Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

October began with one of many stomps round Pleinmont, none of which produced any big-finds but at least there is always something of interest to see during this month. Pleinmont on 1st was windy - very much a theme of the month - and the sheltered valleys produced lots of Chiffchaffs and a few Firecrests but little new. A single Spotted Flycatcher at Fort Hommet pines on 5th was pretty late for the species.

Just as I was pulling into Rousse on 6th October for a quick look round after work, the grapevine came through of a Red-throated Diver that Mark G had just seen at Belle Greve Bay. This species was easily by biggest “tart” for Guernsey - 24 years and not even close to seeing one. There had been a few seawatching sightings and one or two in bays when I was unavailable, but nothing for me that was ever ‘gettable’. So I u-turned and drove across to the east coast, just a 5 minute detour, and pulled up at the Red Lion. I quickly saw the bird swimming offshore to the north and I grabbed my stuff and walked up the beach. It had already started drifting out into the Russell by the time I reached parallel with it. The diver had drifted out far enough so that any photos would be tricky, but I managed to get a few distant snaps. And it gradually swam further and further out until it was just a speck in my bins, and was never seen again. I was lucky to get there in time to see it - number 272 for my Guernsey List.

Red-throated Diver - Belle Greve Bay, 6 Oct 22

I was back up at Pleinmont on 9th but a stiff southerly had set in - not ideal for migrants hunting. There was a small passage of Siskins occurring though, with as many as 40 recorded flying south in small groups. Three late-ish Yellow Wagtails fed in with the cows and a surprising Mistle Thrush flew around for a circuit. The best bird though was a superb juvenile Hobby which did a circuit of the sheltered slope above Pezeries Bay, coming so close over my head it looked at me as it passed.

I tried Pleinmont again on 15th October and it was less busy, although I did see the single Yellow-browed Warbler briefly in Pezeries Dell but it would not show for more than a few moments.

There was a little more activity in the next few days along my coastal, weekday patch. My first Redwing of the autumn was at Fort Hommet on 18th and two Snipe flew by at Pulias on 19th. The first Black Redstart of the autumn was present at Rousse on 20th where a Clouded Yellow was a surprising sight.

I tried Pleinmont again on 22nd but was again met with unhelpful stiff southerlies. There was more activity than last week though and I managed brief views of both Yellow-browed and Dartford Warbler in the same spots as last time I saw them. Skylarks and Chaffinches were on the move in small numbers and a Whinchat was lingering. The best sighting was a brownish Merlin which flew by me low over a field at Mont Herault after scattering wagtails and pipits. It swooped up and joined both Peregrine and Kestrel in the skies above the cliffs there.

As it was half-term, I didn’t have to wait a week until my next visit and so went up to Pleinmont again on Tuesday 25th when the wind was, you’ve guessed it, stiff southerly again - the 4th visit in a row with annoying winds. The most unusual record was a half-singing Cetti’s Warbler in Blackthorn by the car park, that Wayne had found a few days previously. This was my first-ever on the headland. There were small numbers of expected species but little on migration. A total of 8 Swallows went through and a Reed Bunting flew round the fields at Mont Herault.

The next day I changed tack and went to the furthest point NE at Fort Doyle. There was a showy Black Redstart and a Wheatear on the seaward rocks and a couple of Firecrests in a garden.

Disappointingly, the winds didn’t change once during my week off but 27th October was a much better day. Even though it was really dull I thought I’d give La Garenne a quick look for rare warblers. A superb Yellow-browed Warbler showed well right by the entrance and I managed to get some decent pics. Not the rarest but it is always nice to find away from Pleinmont.

Yellow-browed Warbler - Garenne, 27 Oct 22

The grapevine then alerted me to a Desert Wheatear that had turned up on the cliffs at Pleinmont. Although I have seen some before, a rare wheatear is not to be missed and I wanted to see this, especially as it looked like a classy male. I wasn’t able to dash out straight away but I managed to get up there quite soon, only to be told that it had just flown round the headland and no-one knew where it was. I then trudged up and down the cliff path for quite a while but it was nowhere. People who were searching began to drift off and I thought I’d give a quick check of the nearby fields. I did a circuit and then saw that, in fact, everyone who was looking had departed, and it was just me left. It was more than an hour since anyone had seen it and so I guessed that it had flew inland. But, just before heading home I had one last look over the cliffs and saw a white arse fly away from me! I don’t know where it had been but it was back in the exact spot it was at the very start. It was difficult to get very close to as it seemed to prefer the rocks half-way down the cliff slope. This is now the 7th for Guernsey, which is quite remarkable, and the fourth that I’ve seen.

29th October was apparently a good migration day on the headland but I was stuck at home. Just looking from the garden in half-an-hour I had flyover Skylark and Snipe, plus 50+ Chaffinches and 100+ Redwings. A late Wheatear at Rousse that afternoon and a Teal at Pulias Pond on 31st finished the month off. Another disappointing October for Guernsey rarities, rescued slightly by the excellent Desert Wheatear.

The wet and windy weather meant that very little moth-trapping was done, but I managed a couple of nights during half-term with the southerly winds suggesting I might get a few migrants. Two Scarce Bordered Straws were the first for ages, one being a really dark individual, and a Dark Chestnut was again the first for years.

Scarce Bordered Straw - Garden, 25 Oct 22

Siberian Stonechat - Pleinmont, 17 Sep 22

After months of complaining about the lack of twitchable rare birds turning up on the island, it was good to hear that a Siberian Stonechat had appeared at Pleinmont, albeit a species that I had already seen on the headland 13 years ago. I didn’t rush up there straight away and waited until later in the day when I was able to watch the bird by myself. It was difficult to get very close to the bird as it was feeding along the bramble-line between the two Societe fields, with no cover to hide behind. It was great to watch though, constantly sallying up to catch flies against the pale blue sky. When it did it flashed its main feature, the pale buff rump patch. Nowadays, the “Eastern” Stonechats seem to have been split further but the caucasian birds have white in the tail, and the far-eastern birds tend to be darker and oranger. This very pale bird with clear, sandy upperparts matches what would expect from a “maurus”.

Siberian Stonechat - Pleinmont, 17 Sep 22 - The firstthing I do with my photos striaght off the camera is to reduce the original size by 50% to maintain the detail and sharpness. With birds which are a little distant though, this makes them a little small in the frame. The two photos above show the differences. It is difficult to know which is best - size vs sharpness - I guess it depends on the situation but it’s something to think more about in future.

I had a little wander round in the sun and found a Whinchat and a Pied Flycatcher on the headland. Also, there was a Vestal moth hiding in the grass by the Sibe Stonechat field, and a wonderfully showy Clouded Yellow on the cliff path feeding voraciously on Autumn Squill. Despite the increase in many southern species, Clouded Yellows seem to have suffered a decline in sightings. We used to see them more regularly but this was my first good look at one for a few years.

The rest of September was pretty poor for migrants and uncommon species. On 18th September a Great Spotted Woodpecker overflew the garden. This is the first year that this has started to happen but I suppose that it will become regular with the species’ expansion. I would not be surprised if they started breeding in the huge trees in the gardens just to the north of where we live, visible from our front window. The best bird found was a Wryneck on 21st by the pond at the Peninsula Hotel. That area of mowed grass and reeds is pretty good for migrants which like that kind of habitat, and if I was able to visit more often than just once or twice a week then it may produce some better birds. Perhaps it is attractive to such birds because, since it is not public land, there are no dog-walkers there flushing all and sundry - the blight of west coast birders!

Grey Wagtail and Water Rail returned to Pulias on 22nd. Due to favourable seawatching winds - something of a rarity this year - I called in for a brief seawatch at Pulias on the way home from work on 28th hoping for a Balearic Shearwater or a Great Skua or similar. However, the only bird I picked out in the 20 minutes was a Sooty Shearwater, only my second record for the site - “patch-gold” as they say!

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