This Is Guernsey

By Tim Earl

SHH! Keep this a secret or my paradise holiday venue will cease to be. Often asked which is my favourite birdwatching destination by clients who accompany me around the world, my stock answer is ‘here’, wherever that might be.

So, if we are in Guyana, South Africa, Austria, the Seychelles or wherever, that’s my favourite, I tell them.

The truth is that Alderney is where many wildlife tour leaders take their holidays, with me among them.

It is a paradise, especially in the spring when the cliffs are more beautiful even than our glorious crown along Guernsey’s south coast.

In fairness, my policy is correct. How can one tell a guest who has paid thousands to visit some far-flung destination that they would be better off in Alderney?

Besides, it is like the ‘what’s your favourite bird?’ question. How can we compare a robin and a puffin, great shearwater with buff-breasted sandpiper, kingfisher and kiwi? All are special in their own right and cannot be compared.

However, when looking at wildlife destinations, Alderney does have some special features which make it stand out.

First and foremost, the States of Alderney is serious about wildlife conservation and makes the most of the island’s natural assets.

It is true that it has yet to sort out the Impot problem and disposal of rubbish but the island is small and has limited resources.

But it has an amazing band of volunteers who run the Alderney Wildlife Trust under the leadership of Roland Gauvain.

The trust has built a brilliant hide overlooking the pond at Longis and another in one of the northern quarries. These are comfortable and easy to use.

Alderney has the gannet colonies of Les Etacs and Ortac as major highlights.

The colonies were founded during the German Occupation and residents returned to their island homes after the war to find the birds well established.

It is often said that the gannets represent the souls of those who died in Alderney’s concentration camps. It’s a comforting thought, given the plight of those tortured Todt prisoners.

Burhou has a colony of puffins that, sadly, has declined since the 1950s, when the late Carel Toms’s father counted 50,000 birds.

This is probably due to global warming and over-fishing of their sandeel prey, although competition from the increasing gannet colonies cannot be ruled out.

The island is just eight miles from the high cliffs of Cap de la Hague, encouraging migrating birds of prey to flip across the Race for a visit.

They often then circle Alderney, ending up over the western end of the airstrip and Giffoine area. I like to spend the warmer spring afternoons around the airport in the hope of seeing black kites, honey buzzards, hen harriers or even white storks.

I well remember meeting one group of not-so-eager birdwatchers who flew in from Southampton.

As they stepped off the Aurigny Trislander my guests were greeted by shouts from me to ‘look up’, as I jumped, John Cleese-style, on the spot, pointing into the air.

Above us were three white storks soaring in a circle, gaining height before heading off back to France. It was a great start to their holiday but that group, perhaps correctly, never erased the thought that their leader was completely mad.

There are at least three pairs of buzzards nesting in Alderney. One bird is extremely pale with a white tail, giving rise to incorrect reports of rough-legged buzzard.

The birds have a huge stock of rabbits to feed on and the place must seem like paradise to them also.

Much of the island’s agricultural land has returned to scrub (despite the valiant attempts of Alderney’s farmer to maintain decent fields), which is a wonderful habitat for breeding warblers and other small birds and a valuable resource for migrants heading north in the spring, or south in autumn.

The valleys of Bonne Terre (leading down to the base of Fort Tourgis from the airport) and Barrackmasters Lane (running from behind the golf clubhouse to Longis Bay) are a haven for less common species, such as wood warblers and pied flycatchers.

The latter once had a stream running through it which attracted loads of birds, including my first Bailiwick Cetti’s warbler.

It was piped by the States and fewer birds visited the valley, but I noticed that a new ornamental stream has been made and that may resurrect its fortunes.

The range of birds breeding in Alderney is similar to ours in Guernsey. A kittiwake colony occasionally settles on the cliffs but they are unpredictable birds and are not seen every year.

Like us, the island has one or two pairs of zitting cisticolas (formerly known as fan-tailed warblers … they are not warblers and their fan-tails are difficult to see, hence the name change).

I found one pair this spring at the eastern end of the runway.

There are breeding long-eared and barn owls and, like us, Alderney had a visiting snowy owl this winter.

My father-in-law always maintained that walking in Guernsey is harder than in Britain. He may have been right, but whatever the case, Alderney has easy walking, be it cliff paths or the gentle coastal walks as one follows the stunning line of Napoleonic forts, each of which is an architectural gem.

Add to the natural attractions a mere 15-minute flight, an ample selection of hotels (Steve and Pauline Collins at the Belle Vue have become firm friends over the years), guesthouses and hostelries and you have my perfect wildlife destination.

But please keep it to yourself.

Article posted on 23rd May, 2009 - 10.00am