Posts by :
- St. Ouens Beach
- Surfing.
Nature/Wildlife
February 17th, 2010The new bird hide is well under construction it is over looking the sand pits at the Five Mile Road. When they will start the other hide i do not know and if they will put one back in it’s place of the one they dismantled over looking the pond. There is a wide range of birds that come to the sand pits and i suppose one of the main birds is the Sand Martin which nests in the top part of the sand banks.
Nature/Wildlife ( Birdhide. St. Ouen’s Pond )
January 28th, 2010
This is a view from the centre of the Birdhide at St. Ouen’s Pond. It is surprising that not too many people realise that it is there. People will stand at the top of the bank amongst the tall grass, if they were to walk another 8ft forward they would see the hide on their left. The hide that was taken down on the south side of the pond is going to be re-sited all new timber etc and it will be higher and a much bigger field of view when it is finished. There will also be a new hide built in the Sand Working Pit which will give a very good view of the Sand Martin and all of the different kinds of birds that visit the area all year round.
Bird Hide / Buzzard? ( St. Ouen’s Pond )
January 28th, 2010While being in the bird hide at St. Ouen’s Pond a fellow bird watcher showed me a photo he had taken the day before. He said “I just could not believe my eyes for the size of this bird as it shot by the hide. I know it was a bird of prey but not the Marsh Harrier”.
After studying the photo along with another person we all went home. I looked up the bird in my books and came to the opinion that it was a “Rough-Legged Buzzard”.
Went to the hide today and the other person was there waiting to see if he could see this mystery bird and i mentioned that i thought it was this Buzzard and he said, “I came to that conclusion too”.
So we are waiting to see if Mike Stentiford will mention it in his blog in the Jersey Evening Post this weekend or next. In the mean time i shall be going to see if i can get a photo of this Buzzard or better yet a video.
Well the waiting is over and it was a “Hen Harrier” the photo looked like the bird was bigger but funny enough the Hen Harrier is smaller than the Marsh Harrier so mystery over.
Jersey C.I. Coastline Photos. ( Bonne Nuit )
January 24th, 2010
This is “Bonne Nuit Harbour” ( good night ) it is on the North Coast . On the west side is the Harbour and to the east is “La Crete Fort”. The boats that harbour here are mostly small fishing boats with other boats big enough to go across to France which you can see from the North coast of Jersey. La Crete Fort is one of the “Jersey Heritage” sites that you can stay in for a holiday. The two main places which people go to from Bonne Nuit in France are “Carteret” and “Portbail” and of course the “Ecrehous” lie between Jersey and France so they are visited on many occasions for a day out but having said that people go to France just for a day out. The French open markets are very good and interesting. There two other little harbours like Bonne Nuit going towards the east of the island around the coast which i shall be posting in the future. All along the North Coast is a footpath for ramblers with great views. In the photo below you can see La Crete Fort it is on the first piece of land that sticks out into the sea.
Jersey C.I. Coastline Photos. ( St. Ouen’s Beach )
January 23rd, 2010
People taking a stroll just before dusk on St. Ouen’s Beach with Corbiere Lighthouse in background in the month of December.
Nature/Wildlife.
January 23rd, 2010I had my winter hedgehog news letter today and they have not had many hogs come in for rescue this winter. I have had no hogs at all this winter when last year i had 47 different hogs coming to eat and drink by our front patio window, as many as 4 and 5 at a time causing big fights! So just what is going on in the wild this winter? Only a few squirrels coming to my garden mostly the same one now where are they this winter? Something strange going on.
Jersey C.I.Coastline Photos. ( St.Ouen’s Bay )
January 21st, 2010
Surfing in St. Ouen’s Bay which is on the west coast of Jersey. The beach is called locally “The Five Mile Road” among other names. The beach is about 3 miles in length. Time passed farmers would take their horse and cart along the beach to get to the other end of the bay, it was decided when motorized vehicles came inti use that a road was needed. The States of Jersey bought a strip of land about 100 yds from the high tide mark and built a road also they realised that sea walls were needed so they started building them where the tide came up in the highest place first. The Occupation came and the Nazis with slave labour finished the sea walls around the Island for defence against the Allies if they should try to liberate the Island. The whole of the area is sand dunes behind the sea wall and they rise to roughly about 200ft. The beach is used for all sorts of water sports and motor car/bike racing but all year round the surfers are there. The beach holds Championship Surf Competitions because the surf is usually very good. On any day that the tide is out you can see kite surfing, sail boarding, sand yachts and skate boards being pulled along by a kite. When flying into the Island the planes 90% of the time come in over St.Ouen’s Bay and it does even if i say so myself looks terrific to see the long stretch of sandy beach and waves coming in onto the beach.
Jersey C.I.Coastline Photos (St.Aubin )
January 18th, 2010
St. Aubins and village was once the capital of Jersey. Ships used to unload their cargoes but the harbour can only be used between half tide up and down. So a new bigger harbour was built at St. Helier. The Village is very picturque and has kept most of it’s old merchants houses. High Street is still a cobbled street. Along the Bulwarks are restaurants and shops with a pub or two. The Parish Hall used to be the Terminus Hotel for the railway but the sheds burned down in the 30’s and the hotel was turned in the Parish Hall. Two of the most popular residents of the Village are two Geese which live in and around the harbour.Often sunbathing outside of the Parish Hall.
"High Street"
“St.Aubins Harbour”.
Jersey C.I. Coastline Photos ( Ouaisne Bay )
January 18th, 2010
Ouaisne Bay is in the same bay as St. Brelade’s Bay only a small mount of rocks separate Ouaisne and St. Brelade’ Bay. There is a Martello Tower which was built for defence when England and France were at war. The tower is a navigation mark these days. The sea wall was built by slave labour by the Nazis. Behind the sea wall is a common which is the habitat of the Agile Frog which is only found in Jersey. To the right of the bay there are cliffs which there is a huge cave which prehistoric tools etc have been found. In the early 70’s Prince Charles helped to dig in the cave, they have enough material to study for at least the next 25 years, it is the best site in Europe. The beach is very safe for swimming and it is one of the beaches that gets drift wood on it. On the right hand end of the beach there is a very good example of a Nazis gun encasement for defending the beach from invasion if it had happened.
Jersey C.I. Coastline Photos. ( Mourier Valley )
January 17th, 2010
This is at the end of “Mourier Valley”. The Valley is situated on the North coast along by one of many coast walking paths that stretch right along the North Coast where the scenery is spectacular. There is a reservoir at the bottom of the Valley that is used and the over flow forms a waterfall over into the sea. Where this photo was taken is that you have a choose of going left/right or go up the valley away from the cliff path and inland. There are some rare sheep roaming wild over big areas of land, this is because the type of sheep they have keep the bracket down so that the native plants will grow. They are inspecting a number of lambs in March. The particular sheep is very much at home on the steep cliffs. From any where on the North Coast you can see the other islands and France and also the Ecrehous. Some of the places along the paths you come across “Fulmars” which is a sea bird can easily be thought that it was a normal herring gull, there are some places that you can lie down just feet away from flying Fulmars as they drift along on the wind currants. Very rare do they land all to feed the chicks and to give the other parent a chance to have a stretch of their wings and also to having a go at catching some fish.
