The seabird breeding season is in full swing here on Sark, which means that our puffins have returned from their life far out at sea to breed on L’Etac, an islet off Little Sark. The birds rear a single chick, called a puffling, in a burrow and by now one or other of the parents will be keeping the egg warm until it hatches in June. The best way to…
Nature
The seabird breeding season is in full swing here on Sark and this year seems to be particularly good for guillemots. These beautiful chocolate-brown and white birds belong to the auk family, along with puffins and razorbills that also breed here. Over the last three years they have established a new colony on rocks off the east coast as well as their main breeding site on Les Autelets on the…
The warm, sunny weather after the rain last week has created the perfect conditions for sowing the seeds for Project Sunflower, the conservation initiative started by Sue Daly and now in its third year. The two-acre field, which is near the Island Hall, has been loaned by farmer Gavin Nicolle who does the land preparation work with help from his son Martin. As well as sunflowers the seed mix contains…
For more than a week now Sark has seen some wonderfully mild weather with sunshine and blue skies from dawn ’til dusk. Although there may yet be some winter weather to come, there’s a real sense of spring in the air with birds singing and flowers unfurling. The forecasters are predicting that we will be blessed for another few days so, if you’re thinking of a quick trip to the…
There was no shortage of volunteers for the Channel Island Big Beach clean here on Sark recently but there was a shortage of rubbish. The event was held on Dixcart beach but the small amount of rubbish that there was didn’t take long to collect so the organisers decided to run a sand sculpture competition for the children instead. The were several mermaids and a turtle created from sand and…
The conservation initiative to provide food for wildlife is now in full bloom. Called Project Sunflower, and now in its second year, it was set up in a two-acre field belonging to farmer Gavin Nicolle that was previously used for growing hay. It has been sown with a special mixture of plants to provide nectar through the summer and seeds through the autumn and winter. The sunflowers are the most…
A field near the Coupée has been dedicated to wildlife this year, specifically pollinating insects. The four-acre field, which is opposite the carriage park, belongs to the Magell and Woolford families who have sewn it with a specially blended mixture of seeds to provide pollen and nectar for a wide range of insect species including butterflies and bumblebees. The crop contains trefoils, clovers, phacelia and borage. Picnic tables and log…
The Gouliot Headland is a RAMSAR site (it gained this status in 2007), recognised worldwide as having special animal and plant life, particularly the marine life in the Gouliot Caves, a large sea cave system on the Sark side of the Gouliot passage. The area above the caves, on the headland itself, is a blanket of bluebells and primroses in spring. Botanists may also spot one or two white bluebells (not to…
From time to time, groups of bottlenose dolphins appear on our shores following shoals of fish, much to the delight of both visitors and locals. They are mostly seen around the east coast and have sometimes escorted the island’s ferries from the Bec du Nez all the way into the harbour, much to the enjoyment of those on board. Over the last decade or so dolphin numbers appear to…
The Sunfish is named after their habit of ‘sunbathing’ on the surface of the sea. These ocean wanderers can grow to be several metres across but feed almost exclusively on jellyfish. They are native to tropical seas but are occasionally seen around the British Isles although usually much later in the summer. George Guille recalls seeing a basking shark: “The sea was really calm,” explains George, “so at first I noticed just…
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Visit La Seigneurie Gardens
June 25, 2019