Date: Saturday 16th November Start: 10.30am Venue: Devil’s Hole Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Join Birds On The Edge and The National Trust for Jersey on a tour of this year’s BOTE achievements as we walk along the north coast path from Devil’s Hole to Sorel Point.
Following up the very successful Spring Walk, now we have a chance to catch up with the project’s latest news and witness the progress made. We will see the grazing herd of Manx Loaghtan sheep, the bracken clearance works and the conservation fields that are in full bloom to feed our local birds throughout the winter. We hope to see the chaffinches, linnets, goldfinches, skylarks and song thrushes amongst other birds feeding in the conservation crops and learn about the findings of the north coast breeding survey that was carried out in the spring.
While we are on the cliffs we will look out for the choughs and learn how the programme to return these stunning birds to the Island is progressing. We can see the release aviary and get the latest update.
The walk will last approximately two hours, on undulating terrain, so good shoes are required and a degree of fitness. Bring weatherproof clothing and drinks as, you never know, it might be warm! There will be a pub on hand for lunch later if you choose!
Please meet in the Upper Car Park (above the Priory Inn) at 10.15.
The organisers of 2013 Inter-Island Environment Meeting cordially invite you to Guernsey. This year’s event will be hosted by La Société Guernesiase at the Frossard Lecture Theatre in Candie Gardens on 17-18th October. There will also be an optional field trip planned for the Saturday (19th October).
At this stage the organisers would like to have some idea of numbers of delegates, topics and numbers of speakers, so if you are interested in attending the meeting or speaking at the meeting please contact the organisers by 31st July (e-mail address at bottom of page).
Talks/presentations are invited from anyone. At this stage there is no focus on specific topics but they’d like to develop themes along the lines of “Strategies & Cooperation for Action” and “Engaging with the Community to promote Biodiversity”. Please do not be put off by these titles – a mix of topics from terrestrial to marine as well as general and from as broad a spectrum of the “Environment Community” as possible will be welcome.
To help you with your planning the Organising Group for the Meeting has agreed the following:
• Start time on Thursday 17th October 10am (preceded by coffee/registration from 9am)
• Timings for the first day will be10am – 6pm. Lunch: 1-30pm – 3pm. Refreshment breaks in morning & afternoon
• Timings for the second day will be 9am – 4pm. Lunch 12-30pm – 2pm. Refreshment breaks in morning & afternoon
• There will be optional dinner out on Thursday evening (venue TBA) and an optional bar meal on Friday evening (venue TBA)
• There will be an optional field trip on Saturday 10am – 1pm. Sites to be confirmed. Optional lunch out afterwards.
A small charge will be levied on all delegates to cover refreshments and lunches for Thursday and Friday (please let the organisers know in advance of any special dietary requirements). The charge has yet to be decided and will depend on the level of any sponsorship – it is anticipated that a fee of no more than £25 per person will be collected at registration.
Delegates are responsible for all their own travel and accommodation arrangements. For details of travel to Guernsey see e.g. Aurigny, Flybe, Blue Islands or Condor and for accommodation see Visit Guernsey
The event may be limited to a maximum of 70 delegates. Whilst the organisers are not expecting a “sell out” they reserve the right to turn down bookings to encourage broad representation from the region and beyond (e.g. the Isle of Man and UK etc.). They look forward to hearing from you and to sharing what they hope will be an enjoyable and thought-provoking Inter-Island Environment Meeting!
Please e-mail the Guernsey Biological Records Centre at gsybiorec@cwgsy.net for more information and to book a place and what will undoubtedly be an exciting event.
As we wait patiently for the trial release, and our seven choughs get ready in their north coast aviary, one chough has been seen out and about in Jersey recently. Arthur the Chough recently spent some quality time on our coasts. First he looked in on the 2013 Itex walk on 22nd June. Not a natural walker, Arthur opted for the shorter Lieutenant-Governor’s Walk (a mere 13 miles) encouraging walkers from near Devil’s Hole before flying down to the end of this walk at La Braye in St Ouen’s Bay. This component of the annual walk took walkers, and indeed Arthur, through chough habitat and very close to the aviary. I hope the walkers enjoyed the stunning coastline and considered how it may be further enhanced in the future thanks to Birds On The Edge. The weather, sadly, early in the morning, was actually not too conducive to enjoying the countryside but Arthur was able to cheer up the hardy and even met the Lieutenant-Governor, General Sir John McColl.
Arthur made a further guest appearance at the National Trust’s Sunset Concerts on 28th June. On this lovely evening, Arthur helped out during the performance by our friends Badlabecques. As last year’s concert raised the money needed for the release aviary it was only fair that Arthur should be on hand to thank everyone and spread the message about Birds On The Edge and his friends up at Sorel. Arthur was doubly proud to be there to hear Badlabecques sing the project’s ‘own’ song “Ma Bouaîs’sie” for the first time in public.
Arthur will be visiting the Island’s primary schools during the year, he has visited four so far and will be at another this week. He will be in the Wildlife Park for Durrell Days (13-14 July) and is also headlining at Jersey Live this year (31st August-1st September). Look out for Arthur, but please don’t confuse him with other corvids (look here for hints), and carry some cranefly larvae as a handful might make him a friend for life! He now has an egg to look after and carries a lunch box containing ants!
Birds On The Edge and Action for Wildlife held their first spring walk along Jersey’s stunning north coast on Saturday (18th May). Starting near Devil’s Hole and walking east toward Sorel Point, forty people joined us to see how the project has been faring in its first full year. What was most impressive, however, was that we managed to choose the best day of the year so far!
Sally and Cris from the National Trust for Jersey and Liz and Glyn from Durrell were able to show the tour and explain about the sheep grazing programme, the miles of bracken and efforts to reduce its coverage, the causes of local bird declines, the conservation fields and crop rotation, hedge planting and the choughs themselves waiting patiently in their aviary at Sorel.
While the sheep and the choughs put on a good show, wild birds were in rather short supply. That is, of course, why the project is so necessary. One singing meadow pipit and only the occasional overflying linnet highlighted what has happened to birdlife on the Island’s coastlands. Although single raven, kestrel, common buzzard, marsh harrier and even a green lizard were also spotted by the keen-eyed in the group it was obvious on such a fine day that the coast needs more wildlife. Lets hope that future walks, the next will be this autumn, show continuing improvements in bird and lizard numbers as the fields and grassland are restored.
The tour finished back at Devil’s Hole and most participants took the opportunity to further enjoy the sunshine with lunch outdoors at The Priory. On Sunday the rain came back!
Check this website again for details of future walks and see how the project is getting on.
What is Birds On The Edge and what has it achieved so far?
Saturday 18th May 2013. Start 10.30 at Devil’s Hole.
Join Birds On The Edge and Action for Wildlife on a fascinating walk along the north coast path from Devil’s Hole to Sorel Point and back with Sally Dalman, Cris Sellarés and Glyn Young.
This stretch of coast is truly beautiful and best shows off the project. Learn here about the birds of the north coast: the importance of the area for breeding, wintering and as a stopover during migration. We will hope to see several species including breeders on the coastal edge and any migrants that may still be heading further north.
We can look too at the bracken, how it has become invasive over large areas of the cliff tops and how we can manage it. I am sure that we will have a chance to meet some of the most stalwart land workers, the Manx Loaghtan sheep doing their best to open up this habitat. We will see the recently planted hedges and look at their importance for birds throughout the year and also the permanent fields and second crops planted out as winter food for birds.
While we are on the cliffs we will look out for the choughs and learn how the programme to return these stunning birds to the Island is progressing. We can see the release aviary and meet the occupants.
The walk will last approximately two hours, on undulating terrain, so good shoes are required and a degree of fitness. Bring drinks as, you never know, it might be hot and there will be a pub on hand for lunch later if you chose!
Please meet in the Upper Car Park (above the Priory Inn) at 10.15.
This survey aims to establish the number and location of breeding pairs of selected bird species within the BIRDS ON THE EDGE project area i.e. the Island’s coastal land. We will set out to do this in several sections of the coastland and will start with the north-west coast from L’Étacq to Sorel Point. Data collected will not only allow us to map the most important areas on this coast for the focal bird species (see Birds) but can also be used in future studies on population trends.
We cannot expect to look at all possible bird species so will concentrate on the following ones:
Linnet
Stonechat
Skylark
Common whitethroat
Dartford warbler
Meadow pipit
Jackdaw
Raven
Peregrine falcon
Kestrel
We will also restrict the survey to a narrow strip along the coast as we already know that none of these birds, except the kestrel, nests further than only a few metres almost, inland from the coastal cliff path. The widest area of habitat suitable for these species is at Les Landes as they do not breed in developed or farmed land. It is likely too that a very high proportion of Jersey’s entire breeding population of several of these species is restricted to the north-west coast.
Methodology
The number and location of the chosen bird species will be established by using information provided through existing ongoing surveys including the Farmland Bird Survey transects at Sorel Pont (two transects), Crabbé and at Les Landes (two transects) and the BTO Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) squares in the area.
The gaps in the study area between the transects and BBS squares will be surveyed by a team of volunteer observers co-ordinated through the Société Jersiaise Ornithology Section. The observers will record the location of breeding pairs and breeding behaviours such as singing, territorial displays, nest-building and food delivery to the nests by direct observation from the coastal path. Each observer will be given maps and a handheld GPS so that they can mark the location of each observation. In many cases more than one visit by different observers might be needed to confirm the location and status of the breeding site.
Results
This quick, easy and enjoyable bird survey will give BIRDS ON THE EDGE invaluable data for producing maps showing the location of each of the most important bird species and numbers that we can compare with repeat surveys over the years. We will also enlarge the survey to cover other stretches of the coast in the next few years.
If anyone is interested in contributing to the survey by spending an hour or two on our beautiful coastline watching the birds please make contact through this website.
Since the first International chough workshop (Choughs and Land Use in Europe) in 1988 there have been regular meetings to discuss all aspects related to the biology, ecology and conservation of the red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax). The species is a valuable indicator of sustainable agricultural systems and the connection to traditional farming methods. The red-billed chough is a species with an unfavourable conservation status on a global level, being listed as endangered in several countries including Portugal. In this context, after the 2007 and 2010 International Chough Workshops (in Glasgow and La Palma, respectively), Vila Real (North Portugal) is playing host to the 4th International Chough workshop on 10-12 October 2013. Two days of workshop will be followed by a day’s excursion.
As underlined in previous meetings, there is still a priority for chough research to understand the influence of the land-use/land-cover trends on the species’ distribution, taking into account on-going landscape changes, genetic diversity, fragmentation and isolation of peripheral populations. At these meetings all specialists agreed to further advance knowledge on the chough populations outside Europe, such as those in Asia and Africa, due to their particular threats and conservation requirements.
Although a considerable amount of information has been compiled and discussed at previous workshops about the chough ecology, all colleagues that are interested in choughs are invited to participate and share their expertise in the 4th International Workshop on the Conservation of the Chough.
The Workshop will be held at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) in Vila Real, northern Portugal. Everyone interested in attending should complete the automated registration form to confirm your participation. The submission deadline for contributions is 31 May, 2013. The organisers look forward to hearing from you.
The 12th Great Garden Bird Watch takes place this weekend, Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd February
Islanders are urged to become involved in monitoring bird life in the Island. The event is coordinated by Action for Wildlife Jersey in conjunction with the Jersey Evening Post (JEP) and all data received will be passed on to La Société Jersiaise to add to their records and included in BIRDS ON THE EDGE bird monitoring analyses. Data from past years’ surveys were included in the 2011 assessment of our birds that became the Island’s first bird redlist The Conservation Status of Jersey’s Birds which can be downloaded here.
How to enter the survey
Watch the birds in your garden for any period between
8 am and 11 am on either the Saturday or the Sunday. Note the highest number of each species of bird that you see together at one time during that period – not the total number which enter your garden over the period of the watch. Survey forms and a handy identification guide will be published in the JEP on Thursday the 31st.
Completed forms can be posted in or delivered to the JEP or there is a convenient form for submitting records on line here.
This year’s annual inter-islands environmental meeting will be held in Alderney at Island Hall (Anne French Room) in St. Anne on 25th and 26th October. Hosted by the Alderney Wildlife Trust, this year’s meeting is supported by States of Alderney and the Alderney Commission for Renewable Energy (ACRE). Please e-mail Frankie Yates, Assistant Ecologist, Alderney Wildlife Trust for more information assistantecologist@alderneywildlife.org.
The provisional agenda shows how wide-ranging this year’s meeting will be:
Day 1 Session 1 0945 In Memory – Charles David and Margaret Long will be remembered 1000 • Conservation Grazing (Julia Henney)
• The use of pigs in bracken clearance (Sarah Lewington)
• Alderney Conservation Grazing Project Update
• Invertebrates in Conservation Planning 1020
• Developments on the state of Jersey’s butterflies’ 2013-14; a project focused
on using butterflies as environmental indicators, including looking for changes
in land management regimes especially countryside stewardship (Nina Cornish)
• Land Management for Insects in the Channel Islands (David Wedd)
Session 2 1130
• Convention on Biodiversity – a Workshop for Small Territories held in Guernsey
Oct 2012 (Andrew McCutcheon) 1255
• BIRDS ON THE EDGE: an update on the launch of the project to restore
Jersey’s coastlands and return the red-billed chough to the Channel Islands (Glyn Young and Liz Corry)
• Plémont Update – major land acquisition in the Channel Islands (Jon Horn)
• Seabird Season 2012 update (Paul Veron)
Session 3 Marine surveys, the standardisation of data handling and sharing of resources between the islands 1400
• Update on marine monitoring – the need for standardization of marine survey
methodology, data effort and shared resourcing within the islands (Greg Morel)
• UK Marine Monitoring Assessment Strategy (UKMMAS) – an update from the JNCC (joint cetacean protocol – marine renewable industry – data use guide)
• The Channel Marine Bird Observatory – developments following the
conclusions of the meeting held in Caen on 7/9/12. (What are the shared
species of interest between CI and France? What are the protocols for
consideration, the sites of concern, how do we share data, and who does
what?) (Karine Dedieu)
Session 4 1545 • Marine Strategic Planning; developing Ramsar Strategy to serve a purpose
(Alderney Wildlife Trust)
• Progress with Marine Protected Areas and Marine Habitat Mapping in the Isle of
Man (Fiona Gell)
• Overview of cetacean, seal & basking shark monitoring for the Isle of Man (Eleanor Stone)
• “FAME” (Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment) – a review to date (Helen
Booker) 1700 End of day wind up discussion
Day 2
0700-0830 Morning bird-walk
All day: Workshops • Conservation Management in practice
• Invertebrates and invasives in conservation management (includes site visit)
• Marine Monitoring techniques
• Environmental Impact Assessment practices
The National Trust for Jersey, with other partners, has launched a new campaign for the protection of the Plémont headland, called Love Plémont. The campaign aims to raise awareness concerning the beauty of this important coastline site, save the headland from future development and restore it back to its former glory. Check out the website loveplemont.je and the Facebook page Love Plémont
Following up the very successful Spring Walk, now we have a chance to catch up with the project’s latest news and witness the progress made. We will see the grazing herd of Manx Loaghtan sheep, the bracken clearance works and the conservation fields that are in full bloom to feed our local birds throughout the winter. We hope to see the chaffinches, linnets, goldfinches, skylarks and song thrushes amongst other birds feeding in the conservation crops and learn about the findings of the north coast breeding survey that was carried out in the spring.
The walk will last approximately two hours, on undulating terrain, so good shoes are required and a degree of fitness. Bring weatherproof clothing and drinks as, you never know, it might be warm! There will be a pub on hand for lunch later if you choose!
