Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

The very first morning of September was a very early morning drive up to Pleinmont for some mothing. Quite a few traps were set on the cliffs to coincide with a Societe open day and also there were a few more traps set by some visiting moth-ers from England - so plenty to look through. Conditions were OK for migrants but there was a bit of a cold wind blowing so the traps set right on the top were not so full. However, when we scrambled down to check the sheltered traps down the cliff edge, they were stacked with stuff. There were plenty of common migrants such as Silver Y, Dark Sword-grass, Palpita vitrealis etc, and quite a few Convolvulus Hawk-moths were visible.

Whilst we were looking through one trap, Andy shouted up from further down the cliff “Death’s-head!!”. And there bloney was one! A massive Death’s-head Hawk-moth sat on the side of the trap - my first-ever of a much-wanted species, the largest British moth. We dragged all the traps up the cliffs and looked through them. It can be a bit frustrating with lots of people delving into a load of traps, not able to look at everything as closely as I prefer to do, but I managed another moth tick with a fine Pale Shoulder, another rare migrant. I wish that I could do the cliffs more often as it is loads better there for rarities than my inland garden location. But 1 - I haven’t got the equipment and 2 - I haven’t got the time, so it is a bit of a moot point. But anyway, a Death’s-head, in the flesh - wow!

Deaths-head Hawk-moth - Pleinmont, 31 Aug 24

After the superb DHHM, the month came down with a massive bump with somewhat of a wader debacle. I was back at school and was on the second of my training days at the start of the year when I got a message in the morning that a Lesser Yellowlegs had been photographed on 29th August on one of the Grande Mare golf course ponds. This would be an overdue first for Guernsey and a British tick for me so it was a bit of a sickener that the news was almost a week late. However, there was a good chance it was still around and some of the local birders were searching for it whilst I was working.

Then, at about 2 pm, I received a message that the bird had been re-found, on the new golf pond alongside Rue des Bergers. Terrific news and I only had to wait about an hour or so before I drove down. There were a small group of birders watching it and I set up my scope and saw the bird on the far side of the lake. It was quite a way away and right into the bright sunlight so I couldn’t see it very well or in any detail (the poor photos below were about the best it showed). But we watched it for a while until I had to go off home. Poor views, but I was pleased to see the bird, and hoped that I could maybe come back another time and see it properly.

Forward on an hour or so, and I am at home with the computer just browsing, when a post came up on facebook of the “Lesser Yellowlegs” with a photo attached. The bird in the photo was clearly a Wood Sandpiper. I reidentified it and, requesting more info, it seems that the photo was taken a bit later on in the afternoon on the same pond that we were looking at. Obviously the bird had moved to the near side of the pond, within range of decent photos. So this must have been the same bird? Or was it a second bird? In any case, I had definitely not defintiely seen a Lesser Yellowlegs at all (and looking at my poor photos, they were at best inconclusive, and favoured Wood Sand in jizz). There had been no previous sightings of Wood Sandpiper before that afternoon in Guernsey, so this would have had to be new-in. So maybe the Lesser Yellowlegs had not stayed after all. Dipsville, Arizona!

As it was Tuesday evening, I then had to go to play my weekly game of football, assuming that the LY was a goner and presuming everyone had missed out. However, when I got back and checked all info sources, it was confirmed that the Lesser Yellowlegs was actually still there! It was feeding on the original pond on the golf course. The two bird theory in action. It was now well after 7 o’clock but I just had to rush back out, still in my football kit and all sweaty. Of course, the chosen pond was not one where you could just drive up to, so I parked by the RDB hide, then had to run down the lanes with all my gear. There was no-one else there as the pond came into view and I spotted a wader along the edge - Green Sandpiper - d’oh! I had to scurry further down the lane to see the left hand side of the pond, and finally, the LESSER YELLOWLEGS was wading in the shallows feeding away.

I have no photos of this bird as, by now, the light was very much disappearing and I could barely see much detail in the gloom. In fact, just to double-check, on my way home, I went back round to the roadside pond and saw that the Wood Sandpiper was still present (and flying round calling). It was a good job I did rush out again at dusk because I was the last person to see the yellowlegs and it was not seen again. So I was relieved that I saw the bird in the end but was kicking myself for not picking out that the earlier bird was a Wood Sand, even considering the poor viewing conditions. Presumption is an enemy of the birder.

Most of the rest of the month was really really poor for September with so few migrants seen and poor weather conditions - I can’t ever remember seeing as little in the month. I just saw a few Whinchats and Common Sandpipers, with even common species being in short supply. The best bird on the patch was a Cetti’s Warbler singing for just one day in the vegetation along the edge of Pulias Pond. It is a species that is spreading and this was a new species for the patch, but not really what I was expecting in that spot. On 21st September Pleinmont was quiet but I had my first Skylark and Grey Wagtail of the season. The 28th was a decent day for seawatching and an enjoyable few hours from Jaonneuse produced a couple of Arctic Skuas, an Arctic Tern and a small passage of Sooty Shearwaters.

Yellow-legged and Mediterranean Gulls - Rocquaine, 21 Sep 24

Fig-leaf Skeletoniser - Fort Hommet, 6 Sep 24 - on an unusually sunny day I went back to where I saw the caterpillars last year and this adult was showing itself very well - I didn’t realise how large they are, much bigger than their relatives

Round-spored Oysterlings - Garden, 22 Sep 24 - Fungi still remain bewildering to me but as these were growing on the garden grapevine I thought I must stand a chance at an ID. First time I have caught the spores and used them as an ID feature.

Nothing much too unexpected was observed bird-wise in August. However, this may have been more to do with finding time to spend out in the field is becoming increasingly difficult at present. A Caspian Gull was present on L’Eree beach mid-month and was one of two birds on the island that was colour-ringed from the same colony in Czechia this spring. A Great Crested Grebe at the Reservoir was one of the few I’ve seen here in breeding plumage. I did try a wee seawatch on 24th August but a Sooty Shearwater and a Storm Petrel was all that was noted. August can be quite busy here but it just never happened this year.

Great Crested Grebe - Reservoir, 17 Aug 24

Gannet - Chouet, 8 Aug 24 - I had visions of a booby when I came round the corner and saw this hauled up on the rocks, but alas…

The garden moth trap had some great nights during August, a time of year when I have total flexibility when I can put it out and only do so on the best of conditions. A new micro was seen on 11th - Teleiopsis diffinis - a small brown critter which I didn’t even take a picture of. Conditions were poor mid-month but a warm spell later on threw up some great species. On 26th I had a Musotima nitidalis (Australian Fern Moth) which has only just colonised the island after raging through the UK in the last few years.

Golden Fern Moth (musotima nitidalis) - garden, 26 Aug 24

The next night on 27th was even better and quite a few belters was hauled out of the trap amongst the thousands of ants. A Garden Tiger was the first I have seen for 19 years. It was a touch of a shabby one but what a beast! It used to be more common in Guernsey but is really rare nowadays. A species that seems to be being seen a little more often here though is Golden Twin-spot and a superb shiny gold one was present - a lifer for me. Other good species that night were Latticed Heath, Engrailed, Coleophora salicorniae and an Ant-lion, only my 4th of these and first for a few years.

With the warm weather and time to spend at the microscope, I managed to find plenty of new species for the pan-species list which brought me above 3100 for the UK and above 2600 for Guernsey. Some interesting new things are shown below.