Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Late April had a nice variety of migrants and new species to see for the year, which was especially promising since we needed to bring our Bird Race day forward by a week from the official day, so it was to be on the last weekend of April this year. The Easter holidays were late this year so I was able to pop out more regularly to see what was about.

On 21st April I was up on Pleinmont headland where it was very busy with common warblers, but not-so busy for scarce birds. A newly-arrived female Redstart perching atop the fully-blooming gorse was the only uncommon species I could find.

On 23rd a quick look at Pulias revealed a Yellow Wagtail feeding on the beach and a Reed Warbler singing from the small reedbed. After dark on 24th it was really calm and clear, and from the back garden I heard both a flyover Greenshank and a screeching Barn Owl, which hopefully means the local pair are back in their box. Another Pulias visit the next day and the Reed Warblers had increased to 2 singing birds, and another Greenshank was observed flying up and down the coast a few times. There were also Manx Shearwaters flocking offshore out to sea.

Juvenile Raven - Vale, 25 Apr 25 - Just fledged from the nest in the quarry near Bordeaux

27th April came around and we met for the bird race before first light but were not expecting a big total due to the uninteresting weather forecast, and that is what indeed occurred. As usual, a very enjoyable day in the field but not many unexpected birds, and migrant numbers were familiarly low. We tried Saumarez Park very early morning to try to see woodpeckers before it got busy but we were not successful there.

We then followed the coast west searching for shorebirds but we had to make do with scraps. Whimbrels were in in numbers, but a couple of Common Sandpipers and a Bar-tailed Godwit were all we could find - a very poor show. At Claire Mare, a Snipe took off when we looked out of the screen (hard to come by on bird races nowadays) and a Sedge Warbler sang amongst the Reeds. Up at Pleinmont, the birds were low in number and nothing was passing overhead, but we did eke out a Whinchat and a briefly reeling Grasshopper Warbler. Surprise of the morning was a high-flying Bullfinch over the top fields, a species which seems to be decreasing a lot locally.

Down at the Reservoir we ticked off the breeding Great Crested Grebes, which was a new species for the bird race, and we were surprised to see a scruffy young Common Gull on the raft, a bird was had been present at Perelle a few days prior. More searching the middle of the island failed to produce many new species apart from the expected and we eventually found the Cattle Egrets down at Rue des Bergers.

Cattle Egret - Rue des Bergers, 27 Apr 25

Marsh Harrier - Rue des Bergers, 27 Apr 25

We searched the seas off Fort Doyle for terns and auks. There were none of the former, but we did see both Guillemot and Razorbill, as well as a surprising Great Northern Diver. As we’d seen 2/3 of the auks and we were not expecting a big total, we didn’t think it was worth heading to Herm for Puffin, which also meant we no doubt missed Brent Goose as we could find none of the mainland. The rest of the day was spent touring various spots, ticking off a few known species like Little Grebe and Goldcrest. We finally found a single flock of small waders at Vazon which consisted of Dunlins and Ringed Plovers which are usually pretty easy, but we never found a Turnstone or a Sanderling. Our final bird was a Tree Pipit at Pleinmont in the evening which meant we finished on 79 species. Migrants are such a scarce commodity nowadays, getting a good bird race total can only really be achieved by being totally flexible with the date. If the weather conditions aren’t perfect, it isn’t going to happen, and even then it probably still won’t!

The Mighty Sultans of String - still going strong after 25+ YEARS of bird-racing

Back to work, the next week, the best bird was a super, singing Garden Warbler in the fig tree at Fort Hommet/Vazon on 29th, only the second record for my patch.

A saw of a sawfly - not something I’ve seen before, now its clear where they got their name.

Out and about around work hours on Friday 4th April, I noticed that there was a bit of migrant activity at a few of my local spots. There was my first Willow Warbler of the year at Fort Hommet, along with a few Chiffchaffs and Wheatears, plus two more Willow Warblers singing at Rue des Bergers. In the few Tamarisks at Portinfer in the afternoon were another five Chiffchaffs and a migrant Goldcrest, rarely seen coastally. These, along with my first House Martin at home that evening, made me very keen to get out the next day.

I got up to Pleinmont very early as the sun was peering over Torteval church. When I got out of the car I found that there was a pretty strong ENE wind buffeting everything on the headland, meaning that birding may be a little difficult. I checked the first sheltered spot which was over the cliff-edge by the car park and saw that there were at least 4 Black Redstarts there, along with a few Chiffchaffs feeding on the slopes. These were encouraging indicators of new arrivals overnight.

Walking from the cliff path up to the Societe fields I flushed a pale bird from the bottom of the field which took off high and flew into the wind. Despite it being quite high and far for the bins, it wasn’t making much progress so I could see it OK. My initial thoughts were that it was a Short-toed Lark due to jizz and the seemingly totally plain, pale undersides. However, 5th April would be exceptionally early for this species, so I doubted myself. It gave up fighting against the wind and dropped into the grass in the TV mast field. I went in there to try and find it and flushed it again when it did the same thing, flying high overhead, against the wind, almost hovering. Again, the only species I could think of was Short-toed Lark but it suddenly disappeared and I didn’t see where it went.

I went back towards the Societe fields to see if it had looped back. This time I could see some thrushes in the field, which were 5 Fieldfares and a Ring Ouzel, a super sighting. But when I got closer something spooked all the birds in the field and I saw the putative lark go with them. I tried to keep my bins on it but it flew further this time, losing it over the camping field or Chatsworth. This wind was not helpful as, whenever any bird took off, it went like the clappers.

I went for a larger loop of the top of the headland, hoping that the bird would come back. Down on the next headland there were two more Black Redstarts, including a jet-black male but a female Dartford Warbler which hopped up on a gorse sprig for a few short seconds was even better. I had not seen this species for a few years.

Finishing the loop, I returned to the Societe fields and, walking down the edge. Again, before I saw it on the deck, the bird had returned but flew up straight away. It again flew towards the TV mast field, this time in the company of Meadow Pipits, so I could see that it was not really any bigger than them. Again, it seemed to have evaporated into the grass, but just as I was leavng the field I picked it up in flight again and it gave a lark-like call - not as loud and strident as your typical Skylark, but softer and shorter, but nevertheless clearly a lark. This was the final piece of the puzzle nailed and proved that the bird had to be a Short-toed Lark. I didn’t see it again but Tony saw it briefly soon after, although it seemed to disappear afterwards as no-one else reported it.

I was pleased to finally confirm the ID in the end as, because of the very early date, I was going to maybe only “pencil it in”. However, looking at what else was going on in the UK, this fitted in fine with a glut of unusually early sightings. During this week there was a Great Reed Warbler, 2/3 Subalpine Warblers, a Tawny Pipit, a Red-backed Shrike, a few Wrynecks, a White-winged Black Tern, lots of Blue-headed Wagtails, an Ashy-headed, a Turtle Dove, plus an unprecedented number of Hoopoes. And a Short-toed Lark was found on Fair Isle just five days later.

I popped back later in the afternoon to see if it had returned but it had not. Three Yellow Wagtails appeared in the fields though, which were my first of the year.

Bottle-nose Dolphins - Fort Hommet, 8 Apr 25

I was sleepily driving to work on the morning of Tuesday 8th April and, as I was rounding the headland at Albecq/Cobo, I glanced out of the car window and saw, really close in, a fin break the surface of the sea. I span the car round at the first opportunity and scanned out from Cobo car park. I could see that there were some dolphins feeding offshore mainly out towards Ft Hommet. So, I jumped in again, sped away, and parked up there, dashing over the headland, climbing on the rocks. Looking out from there, there must have been about 30 Bottle-nose Dolphins in the area, and they weren’t just passing through, they were spread out, going back and forth. Some were close in, some were further out, some were jumping clear of the water. It was an amazing sight and it was a pity I had to leave them and go to work after just ten minutes of watching.

Birds seen during the week were a Great Northern Diver in Vazon Bay on 7th and a grounded Skylark on Fort Hommet plateau on 10th. I was back up at Pleinmont on 12th and the first birds I saw this time over the cliff-edge were three male Ring Ouzels on the granite slopes. It was a good day for ouzels, with 2 more in the Societe fields (in company with 2 Fieldfares still around) and a sixth bird by the weedy strip.

There was not a great deal of variety today, mainly just a handful of Wheatears, but a Tree Pipit was on the deck by Mont Herault Car Park. On the way home I called in at Vale Pond to see a nice Great White Egret feeding happily. also there were my first Reed Warbler singing and first Common Sandpiper.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

April 2025 part ii

April 2025 part i

Just A Bird