  to spot one of Pembrokeshire’s best-loved mammals, the Atlantic grey seal. Not only is this when the females come ashore to give birth, but there’s a good chance you’ll get to see their adorable white pups too. Pups generally arrive between late August and November, starting life with silky-soft white fur. When  this is replaced with a thicker, darker, waterproof adult coat the  pup is ready to learn to catch fish for itself.  Cemaes Head, North Pembrokeshire, is Wales highest sea-cliff and an important breeding site where many pups are born. The inaccessible pebbly beach below is the spot for the largest Atlantic grey ‘haul-out’ in Pembrokeshire, when up to 200 seals and pups can be ashore at any one time.

Ystradffin, Carmarthenshire
Persecuted to near extinction in the UK,  the Red Kite could at one time only be found in Central Wales.  Now there have been Red Kite reintroduction programmes across the UK with one recent sites being in Carmarthenshire. Narrow valleys and high mountains mean the Ystradffin area is one of the best habitats for this magnificent bird of prey. 

Boomer Jerritt_Svalbard
owl chicks
www.travelinglady.co.uk
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, Wexford
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve was originally founded as a winter sanctuary for Greenland white-fronted geese. Located on flat farmland reclaimed from the sea in the 1840s,  40% of the world’s population of Greenland white-fronted geese find food and shelter here along with thousands of wildfowl, waders and other birds. Over 250 species of birds have been recorded.
*The reserve is not currently open, but check here for updates and information on opening.


Whales Breaching at Hook Head, Wexford
November marks the beginning of whale watching season off the Hook Peninsula. In 2010 there were reports of  Fin whales and a Humpback spotted off the coast at Hook Head and they have made a welcome return every year since. The red balcony at the top of Hook Lighthouse makes an ideal viewing point with binoculars or whale watching boat trips are available.
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Humpback whales are amongst the largest animals on earth, growing up to 16 metres in length and weighing up to 40 tons. Experts have  located a breeding ground for the ‘Irish’ Humpback whales in the Cape Verde islands meaning they travel nearly 5,000km every year through some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes to get to Wexford's  rich feeding grounds. Hook Head is also a Special Protected Area for birds with an abundance of geodiversity, vegetated sea cliffs and fossils.


Ardmore, Waterford
Ardmore is great for bird watchers who may spot nesting fulmars and kittiwakes at Ram Head; divers and waders, whimbrel, cliff-nesting house martins; migrant warblers and goldcrests. Rarer species include black-throated diver, eider, red-necked phalarope, black redstart, firecrest and crossbill.

The Celtic Routes are comprised of 78 visitor experiences across the six counties, giving tourists the opportunity to explore these beautiful and spiritual parts of west Wales and eastern Ireland  characterised by unspoilt beaches, rolling countryside and dramatic mountain ranges.
Images thanks to  
© Daisy Gilardini Wildlife ​ & Andrew-Halsall, Boomer Jerritt

 

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A festive feast for birds

10/12/2024

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Many foods we enjoy are also hits with the birds, especially during the colder months when there are fewer natural food sources available and they need extra calories to stay warm. 

Try sprinkling some of these treats on your bird table and see which birds come along.  Maybe you'll see  robins or starlings or you may be lucky enough to see a winter migrant bird such as a redwing. 

Some ideas : 
  • Cheese – mild grated cheese is a classic hit with robins, dunnocks, blackbirds and song thrushes. 
  • Unsalted bacon rind – chopping it up means a lot of birds will be able to have a nibble. Magpies and crows are liable to fly off with the whole lump otherwise! Make sure there’s no salt in it as it is toxic to birds. 
  • Ripe or bruised apples and pears – thrushes, tits and starlings are fans.  
  • Pastry – uncooked or cooked, either is good as long as it’s made with real fats. 
  • Dried fruit – raisins, sultanas and currants are favourites with blackbirds, song thrushes and robins. Be aware though that they can be dangerous to dogs and cats so this is one to avoid if you have pets in the area. 
 Not everything we eat is good for birds, however. Here are some foods to avoid: 
  • Anything with salt – salt is toxic to birds, so make sure to keep it off your bird table and don’t put salt in your bird baths to keep it ice-free.  
  • Cooking fat – leftover fat from roast dinners could smear onto birds’ feathers and ruin their waterproofing and insulating qualities.  
  • Cooked porridge oats – they are glutinous and may harden around a bird’s beak. 
  • Milk – birds can’t digest milk so it can make them seriously ill. 
  • Dried coconut – it can swell up in their stomach and make them sick.  

​Another great option is packaged food. Sparrows, tits and finches will visit feeders containing nuts, fat or seed mixtures. Insect-eaters including  dunnocks, robins, starlings and wrens prefer mealworms, while suet-based products are an all-round crowd-pleaser, their high calories providing a boost for  birds through the cold nights. 

As for drinks – water is key for birds, both to drink and to clean their feathers so they’re in tip-top condition to fly and keep themselves warm. Birds can find it harder to find water in the winter as ponds start to freeze, so they appreciate a bird bath. Even a dustbin lid with some stones at the bottom for grip will do the job. Water keeps freezing? Try floating a ping pong ball on the surface.  The slightest gust of wind will keep the ball moving and stop the water turning to ice. 

 www.rspb.org.uk       (images copyright Ben Andrew/ Chris Gomersal/ RSPB)

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    I'm Gilly,  award winning journalist, travel writer, 13 x author. Credits include:  Telegraph, Mail, CNN, Express, BBC mags, Country & Town House, The Scotsman, World of Cruising &  countless others
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