Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

After work on 4th November, I popped in to see a group of 7 Whooper Swans which had been found on the new pond along Rue des Bergers. I had not seen Whooper Swan in Guernsey for a while, and this was the largest flock in Guernsey since I bumped into 8 birds at L’Eree way back in 2002. There was also a Mute Swan there, but it is becoming increasingly less likely that the island will get another Bewick’s Swan, a declining species - the only previous record being more than 60 years ago. The same day I saw a first-winter Common Gull off Rousse and the first Grey Wagtail and Black Redstart were back at Pulias on 8th.

Whooper Swans - Grande Mare, 4 Nov 25 - it was rather dull for photography!

On 9th November I managed to get out for a morning at Pleinmont in decent weather for a change. When I arrived Andy M was just collecting in the moth trap which he had set up the night before. It was pretty standard stuff inside, apart from a few Beaded Chestnuts which I never see at home, but the star of the show was a superb Figure of Eight moth, a massive surprise! This species is hardly ever seen in Guernsey, perhaps due to its late flying dates, but its foodplants such as Blackthorn are common here. I have only ever seen one of these before, in the “boarding-tunnel” whilst getting onto a plane at Gatwick Airport, way back in 1999!

Whilst standing by the moth trap, I saw a Reed Bunting fly past, which encouraged me that there had been a few arrivals during the night. It did seem pretty quiet on top however, so I ducked down into the valleys to search for warblers and the like. Down at Pezeries, I could see that there were plenty of Goldcrests around and a couple of Chiffchaffs in the mix. As I crossed over to Vau de Monel, I flushed a Woodcock from the pines by the track side which flew away over the brow, and I saw it pretty well considering. There seemed to be even more Goldcrests here and I dropped down into the valley to search through them.

It was rather tricky as the amorphous flock roamed through the trees at great speed, along with the odd Firecrest, Chiffchaff and Blue Tit. It was great birding but a little neck-aching as most birds were up high in the branches. Eventually I picked up something different, when a white-bellied warbler appeared above me. I presumed that this was a Yellow-browed, and was pleased to see a scarce migrant, but there was something about it. And when it flicked away, I thought I may have glimpsed a pale rump patch, but I could not be sure. Pallas’s Warbler was the main species on my radar today as there had been quite a few seen on the southern coasts of the UK during the week. However, my brief views of this now disappeared bird, were not good enough.

I set about trying to re-find it and tramped round and round the valley. I was sure it would reappear if I just kept looking, as it was unlikely to leave the area, but there was no sign. I must have had a good gut feeling as I messaged a couple of people that I might have found a Pallas’s, despite not seeing many features. Whilst crashing around the woods I put up another Woodcock from the top of the valley (or perhaps the same one as before) as well as noting both Brambling and Siskin calling from the tops of the trees. I knew I would refind it if I put in the time but, I never do have enough time, so I was worried I would have to walk away and leave it.

However, after an hour or so of looking, I finally caught sight of the bird again, feeding high in a Sycamore at the top of a slope. Again, it was tricky to see any details since it was quite far away for such a small bird, and it was hiding behind leaves and twigs most of the time. I couldn’t get a top view at all, so all I could see was a white belly, two wing bars and a supercilium, features all shared with Yellow-browed, but there was a couple of things which stood out to me. It was very short and squat, with a very short tail, and also the front of the supercilium was bright golden yellow. Mark G had arrived and was also getting similarly brief views. It disappeared again and I had to go but I was now certain it was a Pallas’s Warbler and the news went out. I was no where near able to get any photos but Wayne managed a few snapshots later in the day which are shown below.

Pallas’s Warbler - Pleinmont, 9 Nov 25 (Thank you to Wayne for use of his snaps)

This was the first Pallas’s Warbler I had ever found myself, and the first in Guernsey since 2008. The species has a strange chronology in Guernsey, with the first record in 1991, then 14 more birds in the next 17 years, then, all of a sudden, zero sightings until now. The map below shows why I was searching for the species in particular and it was therefore not a surprise I picked one out. These are the UK records for the previous couple of days, so birds seemed to be building up along the south coast ready to cross the Channel. In the words of Hannibal, I love it when a plan comes together

On 14th November I popped in to see a very tame Snow Bunting that had taken up residence in the boatyard at Rousse. It was pecking for seeds on the floor and I didn’t even have to exit the vehicle. There was also a Kingfisher on the rocks, my first of the year. On the 20th, a quick walk round Le Guet after school, and I flushed another Woodcock, only my second patch record and I saw this one really well as it flew past.

On 23rd November I went up to Silbe to search for a putative Dusky Warbler around the pond. I was unsuccessful, but did note a Yellow-browed Warbler, a Cetti’s Warbler and an absolute ghost of a Chiffchaff feeding out in the open in the willows. This bird was snow white below and pale grey-brown above, with no yellow or green visible at all. The conditions were not great for photography, even though it showed very well, but the video below shows better how pale it was.

The first reaction to seeing such a pale bird was that it must be a “tristis” Chiffchaff, aka Siberian Chiffchaff, which is sometimes thought to be a separate species. However, it soon became clear that it was not at all calling like a tristis and had the usual rising “houeet” note of a typical Chiffchaff. I managed a recording which is shown below along with a spectogram. Reading up about this, it seems that these very pale birds rarely turn out to be proper tristis, which usually is a bit darker and browner above, and has a different call. These ghost Chiffchaffs do tend to turn up with other eastern warblers so there’s no doubt they come from the east, but maybe from not that far away. I think the general theory at the moment is that the “pale morph” Chifchaffs may be very eastern abietinus raced birds.

December was a write-off bird wise, a Great Northern Diver in Grandes Havres over Christmas was the only thing of note. I have started to identify a few common fungi, but the group seems far too complex to get very far without total immersion, which is hard because fungi season and rare bird season almost totally overlap.

I spent a good part of the summer and autumn making my own moth trap from a storage box and a few sheets of perspex. My old one is now structurally unsound and so I thought I’d have a go at making something from scratch which I could adapt to my own needs. I didn’t need to get new electrics which was a bonus and I re-used some of the old trap’s wood. The hard thing was getting all the angles just right, as you have to be able to lift off the sloping perspex sheets, yet it has to sit perfectly flush to keep those pesky micros inside. I have added small wingnuts which can be used to secure the perspex in place and metal rings on the bottom so I can secure the whole trap down with tent pegs if its in a windy spot. I tried it out in the garden and, with a few adjustments still to make, it seemed to work fine, with a Yellow-line Quaker amongst the selection inside.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

November/December 2025

Just A Bird