Rare Roseate tern spotted nesting near Jersey

20 September 2019 at 1:04pm

Britain's rarest breeding seabird has been spotted on rocks off the coast of Jersey.

As many as 3 Roseate terns were sighted nesting among Common terns at Les Ecrehous off the north east coast of the island over the summer.

The bird is red listed and only four colonies remain in Europe, nesting in sites in England, Southern Ireland, Brittany.

The Roseates were the last birds to complete the 3,500 mile trip from West Africa and are believed to have stayed on Les Ecrehous between June and August.

The area has been a common nesting site for common terns. However, the nesting seabirds have faced pressure from an increase in tourism in the area, with hundreds of visitors from France and Jersey visiting the site every day during the summer.

Around 80 nests were recorded in 2019 but some of the birds did not breed as successfully, which was most likely due to human disturbance.

Last updated Fri 20 Sep 2019

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Bird nests on Jersey’s offshore reefs been deliberately damaged says Department of the Environment

Birds’ nests on Jersey’s offshore reefs have been deliberately destroyed by visitors to the reefs Jersey’s Department of the Environment have reported.

Visitors are also reported to disturbing seals and dolphins, building bonfires, leaving litter and clearing a sizeable area of vegetation on Maîtresse Île, Les Minquiers, leaving bare soil exposed to the erosive action of the weather and sea spray.

The Department of the Environment are asking ask boat owners to take care when they visit Jersey’s offshore reefs this summer.

All Jersey’s offshore reefs (Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, Les Dirouilles and Paternosters) are recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention and the main islands are part of Jersey’s Coastal National Park area.

All parts of the reefs are considered to be ecologically sensitive. Between March and August the main islands are home to nesting seabirds, which it is an offence to disturb under the Conservation of Wildlife Law (Jersey) 2000. In the autumn large numbers of migrating birds are dependent on the vegetation on the reefs for shelter and food.

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Rare birds found in Jersey

Conservationists have come across two rare visitors to the island while surveying birds over the past two weeks.

A Little Bunting and a Serin were found by ornithologists in the conservation fields planted to feed endangered birds.

Both species could potentially breed in Jersey if they would find the right conditions. Local nature enthusiasts hope that they might decide to make Jersey their permanent home.

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Red-billed chough escapes Jersey's Durrell wildlife park

8 May 2014 Last updated at 17:59

A rare bird has escaped from Durrell wildlife park and keepers are appealing for help in finding it.

The red-billed chough, a member of the crow family, is a small black bird with a bright red beak.

Named Arthur, it is a breeding male on the Birds on the Edge project, which aims to repopulate Jersey with rare native birds.

Keepers believe a rat may have chewed through netting in the bird's aviary.

Other choughs have been released on Jersey after training but Arthur has not been prepared for release.

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STORM CASUALTIES: Jersey seabird death toll 'at least 600 and growing'

More than 600 dead seabirds have now been found on Jersey's beaches, wildlife experts have confirmed.

The National Trust for Jersey organised a second count on Sunday to track the impact of recent storms.

For the second week about 130 birds were discovered dead. Experts put this down to them struggling for food in heavy wind and rain.

Wildlife experts are calling for the Channel Island governments to work to assess the scale of bird loss.

Dozens of volunteers answered a call to scour the island's coast on Sunday to collect some of the hundreds of dead birds which have washed up during the extreme weather early in February.

Cris Sellares, from the National Trust, said there were a total of 136 birds found and some specimens, such as local shags, an oiled razorbill, a kittiwake and some puffins were saved for post-mortem analysis.

She said: "It is one storm after another, after another, they can't feed in this weather, they get weak

"The impact of this storm will be felt across the UK and particularly our local birds like the shags. I think we will need to do a full review of the health of our breeding population this year."

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Jersey's rogue chough pair rejoin the flock

A pair of rare birds that left an aviary during a phased reintroduction to the wild release have returned.

Red-billed choughs have not thrived in Jersey for a century and are being reintroduced by an environmental group.

The aim was to allow the birds out for short periods to allow them to gradually adjust to the wild.

On the first release two birds left the flock and spent about a week living in a quarry before returning to the aviary last week.

The Birds on the Edge programme aims to restore the natural diversity of the north coast of the island.

Dr Glyn Young, leading the project, said the birds were born in captivity but hoped they would thrive in the island.

Flock of crows

He said after the pair had returned they decided to go back to the original plan of a phased release but not everything went to plan.

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Cirl bunting makes comeback at Jersey golf course

A rare bird not seen in Jersey for 10 years has been spotted at a golf course.

Efforts have been made to manage parts of the Royal Jersey Golf Club to allow the cirl bunting to survive and to provide food for the birds.

Glyn Young, of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said the bird's arrival was good news.

The cirl bunting is a sparrow-sized bird with a distinctive striped black and yellow face.

Mr Young said a study on the bird's survival prospects in Jersey would take place and include a look at the problem of a lack of food for the cirl bunting during the winter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-20135922