Tag Archives: Ronez Quarry

Chough report – Second Quarter (April – June)

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Brand new netting
Last year, the Government of Jersey Country Enhancement Scheme provided funds for us to purchase new netting for the Sorel enclosure. Durrell’s Site Services team were tasked with erecting it before the fledging season and did a sterling job; not only replacing the netting but also some of the inner wooden framework. In just over a week, they managed to replace the lot! The last job left is to replace the front wooden framework and hatches at the end of the flight, and this will be done after the summer.

Aviary construction in process by Durrell’s Site Services team (Ben and Kieran). Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Plemont pair
The pair of choughs which nest at Plemont (Minty & Rey) were visited by the team on 22nd April. Rey (the female) was sat on the nest, so we knew from first glimpses that she was already likely to be incubating. When Minty arrived at the nest, she shuffled to the side allowing Minty to feed something other than her! This was a great indicator that they had chicks in the nest. Our next visit was not until early May. We had received some reports from Jersey residents about a pair of choughs chasing and/or mobbing ravens at Plemont and did not fill the team with confidence. Last year, when they were seen chasing off other birds – they had lost their chicks, likely due to predation. On our next visit to the nest, the team witnessed the pair chasing a raven in flight along the beach! Shortly after, they were then both seen going to the nest, where they were greeted by five noisy chicks of approximately 10 days old! With this many chicks to feed, they will be a very busy pair this year!

Minty standing over his five hungry chicks! Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

New feeder stands
One of our outer feeding stands fell apart in one of last year’s storms. With other stands beginning to show the test of time, the Durrell Site Services team kindly made new ones. While they were reconstructing the aviary framework and fitting the new netting, they brought the new feeding stands to the aviary to be used where necessary. The first stand to be erected was the outermost stand which stands in one of the sheep fields; thankfully no sheep were in this field while the stand was being dug in. Once the stand was up, the choughs spent no time flying over to check it out!

It was not long before the choughs came to investigate the new stand. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Initial Ronez quarry visit
Before the initial visit to the quarry, the team did not know what to expect regarding breeding pairs and nest locations. Generally, the choughs will nest in the same spot every year. However, since the passing of Green & Chickay, the breeding pairs this year have had a ‘jig around’. Green’s previous partner (Pyrrho) has paired up with Danny and Chickay’s partner Dusty has paired up with Archirondel. The team were not sure if these new pairings would find a new nesting place as a pair or if they would continue using their previously used nesting spots. From our limited observations, we found that both nest locations remained active this year.

So why do we carry out a quarry walk around? It gives the team the opportunity to look at accessible nests to gauge when chicks will need to be ringed at the nest. When going for the quarry walk around on the16th May, five healthy and hungry chicks were seen in two nests – all the other nests were inaccessible without hiring equipment.

What else did we see on our initial quarry visit? Well, Red & Dingle’s nesting spot had a lovely nest in the nest box, although there were no signs of any other activity apart from a lot of footprints in the dust around the inner building. Kevin & Wally were seen to have three chicks in their nest, and they were judged to be approximately 10 days old. Trevor & Noirmont had two chicks at least a week ahead from Kevin & Wally’s nest. We also glanced into Dusty & Archirondel’s as well as Lee & Cauvette’s nests. Both had built nests however it was unclear whether they had anything inside. Judging by the approximate ages of the chicks we had seen and our own observations, we selected an appropriate date to ring chicks.

Kevin and Wally’s chicks at the initial quarry walking visit. Photograph by Tobias Carabet.

What we do at Ronez
Two members of the Durrell chough field team, a licensed ringer, and this year, a PhD student studying the choughs, all attended Ronez quarry on 25th May to ring the ‘choughlets’ at the nests. Quarry manager, Tobias Carabet gave up his time to enable us access to the nests around the site using a hired cherry picker. The chough team are given a special license to disturb, handle and ring the choughs in Jersey. This allowed us to examine the chicks in the hand, gather morphometric information and put identifying rings on their legs. For 2024, the chicks are being named after cheeses. Their year colour ring will be black, and another colour above will be their individual identifying ring. After being processed, they were placed back into their nests, to be fed by their impatiently waiting parents. The team carry out this task every breeding season and the breeding pairs are used to ‘what is happening’ when we arrive.

How the chough beaks are measured. Photograph by Harriet Whitford.

What we saw at Ronez
While the majority of chicks were around 20 days old, we had a few pairs who were a few weeks behind! A total of 12 chicks were seen at the quarry this year, only nine of which were ringed as three were too young. There were two nests which were not accessed in the quarry: those belonging to Dusty & Archirondel and Danny & Pyrrhos. To date, we are uncertain as to whether either pair have produced offspring. Red & Dingle’s nest was beautifully made much like every year, however, there was nothing inside! Dingle has also been seen spending a lot of time with Iris, so this might be a new pairing in the making.

Charlotte and Tobias accessing nests in the cherry picker. Photograph by Harriet Whitford.

Breeding pair Lee & Cauvette had three chicks this year – one of which was smaller than all the others. This did not surprise us as we had recently sent our Veterinary Department a faecal sample after Lee was looking a bit ropey a few days before our ringing event. The faecal result suggested coccidia. Coccidia is parasitic and affects the gastrointestinal tract where it reproduces; it is then excreted and spread through faeces. Choughs generally carry a low level of coccidia in their system, but it can be heightened during breeding season when stress levels are higher. Lee has since perked up and we are hopeful that all three chicks will survive. Percy & Icho had two chicks who were the oldest chicks seen on our ringing visit. The larger of the two weighed in at 285g! Kevin & Wally had only two chicks in the nest which surprised us as there had originally been three. The larger chick weighed in at 275g, but the other chick weighed only 225g! Bo & Flieur had three of the youngest chicks and due to their small size, processing was limited. Trevor & Noir had two chicks in their nest, both approximately 25 days old. All in all, a successful ringing visit.

PhD student (Sam) assisting the Durrell chough field team (Charlotte & Harriet) at Ronez. Photograph by Cris Sellares.

Plemont pair
It is very clear to see from the team’s observations at Plemont that this pair started their season at least a week ahead of the oldest chicks we saw at the quarry. Throughout the weeks of observations, we did unfortunately find one of the chicks deceased directly below their nest missing a head! The chick was taken for a post-mortem as it looked quite fresh and upon so, was acknowledged to have died from impact. It is likely that it was pushed out the nest and scavenged by a predator after its fall. Thankfully all four of the remaining chicks still looked happy and healthy, and at least two of the chicks were seen fledging by 1st June.

Plemont chicks almost fully grown and getting harder for adults to feed & fend off! Photograph by Paul Pestana.

Table 1, A list of breeding pairs, where they nest and the number of chicks we’ve seen at the end of May.

Nest location Breeding Pair Number of chicks
Ronez Quarry Dingle & Red 0
Ronez Quarry Lee & Cauvette 3
Ronez Quarry Percy & Icho 2
Ronez Quarry Kevin & Wally 2
Ronez Quarry Trevor & Noirmont 2
Ronez Quarry Dusty & Archirondel Unk – inaccessible
Ronez Quarry Danny & Pyrrho Unk – inaccessible
Ronez Quarry Bo & Flieur 3
Plemont Minty & Rey 5
Unknown Pinel & Vicq Unk
Corbiere Aspen & Jaune Unk – Young pair
Unknown Sallow & Portelet Unk – Young pair
Unknown Alder & Wally Jnr Unk – Young pair
Total number of chicks known at end of May = 17

 

New and young pairings
New breeding pairs Dusty & Archirondel, Danny & Pyrrho and Vicq & Pinel’s nesting knowledge is still unknown to the team. Excitingly though, all three pairs have indicated nesting and incubating behaviour from our observations so we will patiently wait for chicks to arrive at the aviary! We have three suspected younger pairs in the flock (Aspen & Jaune, Sallow & Portelet and Alder and Wally Jnr) which have been seen arriving together for the supplementary feed every day prior to the breeding season. All three of these pairs consist of males from last year’s wild hatches (2023), which means they might not be sexually mature; it can take between 1-3 years for choughs to reach maturity. However, younger males that pair with older females have been known to produce chicks in the past therefore these three new pairs could have breeding potential this year. We will keep a watchful eye over these pairs but it’s already evident by observations that at least one or two of the pairs could be incubating. The team will ‘watch this space’ in the hope for a fruitful breeding season.

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

An impatient wait
June arrived and the chough team seemed to be waiting impatiently for the first batch of chicks to arrive at the aviary. We knew they had left their nests but there was no sign of them at Sorel. Minty & Rey were the first to bring two of their healthy chicks to the aviary. Arriving on12th June, this was the latest we have seen chicks arrive in a few years! The second pair to arrive were Danny & Pyrrho on 21st June, with two chicks. This is the very first breeding attempt for this pair and we are delighted they have been successful! They were closely followed by Kevin & Wally with two on the 22nd. Much to our surprise, Percy & Icho brought their two chicks later (24th June); this pair had one of the oldest chicks on the quarry ringing visit. Trevor & Noirmont brought two chicks to the aviary on 25th. Lee & Cauvette as well as Vicq & Pinel both brought two chicks to the aviary on the 26th. And lastly, Bo and Flieur arrived on 29th with two of their chicks. So that’s 16 chicks seen at the aviary so far! It’s safe to say that the supplementary feed has become a bit noisier!

A glimpse into the chick chaos at the aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

 

Annual Chough report 2023

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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.

Notable Events and Successes in 2023

The majority of our breeding success in 2023 centred around our pairs nesting in Ronez Quarry. Interesting observations were noted when checking the nests at the site. There were many more nest spots than usual; which suggested to us that others, perhaps younger choughs, were practicing for when they are mature enough to pair-up and breed. It will be exciting to see if our predictions come true in 2024!

Kevin feeding a chick on the aviary. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

We recorded 18 chicks in nests within Ronez quarry during the year and one from another location which will be ‘assessed’ in the next breeding season. Fifteen of the total 18 chicks fledged to the aviary. Ten of the 18 chicks are still alive to this day and only two chicks out of the 15 that were blood sexed were male. This being said, due to an issue with the laboratory we use to sex birds, we have nine birds that are currently unsexed and who will remain so until they show breeding behaviour in the future. Given the historic sex ratio skew favouring females, we’re hoping that in 2024 a few more males will be produced.

Table 1, indicating the current population size along with the flocks known sex ratio.

Our only ‘wild-hatched’ pair attempted to nest in a stable during 2023 but were unsuccessful in their endeavours. They subsequently returned to Plemont where they have nested before. While it is believed chicks were hatched, sadly they were never seen at the aviary, suggesting they perished.

The pair of chough that have successfully nested at Simon Sands Ltd. were seen nest prospecting in out-buildings at the airport. This behaviour was dissuaded on health and safety grounds. It is hoped they return to the safer location of the old sand extraction site in 2024.

Impatient choughs awaiting supplementary food. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

Breeding pair Vicq & Pinel surprised the team this season. They brought one chick to the aviary at the very end of July. This is the first time (to our knowledge) this pair has had a successful breeding season. While there were initial reports of them nesting in a stable building in Trinity, they subsequently chose to nest somewhere else, the location of which is currently unknown. We hope that this will be the start of a successful breeding pair for the future.

The flock has lost a total of nine individuals over the course of the year, but has gained ten new members. Of those choughs that have disappeared, their partners have re-paired up and we hope to see some new successful breeding pairs next season. Overall, it has been a successful year.

Activities in 2023

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 forty-seven individuals of which over two thirds are now wild-hatched (Released: 13: wild hatched: 34).

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.

Notable leavers and losses

After forty years of service at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Dr Glyn Young hung up his boots for the last time in August. He will be enjoying the retired life after much dedication to the Trust. His wisdom and knowledge will continue through the next generation of conservationists who all benefited from his experience.

A picture of Liz and Glyn when the project began!

Sadly, we lost the oldest chough of the flock and one of the two remaining choughs from the project’s first releases back in 2013. Green, although gone has contributed to the population by siring forty-two chicks over the past twelve years; fifteen of which are still alive today.

Green & Pyrrho enjoying the summer heat. Photograph by Charlotte Dean

Research and monitoring

There have been no exciting island-hops for the usual, same-sex pair of choughs to Guernsey this year. Usual visitors to the island, this pair appeared to have broken up, with only one female being observed foraging at Pleinmont. The other female has now found a male worth sticking around for! This could lead to an exciting new breeding pair in the next coming year.

There a few visits to Ronez quarry this year to undertake nest checks. Only two clutches of chicks were ringed in the nest however, as inclement weather prevented other nests being accessed. Subsequent ringing was carried out when youngsters were caught at the aviaries, but three remain unringed at present.

Three chicks in Kevin & Wally’s nest. Photograph by Tobias Cabaret.

We look forward to 2024 when we welcome a PhD student from Anglia Ruskin University to research the choughs for effects of sound disturbance during the breeding season.

Veterinary cases

One of Kevin and Wally’s chicks from last year’s season (Sallow), was found grounded by a local birder in St John. Initially taken to the JSPCA, Durrell ultimately took responsibility for the bird. It was suspected to have a broken coracoid due to the visual bruising in the area; however, this was thankfully not the case. The chough was also seen to have a low platelet count and was underweight. The veterinary team supplied the chough with pain relief and fluids. The Bird Department provided the diet previously used for the captive choughs. Additional food supplements and tasty treats were given to help fatten him up. In our care, the chough gained 20 grams before he was taken back to the aviary. Before being fully released, we had a licensed ringer, ring the chough and then shut him into one of the sheltered sections of the aviary. He was kept here for a few days to habituate once again to his surroundings and for staff to evaluate his flying ability. Once the team were happy with his progress, he was re-released and is still looking happy and healthy to this day.

The remains of a youngster from 2022, Birch, were found at Ronez. Scant remains were collected, so no post-mortem was performed, but rings allowed us to identity it.

Release aviary maintenance

The Sorel aviary is considered a temporary structure for official planning purposes. Permission to keep the structure standing for the next five years was approved in 2023, which means it will be standing until at least 2027.

Storm Ciaran left devastation throughout the island in 2023 and the aviary at Sorel sustained significant but not catastrophic damage. Large holes were ripped in the netting, and aluminium panelling at the side of the aviary was ripped off. Some of the wooden support structures of the enclosure itself were also left weakened and broken.

The aviaries fallen wooden framework. Photograph by Charlotte Dean.

The aviary netting holes require National Trust assistance to help bring our large henchman ladder to the aviary to have the holes reachable to fix. We are working on these repairs between the National Trust and our own staff availability. The wooden framework is a much bigger job which will be fixed at a later date by our maintenance team at Durrell.

Choughs flying over the aviary. Photograph by Abbie Thomson.

In autumn, we secured a grant from the Government of Jersey’s Countryside Enhancement Scheme to fund new netting for the aviary. Thanks to the States of Jersey for this funding, which will enable us to replace the damaged netting in 2024.

Chough report – June 2023

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By Charlotte Dean

Our sincere apologies for the delays in circulating monthly reports. We hope to start catching up.

Wild weather
It’s that season again when the chough team make arrangements with Ronez Quarry to access the chough nests for the first nest checks and chick ringing. Unfortunately, the weather this year was not in our favour. As the quarry is an unsheltered area along the north coast, there is no easy or safe way to access high nests in winds above F4. Most of June had this level of wind so the team and quarry staff agreed it wasn’t worth the risk. However, we could at least access some of the nests on foot. The pairs we managed to access this way were those of Kevin & Wally, which had three very noisy chicks inside, and Bo & Flieur whose nest surprised us with four chicks! The chicks were ringed with our year colour for 2023 which was Pink and will be accompanied with another coloured ring for easy identification in the field. The chicks were also blood sexed, weighed and measured before being placed back into their respective nests. Without access to the other nests the team can at least acknowledge that there are currently seven chicks in two nests so far; but as there is plenty of activity in other well-known nests, we’re sure we’ll have more chicks.

Quarry updates
The quarry also witnessed a few unsuccessful fledging events this year due to the adverse weather; practically a whole month of high winds. One chick was found dead beneath a nest site for pair Green & Pyrrho. We believe that it could have died from the impact after falling from the nest, it was not, however, of fledging age and, therefore, we assume it’s death may have been caused by some sibling rivalry for space in the nest. Later, fledglings emerging from Kevin & Wally’s nest were also found on the ground near their nest site. Both were initially going to be collected by quarry staff to be assessed for cause of death by the Durrell veterinary team. However, one chick had already been predated by then. We were thankful to know that at least one chick from Kevin & Wally had also been seen by quarry staff wing-begging at its parents from the staircase just outside their nest site, looking active and healthy. Since Kevin & Wally’s chick emerged from their nest, the quarry staff have contacted us about other chicks that have been seen around the quarry as well; we can safely say that the quarry is starting to get more noisy than usual!

Plémont pair
The Plémont pair, Minty & Rey had been seen feeding chicks in their cave nest at a few days old at the end of May, which was very exciting news for our truly wild pair. Both Minty & Rey had both been seen at the Sorel Aviary every day since then. To the team, this seemed like a big issue. This could indicate that Minty & Rey were not finding enough food from foraging around their nesting area and, therefore, were coming to the aviary for food. When spending long periods of time at the aviary as a pair, they were leaving their newly hatched chicks in a nest unprotected. The chough team visited their nest the week after and were faced with silence. It was assumed that while they were still coming to the aviary for food, their chicks were predated in their absence. It has been a great shame to witness the silence from within their nest again this year. We are hopeful that they will find a new and successful place next breeding season. 

First choughlet at the aviary
The wait is finally over, the team finally heard the calls of a hungry chick at the aviary. The first pair whose fledged chicks came to the aviary this year were, perhaps unsurprisingly, Kevin & Wally on 15th June. And it wasn’t long before the other pairs started to bring their chicks too. Green & Pyrrho and Percy & Icho both brought two chicks a few days later. Dusty & Chickay, Bo & Flieur and Lee & Caûvette brought chicks at the very end of the month. Dusty & Chickay and Bo & Flieur both brought two chicks and Lee & Caûvette brought the one. Trevor & Noirmont’s nest was looked at in our Ronez Quarry visit but their chicks were a lot younger than the other breeding pairs’ – we expect them to arrive early next month.

 

Chough report – May 2023

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By Charlotte Dean

Brand new hatches

The chough team have been racing against the (breeding) season, trying to repair the aviary. The large holes that were in the tops of the aviary’s netting are now fixed; there are only a few little holes left to sew up. In the meantime, the team has been preparing and replacing the release hatches on the front of the aviary. The aviary itself is always left with two release hatches open, so that the visiting choughs can be identified more quickly and with more ease as they fly in than if 43 choughs flew through all four entry points at the same time! The hatches are also an essential for the team to capture the choughs inside if they need to be health-checked or ringed. As the breeding season was well underway, the team needed to ensure that the front release hatches were fully functional. This would ensure that when the ‘choughlets’ had fledged, left their nests and eventually showed up at the aviary, they could be caught and receive their identifying rings. This is, however, if the choughs don’t outsmart the team – which they can do, very often!

Are there chicks among us?

Over the course of early May, it became clear that the pairs’ females had been sitting tight, incubating in their nests. This became obvious to the keepers by the lack of female presence from the known breeding pairs with only the males turning up for food, typically filling up and quickly flying off. To the end of May, we began to notice the females starting to visit the aviary again. Many of the females were wing-begging at the keepers while awaiting the feed. This, combined with the breeding pairs arriving at the aviary in staggered intervals, suggests to us that chicks had hatched and, therefore, the pairs were co-parenting again, each retrieving enough food to feed themselves as well as their hungry chicks at the nest.

Ronez Quarry visit

The team visited Ronez Quarry to renew their health and safety permission with the site and for our new chough student, Grace, to experience the grand tour of the quarry. While visiting, we had the opportunity to see how some of the chough pairs were getting on at their nests. Red & Dingle had built a very nice nest in their usual spot, but unfortunately, much like last year, they had not laid any eggs, but we remain hopeful that they will do later. Dusty & Chickay looked as though they had at least one chick in their nest this year while Bo & Flieur had two if not three little beaks shouting for food in their nest. Kevin & Wally had three chicks in their nest. Four other nests were occupied by Trevor & Noirmont, Lee & Caûvette, Percy & Icho and Green & Pyrrho: these nests were inaccessible without specialized equipment – but there were plenty of chick-related noises and pair visitations that would suggest that these other nests were very active as well!

Plémont pair update

Minty & Rey had a lot of obstacles to overcome this breeding season; they built a nest in a new location at a local stables, but the nest and the choughs were deterred from the area. The team had been monitoring their usual nesting spot in Plémont in the hope that they would return and produce some wild ‘choughlets’. The pair had both been seen visiting the nest, but we didn’t know if they had already laid in their previous nest. While visiting Plémont, it was clear that Rey was incubating on the nest as she flew out on Minty’s arrival to be fed by him on the cliffs above the nest. At the very end of the month, we celebrated the sounds of tiny chick noises and the pair both returning to the nest to feed their chick(s). The chicks were not visible, and we assumed they were only a few days old.

 

Chough report – April 2023

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By Charlotte Dean

Easter Monday

Many of the breeding pairs were seen collecting wool on the fields and flying in the direction of Ronez Quarry. The younger choughs were also enjoying all the wool floating along the fields; they were often seen rolling around on the grass with it. With all the extra time the choughs were spending in the fields collecting wool and with Easter around the corner, the team had some Easter related enrichment put out in the fields adjacent to the aviary. A fun new part of the Island for the choughs to explore. The wind over the coast did make it more interesting for them to approach; but even the sheep were curious about the new objects.

So far, it seemed that the choughs were already behind in their nest building compared with last year’s breeding season. It was also interesting to see that the captive choughs at Paradise Park already had chicks hatching! The Jersey team continued to be hopeful that with all this wool collecting observed, there would be definite signs of egg-laying for the Sorel choughs soon!

Behavioural changes

The second half of April saw plenty of exciting behaviour at Sorel. A few of the known breeding males in the flock were seen feeding and displaying at (is that to?) their females; notably: Dusty, Dingle and Percy. Many persistent displays from the males were going on before and during the feeds but so far, the majority of the females had shown no real interest. However, as April drew to an end, it was clear to see that the breeding season was well on the way. Around mid-April we had started observing females begging from their males for food. We all know what that means; the incubation period has begun, and breeding males need to make sure they’re feeding their females on the nest! To our knowledge, the first pairs to start incubating this year were: Dusty & Chickay, Kevin & Wally and Percy & Icho. We know this because the males provide all the food to the female on the nest and these males were showing up to the supplementary feeds without their partners several times each day. The remaining potential breeding pairs in the flock, particularly Bo & Flieur, Trevor & Noirmont and Lee & Cauvette were not long behind them.

News from around Jersey

It seems that one pair (Danny & Jaune) who could potentially be our second ‘wild breeding pair’, had been using Simon Sands in St Ouen’s Bay as a safe roosting area and but have moved on from St Ouen’s and settled in a little further inland in St Peter. The pair have found another building with a nice overhang to nest in this year. We currently have some uncertainty over whether this is their active nest at this time. However, the team are hoping that this year is their year! Our other truly wild breeding pair is Minty & Rey. Last year, Minty & Rey unfortunately lost their chicks before fledging and we think that this may have been why they had not rebuilt their nest in their usual spot in Plémont. They were still being seen at Plémont this month; however, we’ve had many sightings of them in the Grosnez area too and even some evidence of them nesting in a stables! Their nest site was discovered but unfortunately the owners had already persuaded the choughs to nest elsewhere and the pair were seen using their usual nesting spot in Plémont again so we are hopeful that they will have better luck with their offspring this year.

Chough report – March 2023

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By Charlotte Dean

Ronez Quarry chough activity update

As Ronez Quarry provides perfect nesting sites for the choughs, we have a great understanding with the owners in regard to ‘our’ choughs. Our chough team may be somewhat lacking this year, but the employees of the quarry are always happy to help give insights into the choughs’ activities within the quarry. Although around the aviary we hadn’t seen much of any nest material gathering, a sign of spring in previous years; it became apparent that the pairs had started separating from the flock and finding their own places to roost and nest. The quarry had plenty of activity at the usual nest site of pairs: Dusty & Chickay and Trevor & Noirmont, but not much for any of the other breeding pairs so far.

There was a lot of activity in three new areas in the quarry that haven’t been used in previous years; it will be interesting to find out who is using these new areas for nesting. The chough team will spend time at the quarry to try and identify whose nests are where, as when it comes to ringing the chicks in the nests, they will know who the chicks belong to once they arrive at the aviary.

Sheep wool

The sight of a breeding pair (Percy & Icho) carrying nesting material in flight towards the quarry was good news. But it wasn’t just any nesting material; they were carrying wool! Wool is generally the last material collected for nest building, for a warm and comfortable interior. This suggests that the choughs in question, Percy, and his mate Icho, may be close to finishing their nest building soon! But for now, we wait patiently to notice their behaviour changes. Once they’ve finished building their nests the males turn their attention to impressing their females with attentive courtship and displays. Choughs have several courtships displays. One, mirrored flight, is where the female and male will follow each other’s exact flight patterns. Others include courtship displaying and feeding. Displaying is one of the few ways male choughs ‘flirt’ with their female; they do this by spreading their wings out and shaking. And if those aren’t enough to convince the female he’s good enough to raise her chicks; he’ll also feed her!

A wandering chough

Almost un-noticed, Portelet has been off to Guernsey again. This time she seemingly went alone, was welcomed on our sister Isle but flew back home again. She didn’t miss a supplementary feed! Portelet does show us that inter-island travel is fairly straight forward, and we still look forward to colonisation.

We’ve been approved!

The planning permission for the Sorel aviary was accepted and the aviary will see another five years. Now that the planning permission has been accepted; essential aviary maintenance can commence. The first priority is to fix the holes in the aviary’s netting, these holes have occurred through the wild weather the aviary is always being battered by. The holes could cause a dilemma in the next essential catch-up if not fixed as a chough could escape from the aviary, they’re that big. The clock is ticking for this work to be complete with the chough pairs becoming more attentive. With a little help from the Government of Jersey’s Environment Team, we could get our equipment up to the aviary to start fixing those dreaded netting holes. Once the holes are fixed, we are hoping to move our attention to fitting brand new hatches.

 

Chough report: June 2022

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By Charlotte Dean

1st June

The choughs greeted the keeper closer than ever! It’s quite clear at this time of year that the choughs recognise the keepers. They spot you on the walk up the coastal path towards the aviary, circling and vocalising loudly, following you along the foot path before finding a place to land. As you can see, the closest and safest spot was the entrance gate to the National Trust’s land. The choughs wing-begged and shouted, they really do know how to welcome their food providers!

Aviary maintenance

Now is an even more important time than ever to be keeping up to date on our aviary maintenance. At this time of year, we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of ‘choughlets’ (chough fledglings) at the aviary. About four weeks after fledging, the chicks’ parents will stop feeding them so it’s essential for the chicks to watch their parents and learn how to forage for themselves. Choughs forage over coastal grasslands; they are often spotted in shorter grass fields, and this is because the insect abundance is generally higher where grass is short. Therefore, mowing the grass, strimming the hedgerows and neatening edges within and outside the aviary is important as it acts as a natural food source for the choughs and chicks that come to the aviary. Along with keeping the grass length short, we also provide ‘enrichment squares’; this is an added foraging obstacle which includes pinecones, slates and branches. These squares engage the choughs to lift and move objects to find the scattered insects – enabling them to work for their ‘free food’.

Is that a ‘choughlet’ I can see?!

Exciting news! We had our first ‘choughlet’ appearance at the Sorel aviary on 10th June! But there wasn’t just one chick, there were three! Our first sighting of the fledglings was in a field opposite the aviary – they were causing quite a stir in the flock. It wasn’t long until they flew in and landed on the aviary roof with Kevin & Wally. We assumed that these three must be theirs as they arrived together, and we had predicted this pair’s fledging dates back in May when we visited their nests to ring and age them! While monitoring the choughs at the aviary, it became clear that these three chicks were definitely from Kevin & Wally’s nest as we’ve witnessed many parent to chick feedings on top of the aviary. It wasn’t long, however, that more fledglings started arriving at the aviary. The next breeding pair’s chicks to arrive at the aviary belonged to Dusty & Chickay – four chicks on the 13th! Dusty & Chickay have always been pretty consistent with four chicks in the past; but it’s exciting to see the chicks that we saw in the nest arrive at the aviary happy and healthy!

Since those first arrivals, we’ve had Trevor & Noirmont’s chick, Manitou arrive at the aviary being very vocal, much like the majority of the chicks. It’s good to see the one chick we managed to ring at the nest arrive safely. By mid-month we started to see other breeding pairs bringing their chicks too, including Green & Pyrrho and Percy & Icho with their two chicks and Lee & Cauvette seen with one chick so far. It’s safe to say that the supplementary feeds at the aviary have been very loud and eventful this month! We may not have seen all of the chicks that were viewed at the quarry nests yet; we are still hopeful for more arrivals!

Time flies

The past few weeks have been pretty hectic, but our former colleague Paul has been very useful in helping us monitor our chough activity in Ronez Quarry. We had our estimated fledging dates but hadn’t seen all chicks arrive at the aviary. But sure, enough there were plenty of chicks flying around the Sorel Lighthouse and quarry as acknowledged by Paul. The chicks will practice their flying before they are strong enough and brave enough to join their parents at the aviary for the supplementary feeds. We greatly appreciate the many chough enthusiasts that help us with our chough project; but don’t forget that anyone can help.

Follow this link and you can do your bit by sending in public sightings of any choughs you see around Jersey Island!

Catch up time!

As the chough chicks keep arriving; it was time to take action and loosen up the hatch wires for the first chick ‘catch ups’ at the aviary. Why are we catching them up you ask? It’s to be able to identify each individual for monitoring with the use of colour-rings (which in turn allows us to know which breeding pair the chick belongs to through observations – see below), to indicate that they are owned and thrive in Jersey, to measure their bills, tarsus and weight. This is essential information we collect and keep records of for all the individuals in the wild free-flying flock. We haven’t needed to ‘catch up’ any choughs in quite some time so it took a few tries to loosen the hatch wires! But between the team, we’ve currently caught eight of the current fifteen chicks floating around with their parents.

Not something we want to see

One of Kevin & Wally’s fledglings had been limping since the first time it was seen arriving at the aviary. It was clear it had quite a large laceration to its left tarsus; but to be able to examine it properly we had to wait until the fledglings were more confident in going in and out of the aviary to carry out a ‘catch up’. We closely monitored the chick until we could catch it up within the aviary. On close examination it was clear how large the injury was but thankfully it had already scabbed over nicely and had no sign of infection, therefore, no additional action was needed. Fledglings are not always the most agile in flight and/or landing at first, something that is learnt over time. One can only assume that it crash-landed somewhere causing itself an injury. But one thing is for sure, it’s now a much better flier!

During these catch-ups we also quickly put the temporary, coloured plastic, rings on the chicks. We only have a short window of opportunity to see exactly which chick belongs to which pair of adults. After only a fairly short time, the chicks start to feed themselves, beg from their parents less and join groups of other juveniles. Groups who take great delight in begging from any passing adults (adults who aren’t fooled) and confusing the patient observer. As opportunities to catch newly arriving chicks inside the aviary are hard to predict, we do these catch-ups fairly randomly – often with long frustrating periods of watching a chick stare imploringly at their parents through the netting, through an open hatch, field etc and our sitting in the bracken or lying in a spot on a field that the sheep have only recently vacated. With everyone identified and, in a few weeks’ time, more likely to go into the aviary when we want them to, we will ask the licenced ringers from the Channel Islands Ringing Scheme to put permanent, numbered metal rings on.

Hottest day on record since 1894!

Between our catch ups, on Friday 17th June 2022, we had the highest June temperature in Jersey since records began in 1894. The temperatures hit a scorching 33.1 degrees Celsius. It’s not surprising that on this day most of the choughs were seen with their beaks wide open. This is because unlike most mammals; birds lack sweat glands and, therefore, they cool themselves down by keeping their beaks open. This is called ‘gular fluttering’ it is the avian equivalent of panting. Gular fluttering is just one of the few behaviours bird species express to stay cool in those hot weather days. Birds also submerge themselves in water either to swim and/or bathe. Sometimes you’ll catch a chough all wet and puffed up sitting on top of the aviary; this is their way of letting the breeze through their wet feathers to help them stay cool. As much as the choughs distinct jet-black plumage and striking red beak are beautiful; I do not envy them their plumage in that heat!



Chough report: May 2022

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By Charlotte Dean

Bon voyage to Liz

The sun has set on the Red-billed Chough Project officer’s time here in Jersey with Birds On The Edge and with Durrell. Her absence from Jersey Zoo Bird Department and at the Sorel aviary is undeniable. We can only strive to be as dedicated to the Jersey free-flying choughs as she once was. But despite this saddening farewell; the chough show must go on! Updates on the choughs will continue; and what an exciting month it has been!

Native reptile sightings

While the Island’s starting to heat up with all this fantastic summery weather; there have been many green lizard sightings. Jersey is the only place in the British Isles where green lizards occur naturally and are one of the three species of lizards which are protected under the Conservation Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021. Green lizards can be seen between spring and summer. Green lizards are sexually dimorphic; meaning, they encompass differences in appearance, shape and/or size between the sexes, they are easily distinguishable: the male green lizard (as seen in the image) is bright green with a bright blue throat but is also larger than the female. In contrast, the female lizard is smaller, less vibrant and has creamy and/or brown lines running down the body. So, now that we’re in May, it is the perfect time to keep your eyes peeled when walking in and around any of the Island’s coastal paths. If you happen to spot a green lizard or the other lizards native to Jersey; Jersey Amphibian and Reptile Group (JARG) and Jersey Biodiversity Centre (JBC) would love to know, so make sure you send your sighting details to them as it will help with the protection and monitoring of the reptile species on the Island.

Butterfly season

If reptiles aren’t your ‘cup of tea’ then not to worry, the summer also brings out our beautiful butterflies. Between the months of April and September you’ll find butterflies are very abundant across the whole of the countryside. We’ve already come across some dedicated volunteers conducting butterfly surveys for Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (JBMS) along the coastal path from Sorel Point carpark. Butterflies are used as great environmental indicators; this is because they live in specific habitats and can indicate the general health of the land by their presence or absence. As Butterflies are generally a widely abundant terrestrial insect that are often admired for their large size and distinct appearances; they are the ideal insect for surveying. In and around Sorel we’ve seen butterflies such as: speckled wood, small heath and small copper. All three of these butterflies’ ideal habitat is semi-natural heaths and agricultural environments; indicating that the area around the Sorel aviary is relatively adequate land for foraging habitat for our red-billed choughs.

Moulting time for non-breeders

But, enough about the Island’s non-chough native wildlife, what about the birds themselves?! It’s that time of year again when the non-breeding choughs start to moult – this is becoming readily apparent by all the feathers we can now collect from the Sorel aviary and by the less than perfect looking feathering on some of the non-breeding choughs. Choughs generally start their moult between May and/or early June. They start moulting their central tail feathers first working outwards. They then start moulting and growing their wing feathers, the primaries, around the same time as their tail; but complete their tail moult first. The moulting process for an adult chough can take up to 152 days.Monday, 9th May

On 9th May, Jersey celebrates Liberation Day and Jersey puts on quite a show with flags at many houses and businesses as well a spectacular parade. But Jersey Zoo had another cause of celebration, the bird flu restrictions were finally dropped by the Government. Therefore, Jersey Zoo was given the green light to move any of birds temporarily sheltered back out into their original enclosures; enabling the public to enjoy some missing birds from the collection. It was good to see all the Chilean flamingos and red-breasted geese back in their valley. But this brought the chough project good news too; as it meant the arranged Ronez Quarry visit could go forward and this year’s hatched chicks could potentially be ringed!

Ronez Quarry visit

Jerseys free-flying choughs have had another productive nesting season. There are eleven breeding pairs in the group this year and with help from Ronez Quarry we discovered twelve nests in the quarry buildings. Unfortunately, from the twelve nests there were only hungry chick vocalizations from seven out of the twelve nests. But worry not! Some of the other breeding pairs have settled in other locations around Jersey. These seven nests are owned by the known breeding pairs that have been presumed incubating (absentees at supplementary feeds can be a give-away). Choughs are well-known for being faithful when it comes to their nest sites; but it’s always worth a check of the new nests. None of the new nests found by quarry personnel this year were being used by our breeding pairs. This could indicate that some of the younger choughs are practicing for when they start nesting in the near future! Once the incubation period is over, the female will still spend the majority of her time on the nest but as the chicks get older and/or gain vital feathering she spends less time sat on the nest; allowing us to see both the female and male take alternate feeding trips to the aviary. A good indication that the chough chicks will be of good size is the appearance of the female within the breeding pair also leaving the nest to forage, or in our case, visit the aviary for the supplementary feed. As we’ve been seeing both sexes of each breeding pair of late and have estimated all the breeding pairs’ end of incubation dates, we knew that most would have chicks old enough to ring around the end of May.

With help of loaned equipment provided by 4Hire, Ronez’s Assistant Operations Manager, Toby and Durrell Chough Intern, Charlotte were able to reach great heights and see into five of the seven nests in the quarry. Two of these nests were inaccessible due to high winds and/or the position of nests in buildings. But worry not, when visiting the quarry, we could clearly hear hungry chicks from all seven active nests!

The first nest we checked was Lee & Caûvette’s. They had three chicks, no older than nine days old! This meant they were not old enough to be ringed, but at least we knew that this breeding pair has been successful in hatching three chicks this year. The second nest we visited was Trevor & Noirmont’s which only had one chick inside, but it was old enough to be removed from the nest to be health-checked and become the first chick to be given temporary rings this year. This chick was ringed with this year’s ringing colour; dark green and will be identified as ‘white over dark green’ and/or Manitou (named after the cherry-picker which gave us access to the nest).

Our third nest site to visit was going to be Percy & Icho’s nest; however, high winds picked up and both the quarry staff and Durrell staff knew it was going to be too dangerous for us and the chicks to attempt to visit their nest box. It was clear though that the breeding pair were visiting this nest and there were definite sounds of hungry chicks coming from inside; the big question will be how many will we greet around their fledging date! The fourth nest we looked at was Kevin & Wally’s. We had previously been sent a photo of this nest from Toby – in this picture, we thought there were only two chicks but while at the quarry we got a lovely surprise from the video we took of inside the nest. There were definitely three of the oldest chicks we’d seen in a nest around the quarry so far! Due to the nest being out of sight; we did not attempt to ring these chicks for their own safety – but we hope to see them all at the start of June at Sorel aviary!

The fifth nest visited, that of Green & Pyrrho, was accessed with the stair lift; they had three chicks which were also old enough to ring. However, again, due to the positioning of the nest and the supporting beams of the building, we could not get up high enough to reach into their nest box – and again, the chicks were left alone. The sixth nest visited was Bo & Flieur’s, in a very noisy and dusty building; surprising how the adults and/or chicks survive inside it! There was no way of accessing this nest but we could hear some very noisy chicks indicating their reproductive success. We may not know how many chicks are in this nest; but we know to expect some to arrive in the coming month. The seventh and final nest we visited was Dusty & Chickay’s. They have four hungry chicks in their nest but because of their placement in the building, this nest was inaccessible to cherry-pickers and stair lift equipment. It’s almost as if the choughs build their nests so that no one can access them!As much as our visit didn’t go completely to plan, thanks to mother nature and the breeding pairs’ chicks’ ability to latch onto their nests making us unable to remove them to ring them before they fledge’ it’s clear that this year our choughs have been very productive; most if not all have had three or more chicks. We currently know of 14 chicks in the quarry; but let’s not forget that we still have an unknown number of chicks from two other breeding pairs! Going from our breeding population’s clutch sizes in the past (our choughs usually lay up to four eggs), there could be at least three or four chicks in each of the other two nests that were inaccessible. Which could bring this year’s hatched chick count to 22!! This may be wishful thinking, but it’s always good to expect the unexpected!

Nest

Nest location

Pair

Chicks

1

Ronez Quarry

Lee & Cauvette

Three chicks

2

Ronez Quarry

Trevor & Noirmont

One chick

3

Ronez Quarry

Percy & Icho

Noisy chicks but no visual

4

Ronez Quarry

Kevin & Wally

Three chicks

5

Ronez Quarry

Green & Pyrrho

Three chicks

6

Ronez Quarry

Bo & Flieur

Noisy chicks but no visuals

7

Ronez Quarry

Dusty & Chickay

Four chicks

8

Ronez Quarry

Red & Dingle

No sign of nesting this year

9

Ronez Quarry

Nest built but unused

None

10

Ronez Quarry

Nest built but unused

None

11

Ronez Quarry

Nest half built and unused

None

12

Ronez Quarry

Unused nesting site this year

None

13

Plémont

Minty & Rey

Three chicks

14

Trinity

Vicq & Pinel

None

15

Corbière

Danny & Jaune

Unknown

Chough report: April 2022

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By Liz Corry

Success at Plémont!

For a second year in a row the chough pair at Plémont have successfully hatched three chicks. We discovered the happy news at the end of the month. Using a very, very, very, long lens we were able to get photos of the chicks’ heads whilst begging for food.

It is hard to give a precise age without seeing the rest of their body, but best guess is a week-old give or take a day. This would also match up with nest observations we made over April; our estimated hatch date was the 22nd.  Returning the following week further confirmed our age estimate as their little heads were still relatively bald.

Both Plémont parents are now out and about in search of food for their young. Concerns were raised when we started seeing both parents at the Sorel supplemental feed desperate for food. Choughs nesting at Plémont do not normally return to Sorel until their chicks fledge or the nest fails. This was the first time in five years. Chough chicks devour a lot of insects whilst in the nest, so chough parents tend to forage close-by to conserve their energy.

Petit Plémont and grassland above the cliff path are used by choughs searching for food. Photo by Liz Corry.

There has been a big increase in footfall at Plémont this month which could deter the choughs from foraging close-by. It has also been relatively dry so the soils around Plémont are not as favourable to soil-dwelling invertebrates. There are many other reasons why the parents might be visiting Sorel, the good news is that the chicks are still alive and begging well.

All being well the chicks should fledge at the end of May, start of June. We will be monitoring more closely this year around the fledging period. Last year we knew that two of the three chicks fledged, but don’t know what happened to the third. Then one disappeared within the first week of being out. If that happens again this year, it would be good to try and understand why.

Potential success at Ronez once again

We believe at least five of the eight nests in the quarry have chicks. This is based on behaviour of the pairs at the feeds and in the quarry. The females had been suspiciously absent. Then when they did turn up, they were very noisy. Pyrrho and Icho in particular would fly in vocalising, then follow their partner like a noisy shadow demanding food and being fed instantly. It’s quite an interesting sound they make trying to beg and swallow the food at the same time!

Ronez Quarry continues to be a successful breeding site for choughs in Jersey. Photo by Liz Corry.

At the end of the month, we were then seeing the male and female in a pair making repeat trips between aviary and nest site. This tends to be when they are feeding chicks although we have no definitive proof yet. We are trying to arrange a quarry visit for May.

Zoo chicks

Our Jersey Zoo pair also had success this month with their first chick hatching on the 28th followed by number two the next day and number three shortly after.

Nest cam footage showed the moment the first chick hatched whilst mum looked on. Photo credit Durrell.

There was a fourth egg…spoiler alert…it failed to hatch. The nest camera shows the parents still holding out hope until May 2nd. Mum took the executive decision to remove the egg from the nest around lunchtime. You can see this in the video below around 40 seconds in.

We may send the chicks over to the UK shortly after they fledge so they can become part of the release project in Kent. This is very much dependent on the Jersey and UK Government’s rulings over exports and imports of birds from a bird flu protection zone. Restrictions for indoor housing of poultry will be lifted in Jersey on May 9th.

No success in the new territories

The Trinity pair appear to have abandoned their nest and are spending more time at Sorel. They still visit the stables but the nest is now being used by doves. We had hoped that the choughs had found a more favourable site in the Parish yet their casual behaviour at the aviary suggests they’ve given up.

An article will be published in the summer edition of the Trinity Tattler magazine asking residents to report any sightings. This might shed some retrospective light on the situation. I’m not holding out hope that there will be a surprise nest discovered.

In similar circumstances, we are now seeing the ‘Corbière pair’ back at Sorel. Their suspected nest was last seen being used by pigeons. We are used to seeing choughs fail at establishing territories in the south west. Food supply, or lack thereof, may play a role in this. The cliff tops are choked with invasive sour fig (or Hottentot fig) (Carpobrotus edulis) and the exposed ground isn’t very accommodating to soil invertebrates.

Cliffs around Corbière could offer potential nest sites for choughs. Photo by Liz Corry.

Sour fig (Hottentot fig) might look pretty when flowering, but its choking Jersey’s cliff tops in the south west. Photo by Liz Corry.

Return visit to Guernsey

We have seen another report of chough posted on the Guernsey Birdwatching Facebook group. Dated 16th April, it is clear that the bird is one of ours from the red and white striped ring, but that is all we know unfortunately. They were foraging at Pleinmont again. Clearly a popular site.

A chough was spotted at Pleinmont, Guernsey this month. Photo by Chris Wilkinson/Facebook

It just so happens that Portelet and Archirondel were missing from the Sorel feed that day. Coincidence? This is very exciting news if they have made a second round trip between islands to forage.

Sark and Guernsey can be seen on the horizon from Sorel. Photo by Liz Corry.

Aviary maintenance

Boring but necessary aviary stuff. April has brought sea fog, hail, downpours of rain, but mainly sunny days perfect for grass growing which means we do lots of grass mowing; weekly almost daily depending on how much time we have spare and how long the strimmer battery lasts.

Keeping the grass short inside the aviary has multiple benefits. Photo by Liz Corry.

The holes in the netting we had repaired earlier in the year have reopened with extra wear and tear. Nothing to do with rodents just weathering and strain on the netting. We need to get the henchman ladder back up to Sorel to carry out the repairs.

We have replaced a couple of rotting hatches, rusted door bolts, replaced food stands and repaired benches for accessing hatches.

Holes have reappeared in the netting along the central pole. Photo by Liz Corry.

Random fact

Park House Thai restaurant in St. Helier, Jersey, appear to feature red-billed choughs in their interior décor…

Unexpected restaurant décor in Jersey. Photo by Liz Corry.

And finally

This will be my last chough report for Birds On The Edge and Durrell.  I’ve been with Durrell for eighteen years and worked with the choughs since they arrived in the Zoo in 2010. It was a hard decision to make as I’m leaving both my job and the island I’ve called home for the last sixteen years.

I’m not quite leaving the choughs though as I will be taking up a new role as chough release supervisor in Kent for The Wildwood Trust. No doubt I will keep popping up from time to time on Birds On The Edge or at the Inter-Island Environment meetings. Like Where’s Wally minus the red and white striped top.

I’m extremely proud of what the team has achieved over the years, and I often forget letting the day to day stresses of running the project take over. Plémont is the perfect place to remind me. When I first visited the bay in 2006, I didn’t know the Channel Islands were once home to choughs. Eight years later I remember visiting Plémont café with friends and musing over the idea of one day seeing the then recently released choughs utilise the cliff tops and caves. And now, well why don’t you find out for yourself. Head to the café (I recommend the waffles), sit outside, soak up the rays, and listen… 

 

Chough report: November 2021

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November afternoons at Sorel. Photo by Liz Corry.

By Liz Corry

At the start of November, I was still wearing shorts to work. By the end, several layers, gloves, a woolly hat, and the obligatory waterproofs. The choughs also noticed the change in weather. The entire flock are now waiting for supplemental food each afternoon. Some birds even wing-begging for food. Clearly, wild supplies of invertebrates were not meeting energy demands for birds battling winds and trying to stay warm.

The sheep left. Not necessarily related to the weather, I think they have been moved to St Ouen. This might add to the choughs’ hunger if there are less dung invertebrates around Sorel in the sheeps’ absence.

Hungry choughs waiting for the supplemental food. Photo by Liz Corry.

Storm Arwen caused more minor damaged at the aviary. Of note, the keeper door had been blown wide open when the force of the wind bent the bolt out of place!

I was quite surprised we didn’t suffer more, especially considering last month’s gale damage. Luckily, I managed to fix the damaged panelling before Storm Arwen hit.

Lily leaves the flock

Lily, a three-year old female, appears to have either perished or left the Island. She was last seen on 5th November at Sorel. She has not been reported elsewhere.

Lily is an example of how post-release management has played an important role in the project’s success. Lily hatched in the wild in 2018. We had to catch her up in December that year when we spotted her digit caught in her ring. Durrell vets had to intervene as the toe needed amputating (click here to learn more). She was released back into the wild the same day and formed a partnership with another female looking out for each other over the years.

Lily and Vicq hanging out together this summer. Photo by Liz Corry.

New partnerships

Since Lily disappeared, her ‘partner’ Vicq has been seen preening Pinel. He is a wild hatched bird from 2020. If this new partnership continues over winter, it could mean a new breeding pair. 

Likewise, Danny and Portelet are also showing promising signs of being a new pair for 2022. Both pairings will need to find a nest site and establish a new breeding territory. No doubt keeping the project team on their toes next season.

Roost monitoring

We have been without a student placement all November which has restricted certain tasks, one being the biannual roost checks. I’ve not been able to check all the known roost sites due to sunset times clashing with the supplemental feed.

I have been able to monitor the aviary and, as suspected, several of the quarry birds are roosting at the aviary again. I suspect they will switch back to the quarry once sunset times start occurring after Ronez have clocked off for the day.

Leg rings

We finally managed to trap Monvie in the aviary to fit her metal ring. This is engraved with details of Jersey Museum in case the bird is recovered by a member of the public. Also, it comes in really useful when a plastic colour ring drops off and we can’t be sure on identity. Case in point, Archirondel, who we also managed to catch the same day and replace her white ring.

Monvie having a metal leg ring fitted by a licensed ringer. Photo by Liz Corry.

Bo and Minty evaded several catch-up attempts this month. We will keep trying although, at least for now, we can still distinguish them in the flock. Then on the 29th, Lee arrived missing one of his rings so he gets added to the ‘to do’ list for December. 

French news

Our friend Yann commented on last months’ report to say he has not seen Cappy since spring. Disappointing if she has perished although not a surprise. It would be nice to think she has moved south, along the coast towards Brittany under the radar of French birders. 

And finally

Camera trap footage at Sorel often throws up a few surprises. This month it was the camera itself with the surprise. I found an orb weaver (spider) and ladybird ‘hiding’ behind the camera. The spider’s full name is Nuctenea umbratica, commonly known as a walnut orb-weaver. Apparently also known as the toad spider although I’m not sure why – a tendency to hide behind things?

I logged the find with the Jersey Biodiversity Centre using the iRecord app. Both are common species but it is still important to record when you can.

Camera traps throw up all sorts of surprises at the aviary. Photo by Liz Corry.