Natural history of the Bailiwick of Guernsey
The flora and fauna of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm
A rough crossing but soon over and lovely to be back at Le Vallon d’Or in Sark.
We were soon getting rides ready for the bird nets. No ringing today as the wind was too strong.
After lunch Sue Synott led a botany walk around Little Sark showing the group many interesting plants. Bird watchers were rewarded with Dartford Warbler and Swift. Everyone enjoyed the beautiful scenery especially as the Bluebells were looking their best.
Getting ready for Sark tomorrow. Wind speeds of 25 knots is forecast and it’s been blowing a hooley here today. This morning I was all set to postpone the trip until Tuesday. This evening I have convinced myself that with Stugeron and relief bands the boat trip of around an hour is short enough. I may live to regret this decision.
I will be doing a daily blog from Sark throughout the week, mainly the bird ringing but there are lots of other activities as well. As you can see from the poster.
The bird ringing will be at Le Vallon d’Or, truly a golden valley as can be seen in the header photo from last September. This is courtesy of Lynda Higgins who is doing a terrific job, together with Shakira Christodoulou, re-vitalising La Société Sercquaise, http://www.socsercq.sark.gg/index.html
We’re hoping to catch up with Dartford Warblers, two were seen at Le Platon earlier this month.
Bailiwick Bat Survey – result! 🦇🦇🦇
Yesterday I managed the tech side and the practical side and the bat detector was attached to the pole and raised 7 feet in the air with a 5 foot clearance all round. So much for me thinking I could tuck it into the fork of a tree! I was far from convinced that it was all in working order so took it down this morning and – showing a technical prowess I didn’t know I had – discovered it was fine, uploaded the results which are shown.
I’m delighted there were three different species, especially the Brown Long-eared bat which is more common in the UK than it is here.
The box has now been replaced for the next three days – naturally I had to make two trips as I’d forgotten to replace the memory which was still in my laptop at home. All very exciting and great to get results back the same day.
It will be interesting to see results from other parts of the island – and when I go to Sark next week as part of Sark Nature Week (26 April – 3 May) This is organised by Lynda Higgins who will be hosting the bat detector and the bird ringing. hhttps://www.visitguernsey.com/see-and-do/events-festivals/heritage-festival-2021/sark-spring-nature-week/
Natural history of the Bailiwick of Guernsey