Sark
7th/8th July 2007
Catherine,
Paul, Sophie and Merlin all went over on the 8 am service boat to Sark.
With a
good weather forecast of light winds and sunny skies hopes were high of
completing the seabird work. Met Andy Cook in the harbour
café…and enjoyed a
hearty breakfast before starting work! Andy dropped Catherine and Paul
on Moie
de Lache before taking Sophie and Merlin to fetch his yacht. This was
the first
time either Paul or Catherine had landed on Moie de Lache, which is
just
outside the entrance to Creux Harbour. Although there were c 30 Herring
Gulls
apparently nesting along with a few L B B Gulls, the chicks were very
large.
Several took off as we landed and flew around the bay before settling
on the
water. As a result we could only ring a few of the youngsters (five
Herring
Gulls and one LBBG Gull).
When
Andy appeared with the yacht he took us in the Avon dinghy out to the
Burons.
However, although there were a few gulls - they were too large to allow
a safe
landing. By contrast the one Oystercatcher chick we saw from the boat
was too
small to ring. Next we all cruised down the coast – passing close
inshore. We
were once again fortunate to see a Peregrine falcon flying along the
cliff,
landing in the area where there is a known nesting site.
Having
moored just off Breniere, Andy once again dropped Catherine and me on
the rock,
while the children practised their boating skills with Andy. Herring
Gulls had
clearly done well on Breniere, and there were also some Lesser
Black-backed
Gulls and at least one pair of Great Black-backed Gulls. Most of the
Herring
Gulls were too large to ring. The visit would have been better timed
one week
earlier, but wet and windy weather then prevented any landings on the
colonies.
Lunch was taken just past Derrible Bay, where we fed 15+ adult Herring
Gulls,
one of which took bread from our hands. Although a small gull colony
could be
observed on the grassy slope above the bay, the size of the youngsters
prevented any attempts to ring them.
After
lunch we set off back to Andy’s yacht mooring at Greve de la
Ville. Once here
we set off in the Avon so that Merlin could try his luck at Mackerel
and Bass
fishing. The former didn’t go too well, as we soon snagged a crab
pot and lost
the feathers! A switch to the bass lure resulted in fun and
anticipation of a
catch – but it was not to be! After this exploit we headed back
for the
shoreline and cruised along the north-east coast. On one of the
beaches, where
there is now no public access (as the steps have collapsed), we landed
and
ringed three Herring Gull chicks. We then landed at the base of the
small mixed
gull colony at Banquette Landing. After a steep ascent Catherine and I
managed
to ring five LBBGulls hiding in the vegetation in addition to one
Herring Gull.
Other larger chicks had to be left unringed as they wandered close to
the edge
of the cliff.
In
view of the size of the gulls we decided not to land on Petit or Grand
Moies.
Instead we returned to the yacht for a cup of tea, before heading back
to Creux
Harbour. Tea and Ice creams in the harbour café – after
another thoroughly
enjoyable and relaxing day with Andy boating around the Sark coastline
making
several landings on the rocks.
Lucky
to hire bicycles at the top of the hill, before enjoying supper at the
Polygon
(Polly used to be the owner…but now she is “gone”
– hence the name ….boom
boom!). Cycled out to Little Sark – pausing to enjoy the fabulous
view across
from Le Coupe back to Guernsey with Brecqhou in foreground and Jethou
and Herm
in mid-ground! The cliff above the Venus Pool was deserted (no
people… and no
sheep this year!). Put the tent up, and the wandered down to erect
three 12m
North Ronaldsey nets. The ground was a little softer this year (all the
summer
rain)…so it wasn’t too difficult to get the nets to stand
up safely.
Wonderful
dark starry night – the Milky Way could be seen easily. Also the
French and
Jersey coasts were crystal clear with their lights. For the first
couple of
hours of the night there was no moon, then about 1 pm a half moon
slowly rose
in the eastern sky – it cast a wonderful yellowy/orange hue
across the calm
sea. No wind resulted in perfect catching conditions. Around mid-night
we heard
the first Manx Shearwater calling several times as it came over the
shore. We
changed the tape over from Storm Petrel to Manx Shearwater and in the
first
check after doing this Catherine returned with our only catch of the
night – a
new (and very beautiful) Storm Petrel. We woke both the children up and
Sophie
ringed the bird before releasing it just outside the tent. It sat, in
typical
petrel fashion, for several minutes before lifting gently up and off
back into
the night.
It
was a fabulous moment to achieve this dream of mine for both the
children to
witness the cliffs of Little Sark with their mysterious nocturnal
seabirds.
Although we only caught the one Storm Petrel it was enough to show the
children
what a special bird this is, and of course they also heard at close
range the
unearthly, emotionally-tugging calls of the Manx Shearwaters –
surely one of
the most evocative sounds of nature to be heard around European shores.
During
the night we heard at least five birds calling as they came across the
cliffs –
hopefully returning to their burrows to feed youngsters.
We
finally furled the nets at 2.40 am, and grabbed a few hours sleep
before waking
again at 6 am. Took the furled nets
down and then at 8.30 am went across to enjoy a hearty breakfast with
Andy at
Cider Press Cottage. The tea and food went down very well, and we
enjoyed the
views from Andy’s cliff-top garden before cycling back to take
the tent down.
Before doing this, Catherine had a swim in the Venus Pool which was
just being
covered by the in-coming tide. Sophie and Merlin came down to watch but
it was
not really suitable for them to jump in.
Bumped
into Phil Perree as we cycled past La Moserie Cottage. He very kindly
arranged
for all our camping/netting gear to be taken back to the harbour for us
later
in the day. Lunch in the garden of La Sablonnerie – wonderful
food, washed down
with a small bottle of Macon Lugny – decadence! Off for a cycle
around the
island, before returning the bikes and walking back down the hill.
Catherine,
Sophie and Merlin all had a swim in Creux harbour. Back to Guernsey on
the 5 pm
boat. A really enjoyable and relaxing weekend in Sark – not only
with the
seabird work completed, but with the feel of a little mini-holiday to
boot! Of
course this would not have been possible without the wonderful help
given by
Andy Cook and Philip Perree. Our sincere thanks to both!
13th
July 2007