Thursday 31st March 2016

Another brief resume of a full month for this blog post. Again, I have had a quiet time with birding and I don't want to babble on about nothing! One has to be extremely patient being a birder here on Guernsey. There can be long periods of quietness punctuated with sudden bursts of extreme excitement. Even though March is the first month of spring, it has mostly felt cold and chilly, with any migrants making it through only flocking in small numbers.

I suppose the most notable bird was the drake Shoveler that spent a few days on Pulias Pond which was a new species for my 'patch'. Even though they are present all winter on the island, I have never seen one within borders of my official patch. Not a terribly exciting highlight but a highlight nevertheless.

Shoveler - pulias pond - 21 mar 2016

It wasn't until 21st March that I happened on my first Wheatears, a really late date. I was unlucky probably, but there seems to have been a lot less than usual reported from around the island during the month. Swallows seemed to be in nice and early and I saw my first fly through the houses near the Grande Mare on 25th. Although again, hirundines in general were few and far between during March, I suppose because, mostly, the winds have been against them.

There has been Great Northern Divers showing well at both Grandes Havres and Cobo and Black Redstarts have been noted at Hommet and Pulias. The Firecrests which have been wintering at Le Guet have been regularly seen all month.

the year's first wheatear - pulias - 21 mar 2016

male kestrel - fort hommet - 30 mar 2016

.

green tiger beetle - fort hommet - 31 mar 2016

Monday 29th February 2016

Little Egrets - Fort Saumarez - 11 Feb 2016

To be very honest, I have not really done any birding during February. I have had a few cursory attempts, keeping an eye on my local patch spots, but I have effectively taken a break. The wet and windy weather has not helped for pleasantly walking around. The most interesting thing I did was have a quick look on a few of the beaches after the storms to see what has washed up, which was much more interesting than the avian fare on offer. With the increased number of winter storms occurring nowadays, I think this will be something I could do more in the quiet months.

High tide at Vazon with the tail end of Storm Imogen surging over the sea wall.

Goose Barnacles (Lepas anatifera) attached to a buoy which may have been washed here from thousands of miles away. These pelagic creatures are very weird and fascinating. They quickly die when washed ashore of course, but these had just been thrown over the wall by the above waves and were still alive.

Columbus Crab - Portinfer - 11 Feb 2016 - this small crab was found, unfortunately dead, in another bunch of Goose Barnacles. This is a tropical species that is only ever recorded here by drifting on flotsam.

Grey Triggerfish - Pulias - 9 Feb 2016 - recently dead.

Snakelocks Anenome - Lihou Headland

Vazon sea wall looking metallic during Storm Imogen

The end of the rainbow during a storm, off Rousse.