Saturday 10 April

A reward for all the hard work on Lihou (not finished so we’ll go back another day) was an alert for Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus, at the Vale Pond. Luckily, they were still there when I stopped by and quite close to the hide. The last recorded sighting was in 2017, so this was a great addition to the spring migration list. The photo shows a female (out of focus) and a male. There was a second male as well. This species bred successfully at Steart Marshes on the Somerset Levels (bucket list destination!) and it appears that they are colonising northwards.

A trip to Lihou today as part of a working party to rope off seabird breeding areas. Lihou, off the west coast of Guernsey is only accessible at low tide and is linked by a causeway. The house in the photo is a retreat which is run by the Lihou Charitable Trust. https://www.lihouisland.com

Typically, I started to use my point and shoot camera once we had crossed over – complete with wheelbarrow – but it had no memory card so the only photos are from the starting point.

Vic Froome, a long-standing and hands-on enthusiast, has been making model Common Tern, Sterna Hirundo, to put at the top of the shingle on Lihou in the hope that it will encourage these birds to return to a former breeding ground. Last year, about fifteen pairs bred on an islet off the east coast. The boxes in the wheelbarrow will be placed on the shingle and weighted down with pebbles to give chicks cover from predatory gulls.

Since retiring several years ago, I have enjoyed becoming reacquainted with Guernsey’s wildlife. I volunteer for the Guernsey Biological Records Centre https://www.biologicalrecordscentre.gov.gg helping to input sightings on to the database. This work over the past five years has made me aware of how fragile many habitats are within Guernsey and the importance of doing something practical to help conserve the species we have.

Since 2017, I have been flagging, recording and monitoring nest sites of one of our key species, the Black-backed Meadow Ant, Formica pratensis, along the island’s south cliffs. There are many nest sites at the side of the cliff paths which, in the past, has made them vulnerable to the trimming done by the path clearance team. The red flags help them to avoid the nests.

I have been a member of La Société Guernesiaise for twenty years and a member of the Ornithological Section for six years. La Société is the closest organisation to a wildlife trust the island has. https://societe.org.gg/wp/

I am a member of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) https://www.bto.org and take part in their Breeding Bird Survey, Wader Counts and Garden Birdwatch.

Last year, Trevor Bourgaize agreed to train me as a bird ringer – I was concerned that I was over the hill, he kindly said that I wasn’t. This now takes up a lot of my time as I learn the basics and hope, one day, to be licensed and add to seventy years of ringing records in the Bailiwick.

Three years ago, I photographed some moths from my neighbour’s trap and was amazed at their beauty and variety. Last year I bought my own trap and am starting to find my way – again with Help from Trevor who is very knowledgable when it comes to ID.