February is always a quite month when it comes to birdwatching, couple that with the constant wet and windy weather has made the month quite unproductive.
Our winter month coordinated Brent count showed just over 1,500 were on the island, a slight increase from 2023, that is due to them having a good breeding season up in the Siberian Arctic.
With the rest of our wintering visitors, with numbers stayed the same as January, but the first migrants have started passing through in the form of Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, these are always the first of the spring migrants to pass through starting mid-month.
On the rarity front, a Caspian Gull was seen in the St Ouen’s Sandpits on the 21st, while at St Ouen’s Pond, the ringtail Hen Harrier was still at St Ouen’s Pond until at least the 24th, a Little Gull was seen on the 10th and the Bittern has been making sporadic appearances all month.
With the start of March, we will be keeping an eye out for the first migrants to arrive, Wheatear is usually first followed by Sand Martin and Swallow. Will they be early or late this year?
