Ornithological spring in Jersey is often hit or miss, and 2026 has been one of those ‘miss years.
Photo Credit 1 : David Buxton – Melodious Warbler
Photo Credit 2: Romano Da Costa – Woodchat Shrike
By miss we mean that many of the common migrants, like Swallows and Wheatears generally pass through in lower numbers, than they should and this goes for all migrant species. Ring Ouzels for example should number at least ten to fifteen records, whereas in 2026 we have only had one! Hoopoe also only two records while Cuckoo’s have been well done on average numbers.
This doesn’t mean bird numbers have fallen it is generally to do with weather and wind directions, causing the birds to either fly around us or straight over us at height. Rember, some of these small birds are flying at around 4,000 feet, so we become a small dot not worth the energy of stopping on.
Spring often produces a few standout rarities, while 2026 has not produced many, it has produced a couple of really good ones. Star bird was a Woodchat Shrike at Noirmont on April 19th and its been followed by a supporting cast of Melodious Warbler, caught and ringed at Grouville Marsh on May 4th, a Dotterel over Gorselands on the 23rd and two pairs of Black-winged Stilts visited St Ouen’s Pond, two on the 22nd and another two on the 24th.
April brings the start of our monitoring of breeding birds, with the main focus on some of our rarer species, which included Nightjar, Long-eared Owl, Marsh Harrier and Shelduck to name a few. If your interested in finding out how well they’ve done then make sure to grab a copy of the 2025 Bird Report which has just gone on sale, available from the Societe or from Costa Electrics in New Street.
Romano Da Costa – Author & Bird Recorder
Ornithology@societe.je
