Report Guernsey Colour Ringed Gulls

Sightings of Guernsey colour ringed Gulls can be entered here for an instant life history, or sent to pkv@cwgsy.net for a life history to be returned by e-mail to observers.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Alderney - Week 1

Now that Catherine and I have moved to the northernmost Channel Island (Alderney) I intend to post a weekly summary of activity here each Sunday. So...yes this first one is late...and it's only half a week, as we only moved up last Wednesday. However, in the first few days in our new home at the eastern end of the island, only a few kilometres from France, we saw a pod of 30+ Bottle-nosed Dolphins, and seawatching produced c 20 Balearic Shearwaters and a single Great Skua, amongst the constantly passing Northern Gannets.
On the gull front I have thoroughly enjoyed checking out the local beaches and seeing c 30 of my Lesser Black-backed Gull chicks which I ringed this summer on nearby Burhou. I've also seen c 60 of my colour ringed adults.
I've also seen a trio of foreign-ringed Gulls - a Black-headed Gull from Lower Saxony, Germany, a Great Black-backed Gull from Cornwall and a Lesser Black-backed Gull from Swindon, England.
Finally non-seabird ornithological highlights have been a Green Sandpiper, a pair of peregrines over the garden, and lots of migrant warblers on our daily walk only a few minutes from home.
All in all Alderney is showing much early promise as a truly marvellous place for birds and other wildlife.
PKV and Sophie at Les Etacs Gannetry

Les Etacs

Our back garden

Catherine's low water swimming pool

The front garden (we live in the lighthouse cottage)

Home Sweet Home! All photos (c) PKV


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