Europe - Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey etc)

The Channel Islands are a group of British dependency islands in the English Channel, off the coast of France. The largest, Jersey, is known for beaches and cliff trails.

Despite its small size of 45 square miles, Jersey has an amazing diversity of habitats from coastal cliffs heathlands and dunes, to marshes and wooded inland valleys. Its strategic position, mild winter climate and extremely wide tidal range act as a magnet to both migrating and wintering birds and, to date, over 300 species have been recorded.

100 species of birds have been recorded as breeding in Jersey and these include some species which are scarce, or absent, as breeding birds on the mainland of the United Kingdom. Short-toed Treecreeper, Serin, Dartford Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Bearded Tit, Zitting Cisticola and Cirl Bunting have all bred in recent years.

Spring and autumn can be very rewarding times to birdwatch in Jersey especially if the wind is in the east. Overshooting continental birds occur with species such as Hoopoe, Golden Oriole, Zitting Cisticola and shrike species all seen regularly.

Seabirds, of course, feature strongly in the annual records. Apart from the breeding Northern Fulmars, Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills etc… there are good autumn passages of three species of divers, sea ducks, Brent Geese, auks and Little Gulls, amongst many others.

Serin, copyright Glyn Sellors