November/December 2021

November was very entertaining and I inputted more scarce bird sightings this month than I did in October. Starting back at work on 1st November, the day after returning from Yorkshire, I called at Vazon on the way home to see a nice Snow Bunting feeding on the track by the car park amongst some Chaffinches. The winter birds were coming back and I had both Kingfisher and Black Redstart the following day at Pulias and a Snipe at Vazon the day after. On 4th November there was quite a northerly blow, and a little bit of seawatching from the car park at Pulias saw a few Kittiwakes and Common Scoter heading west.

On 5th there was a bit of an arrival on the chilly north winds as a flock of at least 50 Fieldfare flew over the house at first light. There were also some Siskins over the school car park and at least 8 more Fieldfare on the deck at Pulias in the afternoon, something I never see there. On 7th I had a late autumn look around Pleinmont but it was quiet for migrants, with the long-staying Hen Harrier putting in a brief appearance. A flock of 6 Canada Geese had arrived at CBNR and were still present as I drove past, much the largest group that has been seen here - a little concerning. Two Snow Buntings were seen in flight at Vazon/Fort Hommet on 8th.

Early morning before work on 11th November, I pulled into the Vazon/Ft Hommet car park for a quick scan just as it was getting light enough to see. The aforementioned flock of Chaffinches was again feeding on the track to the cafe and I saw a paler bird amongst them. I assumed initially that it was one of the Snow Buntings that had been hanging around but focussing my bins I could see that it wasn’t. It wasn’t very close but appeared to be a lark, but not a large lark. It seemed to have very pale whitish underparts and I was pretty sure that it was a Short-toed Lark. However, even though I was pretty chuffed to find a good bird, with the late date, I was wondering if there was something rarer it could be. Of course, I was not able to relax and study the bird since a) I would be late for work, and b) this was right in the middle of dog-walking main street. So, with an oncoming six-legged beast approaching I was unable to even grab my camera and take an identifiable photo in time, before the pooch spooked it and it took fight.

Short-toed Lark - Vazon/Ft Hommet, 11 Nov 21 - being flushed by a viscous beast!

It flew past me and I thought it was going to head off, never to be seen again. I did get a decent view of it through the bins as it flew and this confirmed my initial identification, but luckily it circled back and landed again with the Chaffinches on the same bit of track. I was able to then get a couple more shots of the bird even though it was very dull conditions, but at least they were clearly identifiable.

The bird stayed for the rest of the day and lots of people saw it well, although it was not present at 3:30 when I checked on my way home, although a superb orange male Brambling had joined the Chaffinches. This is still only the 12th sighting of Short-toed Lark in Guernsey, and definitely the latest record by over a month. The previous latest had been on 6th October, which I also found. This is a species that I have done very well with, this being the 4th I have found myself, a third of all the island records. And three of these have all been in the same Vazon/Fort Hommet location, the other two in 2010 and 2016 just the other side of the car park and up the hill.

Short-toed Lark - Vazon/Ft Hommet, 11 Nov 21

The next weekend saw me at Grand Pre on 14th November. There wasn’t much in the reedbed apart from a few Chiffchaffs but checking the orchard across the road, I saw there were plenty of Fieldfares feeding on the fallen apples, as many as 40 birds altogether. I hid behind a tree and waited for some to get close and I managed some nice pictures. As I was nestled in the vegetation, I also heard a Brambling come in and it rather luckily chose a visible tree top to perch in for a while. There was also quite a few Blackbirds and Redwings feeding on the fruit as well as a few Siskins in the alders.

By the 16th there were now at least two Bramblings in the Chaffinch flock at Vazon and a large group of 30 Siskin flew over the house early doors. On 17th I popped to Le Guet after work briefly. The conditions were not great but I heard a call I recognised but felt unusual from the pines above the fort. It may have been remembered from Yorkshire at half-term but I was sure it was a Coal Tit, a call I did not know I knew! A wee bit of pishing over the fort walls and the bird soon came in to investigate and I was able to take a few grainy shots. I think that there may have been two birds (which someone confirmed during the next few days). Coal Tits are so irregular here - I’m pretty sure that there had not been any for the last two winters - but there had been one or two sightings on peoples feeders in the previous couple of weeks, so we might be due a good winter for them.

During the next week it was pretty much most of the same species already mentioned turning up at various different places. At the end of the week Storm Arwen hit the northern part of the UK and I went out to Chouet on 27th when its tail-end hit the Channel Islands. However, the sea was white and it was just too wild and windy and there were not many seabirds to see, just about 25 Kittiwakes and a lone, foolhardy Fulmar. A female Common Scoter was sheltering in Vazon Bay later in the day. I tried again at Chouet the next day, when it had calmed down a bit, and there were more birds passing and visible in the hour-ish I watched for. It was mainly Kittiwakes, with c.200 seen, many quite close, but three Common Gulls were the only other species of note.

A little bit of sound recording below, starting off with a very weird Raven that was on the mid-tide rocks at Rousse. It was making a very weird call and even an old woman walking her dog stopped and asked me about it as it was so odd. It was echoing around the whole area and was surprisingly loud and, looking it up, it appears it is known as a “water-drop” call and sounds like it is being made from the back of the throat. The first recording below is the series of these calls that were made - I just managed to catch the last part of this, it seemed to be doing it for a few minutes. The second recording is just one of the calls isolated, then the third is the normal call as the bird took off (with its spectrogram below).

I also caught a nice Bullfinch call as one was calling quite loud from the tree right above my head at Pezeries Bay, Pleinmont.

Spectogram of Bullfinch call - Pleinmont, 20 Nov 21

Birding in December was, as always is, very quiet and I don’t seem to have taken a single wildlife photo during the whole month. The first returning Great Northern Diver was seen much later than usual, on 10th December in Grandes Rocques Bay, followed by a second from Rousse on 14th. There was a nice, bright male Black Redstart at Vazon on 16th and I saw the Coal Tit again at Le Guet on 21st. Finally, I had my first Tufted Ducks of the year on 22nd with a pair in Juas Quarry.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

November/December 2021

Just A Bird