Background 

Red-billed choughs are considered a rare species in the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and north west France and, until recently, were classified as locally extinct in the Channel Islands. Changes in agricultural practices decimated their habitat and primary food source, resulting in their rarity. Several other bird species have suffered a similar fate. 

Birds On The Edge is a conservation initiative to restore coastal farmland habitat in order to benefit these species. The chough (caûvette in Jerriais) is the flagship for this work and in 2010 Durrell began a captive-breeding programme with the intention of releasing offspring into the wild. 

Intensively managed releases between 2013 and 2018, coupled with post-release monitoring and care have resulted in a highly successful reintroduction. The Channel Islands is home once again to a breeding population of choughs. 

Danny & Pyrrho’s family portrait. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Notable Events and Successes in 2024 

The majority of our breeding success has been centred around our pairs nesting in Ronez Quarry. Interestingly, there were successful pairs from other areas around Jersey too and we hope to investigate these nest sites next year. A total of nine nests were checked at Ronez, six of which were active and successful. After the initial chick ringing visit, Ronez staff found another nest at the quarry which we’ll have to look out for in the next breeding season.

Kevin & Wally’s three chicks on first quarry nest checks. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

When visiting the nests at Ronez, fourteen chicks were found. Pairs that were nesting in the quarry were: Lee & Cauvette, Bo & Flieur, Trevor & Noirmont, Percy & Icho, Dusty & Archirondel and Kevin & Wally. On our checks at the quarry we presumed Red & Dingle had made a nest together. But unfortunately no chicks were found in their nest. Lee & Cauvette, Bo & Flieur, Kevin & Wally all had three chicks in their nest. Trevor & Noirmont and Percy & Icho both had two chicks in their nest. Dusty & Archirondel had a nest they were visiting, but on a second visit, it looked to be unsuccessful. We believe there were two other active nests at Ronez, however, neither of which was accessible; and with so many new pairings, it could have been anyone’s!

Table 1, chough breeding success at Ronez quarry.

There were several nests that were never visually confirmed and some were from first time breeders; these pairs included: Danny & Pyrrho, Jaune & Aspen and Alder & Wally Jnr. Danny & Jaune had been a pair since 2021 however, had not been deemed successful. As we’ve lost a few older males and females in the flock, the pair split and re-paired with new partners. This seems to have worked in their favour as both new pairs: Danny & Pyrrho and Aspen & Jaune, brought two chicks to the aviary.

A completely new pair that bred for the first time this year was Alder & Wally Jnr. They brought one chick to the aviary; which is a huge success for the pair. We’re hoping that these pairs will continue to have successful breeding seasons going forward.

Another pair, Vicq & Pinel, that used to build their nest in a local stable in Trinity have successfully bred again.  Although the exact location of their nest is unknown, we do have our suspicions as to where it might be. Last year they brought their very first chick to the aviary and this year we were over the moon to see them arrive at Sorel with two chicks in tow.  We hope that this pair will continue to have successful breeding seasons in the future.

Minty & Rey with their five chicks. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Our Plemont pair; Minty & Rey, started the breeding season very early, they were a good few weeks ahead of the rest of the choughs that were breeding. The first signs of chicks in the nest brought us great joy; there were five hungry beaks waiting for their lunch. It seemed the pair had a feeding schedule, where one would chase off ravens and/or crows; while the other would feed the chicks. It seemed quite energetically consuming, however it was working in their favour; as their chicks grew up very quickly. We waited patiently for them to arrive at the aviary and sure enough, two of the five chicks managed to make it to Sorel. Although they lost a few chicks (which is inevitable in the wild) they still had a pretty successful year.

Table 2, chough breeding success in other locations across the island.

Over the course of 2024 we’ve had a total loss of nine birds. Six of which were chicks and three of which were long-standing breeding adults. However, an overall of 26 chicks were hatched in the breeding season, the most chicks produced since the project began! 20 of those 26 chicks managed to fledge from their nests, bringing the total population to a whopping 63 birds! The team hope that next year will be just as fruitful.

Table 3, indicating the current population size as well as the flock’s sex ratio. 

In 2024, there were twelve breeding pairs, ten of which fledged chicks. A total of 26 chicks were hatched, the most since the project began!

Activities in 2024

Primary activities continued as detailed below:

Supplemental feeding 

Provision of supplemental food continues daily at Sorel. Attendance by the flock varies seasonally and between individuals. It remains a reliable way to ascertain population size. There are currently sixty-three individuals of which over two thirds are now wild-hatched (Released: 11: wild hatched: 52). Due to the steep increase in population size, the supplementary feed has been adjusted.

Supplemental feeding allows staff to closely monitor health issues and inter-flock behaviour. Concerns can be flagged up quickly and often dealt with on the spot.  

A pair eating from a feeder in the Sorel aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Notable leavers and losses  

The last and only chough left from the first batch of releases, ‘Red’, at the age of twelve, has sadly disappeared during the breeding season. Her partner Dingle was seen arriving alone, leading us to assume that Red was incubating in a nest. Dingle was then seen with another female named Iris. This is not unheard of in males, and they can sometimes be seen hanging out with other females while their partner is incubating. As Red has not been seen since May, she is believed to have died.

After the breeding season had ended and the chicks were no longer hanging off their parent’s beaks, Cauvette disappeared. We noticed her disappearance from her partner, Lee, arriving to the aviary alone. Since Cauvette’s disappearance, Lee has gained a lot of female attention. He’s now often seen flying to the aviary along with two other females (Elm and Willow). It will be interesting to see if Lee pairs up with either of these females next breeding season, but for now, we think he’s enjoying being a lady’s man!

Cheddar, a male juvenile from Minty & Rey’s nest this year has also disappeared leaving the last male chick from their nest, Sakura as the sole survivor.

Red & Dingle on a feeding station. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Research and monitoring 

There has been no sign of island hopping, it seems that females Portelet and Archirondel, who had been taking weekend trips to Guernsey have found a reason to stay on island. Both females have managed to pair up with other males in the flock. Portelet has paired with Sallow, a male hatched in 2022. Archirondel has paired up with Dusty; the very first wild hatched chough for the project in 2015. As the sex ratio of the flock is evening out, it will be interesting to see if any other choughs in the flock will decide to island hop in the future.

The team have been notified of various nesting sites from Jersey residents via the Birds of the Edge website this year. Many of these sites have been investigated and will be monitored once the breeding season heats up next year. The team appreciate the time and effort bird enthusiasts around the island dedicate to this project to enable us to gain the most information we can on the chough population.

Public sightings – where have you seen the choughs this year?

The choughs have been seen all across Jersey by you, the Jersey residents. This year we received 263 public sightings! But we ask for you to keep them coming in! Sightings can be sent to us via the birds on the edge website on the ‘Seen a chough’ page or sent to us directly by email: charlotte.dean@durrell.org.

The places that choughs were seen in the largest flocks were: Sorel with 30, Corbiere with 16, Les Landes and St Ouen with 15, Noirmont and St Brelades with 14. The hotspots where the most sightings were recorded were: Corbiere, St Ouen, Noirmont, Les Landes and Plemont. However, the choughs were also seen in various other places around the island. It’s great to see how much the choughs are dispersing across the island. Let’s see if we can beat 263 sightings next year; keep looking, keep reporting and keep enjoying the red-billed choughs flying around your neighbourhood.

Veterinary cases 

One of the choughs, Kevin had been seen with a black toe on his right foot which was in turn causing lameness. They were caught, weighed and examined by the Durrell veterinary team at the aviary. The chough seemed to have had trauma to the toe which had bled and dried on the toe making the toe look black in colour. It was however, still swollen. The chough was given a shot of pain relief and anti-inflammatory as well as having the toe thoroughly cleaned. They were then re-released and have been healthy ever since.   

Kevin’s injured digit. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Minty & Rey, the pair that nest in Plemont almost exclusively were very successful this year. They managed to hatch five choughlets! Unfortunately, on one of the nest monitoring trips, one chick was found directly beneath their nest and headless. The Durrell veterinary team carried out a post-mortem to determine cause of death – due to its injuries it was suspected to of died from impact (fell from the nest) and then scavenged.  

Percy. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Lee, one of our continually breeding males was looking under the weather during the breeding season. They were witnessed falling asleep on a feeding stand in the aviary. A faecal sample was retrieved and examine by our veterinary team. It showed some signs of parasites. Choughs generally carry low levels of parasites but can heightened in stressful situations (e.g. breeding season) or in ill health. As this bird had chicks to feed the team didn’t want to intervene unless absolutely necessary; thankfully he seemed to of perked up the next day.

Missing claw on Rougenez. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Rougenez, a chough that was hatched in 2022 was caught and re-ringed this year due to losing vital colour rings (We couldn’t identify them without their individual colour combination). Once caught and weighed we noticed that they had a claw missing on their left foot. It had completely healed over and doesn’t seem to affect the way it exists.

Our bi-annual pooled faecal samples were taken over a couple of days. This involves collecting a great deal of fresh faeces from anywhere it’s seen at the aviary and submitting it to our laboratory to be examined for parasite loads. There were very low amounts of coccidian found within the faecal samples which showed that the population as healthy as it can be. Low levels of coccidian in choughs are relatively normal however can elevate when they bird becomes sick or stressed.

Release aviary maintenance 

The site services team have been hard at work during the autumn and winter period refreshing the Sorel aviary. The new netting was purchased, fitted and replaced. This could only be carried out thanks to the generosity from the Jersey Country Enhancement scheme. The wooden framework and release hatches have been stripped down, section by section, reconstructed and erected. The last of the heavy work left in the aviary is replacing the shelves.

First looks at the aviary after storm Darragh. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Jersey was hit by another storm; Storm Darragh. It wasn’t as powerful as Storm Ciaran but unfortunately it still did a great deal of damage to the aviary. A section of the roof was bent out of shape, the aluminium panelling had collapsed in several places, a few holes had emerged on the new netting and the guttering had been found across the field. Luckily we have a great site services team which can help with any significant repairing tasks.

Disconnection of poly tunnel structure. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Choughs on the newly refurbished aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.