Snowy owl in the Channel Islands

13/01/2009 09:40:35

January 2009. Following the flurry of media activity over the recent snowy owl sighting in Cornwall, there are two more reports of snowy owl females on Alderney and Guernsey. The Wildlife Trusts and the British Trust for Ornithology are encouraging people to keep their eyes peeled and report any further sightings.

Alderney Wildlife Trust manager, Roland Gauvain said: "Over time the Alderney owl's markings have become much more distinctive and has us believe it is a first year female, with a wing span of around 1.6m. It has been fascinating to watch it grow into its first full year here so far south of its normal territories.

"Local conjecture is that with the north easterly winds experienced shortly before its arrival this might be a bird which has come down over the North Sea rather than across the Atlantic and Irish Sea."

Snowy owl on Alderney
• This bird was first sighted by (local landmark trust property manager) Geoffrey Salt, out walking before dawn on Alderney Island's south eastern coastline on 10 November. This area of coast is only eight miles from the Cap de la Hague peninsular in northern France and at the centre of the Alderney Wildlife Trust's Longis Nature Reserve.
• Salt's report was initially met with some scepticism but Mark Atkinson (county bird recorder for the island) and Alastair Riley (local bird watcher) held out hope it might have been a snowy owl, pushed south by cold conditions and poor feeding in its normal wintering grounds. This was especially pertinent as on the 30 October a snowy had been sighted in the Scilly Isles and it was thought it might be this bird heading south. The bird was sighted over the island's heathland during early morning later that week by Mark Atkinson and Mr Chris Brown and their joint reports gave Alderney its formal sighting.
• On 16 November it was spotted sitting in the open on grassland just inside the intertidal area near the Victorian Fort Houemt Herbe and a group of around 20 local bird watchers soon gathered to view it from around 100 metres away.

• Initially it was difficult to decide on the sex and age of the owl; it was quite heavily coloured, but not so much that it could instantly be recognised as a female, yet it had a little too much colouring to be a male in its first winter.
• During the following month the bird developed a pattern of disappearance and then regular sightings, possibly day-tripping to France or heading to more remote locations around the island. It was seen hunting and catching rabbits in broad daylight though it appeared in good condition and was cautious of humans.
• By late December sightings had become even more regular. It developed a habit of sitting out in the open - often receiving attention from alarmed gulls and crows to which it hardly bothers to respond - on the edge of the eastern end of the island's intertidal rocks well protected from casual walkers or dogs but quite obvious to see.
• Its territory during the day is confined to less than 1km of coastline, however, Alderney's large population of rabbits might explain its tendency not to move too far from its usual perch.
Background info:
• The previous sighting of a snowy owl in Alderney was in 1993
• Alderney is a popular spot to watch birds during spring and autumn migration as its position is just off the French coastline and almost exactly half way between the south coast of England and the northern coastline of Brittany.
• Alderney manages to attract its fair share of winter visitors blown far of course by easterly European winds and looking for a resting place. Local walkers have made a point of walking along this area daily to keep an eye on the bird and make sure no one is trying to get too close.

• Alderney is approx 60 miles due south of Southampton and over 100 miles south of the Cornish snowy sightings
It is fast approaching the end of the winter season and beginning of the breeding period for snowy owls so Alderney Wildlife Trust is unsure as to how much longer the snowy owl will stay. It has had little disturbance, with only occasional passing walkers at a safe distance, and has not experienced the frenzy of the bird that visited the Scilly's and now Cornwall. Alderney Wildlife Trust maintains a ‘please do not approach' policy on all the island's wild birds, policed by volunteers and staff throughout the island. Anyone wanting to try to get too close to this bird will not receive the usual warm Alderney welcome.