An Introduction to Alderney

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An introduction to Alderney Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailwick of Guernsey a British crown dependency. It is 4.8 kilometres long and 2.4 kilometres wide. The area is 7.8 km2, making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands. It is 16 km to the west of La Hague on the Normandy (French) peninsula. The island has a population of only 2,600 people. The only parish on Alderney is the parish of St Anne, which covers the whole island. The Alderney coastline consists of sheer cliffs and stretches of sandy beach and dunes. The highest point on the island is the central plateau. This stands about 100 metres above sea level. Alderney enjoys a temperate climate. Summers are usually warmer than elsewhere in the British Isles. Alderney and the surrounding smaller islands support a wide range of flora and fauna. However, trees are scarce, as many were cut down in the 17th century to fuel the lighthouses on Alderney. Puffins on Burhou and Gannets on Les Étacs just off Alderney are a favourite of many visitors to the island. About a quarter of the hedgehogs found on the island are of the "white" or "blonde" variety, and do not carry fleas. The island had its own breed of cattle, called the Alderney. Sadly the breed became extinct in 1944 during the German occupation. In August 2005, the west coast of Alderney and associated islands, including Burhou and Antac were designated as Ramsar Wetlands of international importance. The Alderney Wildlife Trust helps to manage the two nature reserves at Longis and Vau du Saou. Fort Clonque Braye Harbour http://burhou.livingislands.co.uk.

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Review of Birds in the Channel Islands, 1951-80 Roger Long
Review of birds in the Channel Islands, 1951-80 Roger Long ecords and observations on the flora and fauna in the Channel Islands Rare treated with confusing arbitrariness by British naturalists in the various branches of natural history. Botanists include the islands as part of the British Isles, mammalogists do not, and several subdivisions of entomo• logists adopt differing treatments. The BOU lists and records have always excluded the Channel Islands, but The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland (1976) included them, as do all the other distribution mapping schemes currently being prepared by the Biological Records Centre at Monks Wood Experimental Station, Huntingdon. The most notable occurrences of rarities have been published in British Birds, and this review has been compiled so that the other, less spectacular—but possibly more significant—observations are available as a complement to the British and Irish records. The late Roderick Dobson, an English naturalist resident in Jersey between 1935 and 1948 and from 1958 to his death in 1979, was the author of the invaluable Birds of the Channel Islands (1952). In this, he brought together the results of his meticulous fieldwork in all the islands, and his critical interpretation of every record—published or private—that he was able to unearth, fortunately just before the turmoil of the years of German Occupation (1940-45) dispersed much of the material, perhaps for ever. I concern myself here chiefly with the changes recorded during the approxi• mately 30 years since Dobson's record closed. Species considered to have shown little change in status over those years are not listed.
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Alderney West Coast and Burhou Islands Ramsar Site Management Strategy
Alderney West Coast and Burhou Islands Ramsar Site Management Strategy Version 1 Louise Soanes 1 (Alderney Wildlife Trust) and Helen Booker 2 (RSPB) Date: January 2007 1 Alderney Wildlife Trust, 34 Victoria Street, St Annes, Alderney, GY9 3TA, Channel Islands. 2 The RSPB, SW England Regional Office, Keble House, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, Devon, EX1 1NT Alderney West Coast and Burhou Islands Ramsar Site Management Strategy Contents Abstract 1 Introduction 1.1 Strategic goals 1.2 Objectives 1.3 Political context of strategy 2 The Alderney west coast and Burhou islands Ramsar site – interest features and their context 2.1 Habitats and flora 2.2 Seabirds 2.2.1 Internationally important species 2.2.2 Nationally important species 2.2.3 Locally important species 2.3 Non-avian fauna 3 An overview of potential factors Ramsar features around Alderney 3.1 Developments and other commercial activities 3.2 Habitat change 3.3 Human disturbance 3.4 Pollution 3.5 Climate change 3.6 Seabird specific factors 3.6.1 Introduced mammalian predators 3.6.2 Native avian predators 3.6.3 Food availability 4 Review of past management and monitoring in and around the Ramsar site 4.1 Marine habitats 4.2 Seabird management 4.2.1 Seabird ringing 4.3 Non-avian species 5 Ramsar site monitoring and management strategy 5.1 Non-avian Ramsar interest features 5.2 Seabirds 5.3 Ramsar Site Management and action plan 6. Education and public relations 7 Costs and resource requirements 8 Project management 2 Alderney West Coast and Burhou Islands Ramsar Site Management Strategy 9 Strategy review 10 Acknowledgments 11 References Figures and Tables Figure 1 : Map of the Alderney Ramsar site Table 1 : Priority seabird populations within the Ramsar site Table 3 : Ramsar monitoring and action plan, Part 1 – Seabirds Table 4: Ramsar monitoring and action plan, Part 2 – Marine habitats and non- avian fauna.
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2020 Ramsar Annual Action Plan
Alderney’s West Coast and Burhou Islands Ramsar Site and Other Sites Annual Ramsar Action Plan 2020 Prepared by: Jack Bush (AWT Ramsar Officer 20201) Contributors: Justin Hart (AWT Avian Ecologist1), Dr. Mel Broadhurst-Allen (AWT Living Seas Coordinator1), John Horton (ABO Warden) Reviewed by: Alderney’s Ramsar Steering Group - Phil Atkinson (BTO), Paul Buckley (RSPB), Charles Michel, Francis Binney (Marine Resources Jersey) David Chamberlain (States Veterinary Officer, SoA) Accepted by: States of Alderney General Services Committee David Chamberlain (States Veterinary Officer, SoA) 1Alderney Wildlife Trust 48 Victoria Street Alderney, GY9 3TA Channel Islands [email protected] www.alderneywildlife.org Executive Summary 1. This action plan describes the work to be undertaken in 2020, within the Alderney West Coast and Burhou Island Ramsar Site and Other Sites, as required under the States of Alderney Ramsar Management Strategy 2017-21 (ARS3; SoA/AWT, 2016). In 2020, Alderney’s Ramsar site enters the 14th year of operations. This action plan incorporates work suggested under the five-year management strategy with consideration of recommendations made in the 2019 Ramsar Review (AWT, 2020) and incorporates input and review from members of the Alderney Ramsar Steering Group. Further, this plan attempts to follow the new Terms of Reference for scientific research as laid out by the CEO SoA in January 2020. 2. To achieve the strategic aims and objectives set out by the five-year strategy, a series of objectives are set out for 2020 that encompass maintaining the long-term monitoring of Alderney’s sea bird populations, including the management of invasive species and some rodent control, marine surveys and various outreach events.
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Valuing the Heritage of the Channel Islands
Valuing the Heritage of the Channel Islands Kate Clark Kate Clark Associates Heritage policy, practice & planning Elizabeth Castle, Jersey Valuing the Heritage of the Channel Islands An initial assessment against World Heritage Site criteria and Public Value criteria Kate Clark Kate Clark Associates For Jersey Heritage August 2008. List of Contents Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 7 Summary Recommendations 8 Recommendation One: Do more to capture the value of Jersey’s Heritage Recommendation Two: Explore a World Heritage bid for the Channel Islands Chapter One - Valuing heritage 11 1.1 Gathering data about heritage 1.2 Research into the value of heritage 1.3 Public value Chapter Two – Initial assessment of the heritage of the Channel Islands 19 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Geography and politics 2.3 Brief history 2.4 Historic environment 2.5 Intangible heritage 2.6 Heritage management in the Channel Islands 2.7 Issues Chapter Three – capturing the value of heritage in the Channel Islands 33 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Intrinsic value 3.3 Instrumental benefits 3.4 Institutional values 3.5 Recommendations 4 Chapter Four – A world heritage site bid for the Channel Islands 37 4.0 Introduction 4.1 World heritage designation 4.2 The UK tentative list 4.3 The UK policy review 4.4 A CI nomination? 4.5 Assessment against World Heritage Criteria 4.6 Management criteria 4.7 Recommendations Conclusions 51 Appendix One – Jersey’s fortifications 53 A 1.1 Historic fortifications A 1.2 A brief history of fortification in Jersey A 1.3 Fortification sites A 1.4 Brief for further work Appendix Two – the UK Tentative List 67 Appendix Three – World Heritage Sites that are fortifications 71 Appendix Four – assessment of La Cotte de St Brelade 73 Appendix Five – brief for this project 75 Bibliography 77 5 Acknowledgements This report would not have been possible without the very kind support, enthusiasm, time and hospitality of John Mesch and his colleagues of the Société Jersiase, including Dr John Renouf and John Stratford.
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Beaches for Everyone St. Anne Town Map Eating out Guide out and About
The Channel Islands Channel The the natural island of St. Anne eating out guide town map Harbour Town Braye Beach Hotel Restaurant Braye Street. Tel 824300 Georgian House Victoria Street. Tel 822471 Whilst on the island of Alderney, discover Fax 824301 email [email protected] Fax 822571 email [email protected] the fascinating history, rich wildlife, stunning Open all year for snacks/bar meals. Fully licensed restaurant. Terrace. Open all year for snacks/bar meals. Fully licensed restaurant. Garden. scenery, beautiful beaches and the unique, Bumps Eating House Braye Street. Tel 823197 Gloria’s Food Albert Mews, Ollivier Street. Tel 822500 Open all year. Fully licensed restaurant. Open all year. No licensed bar - bring your own bottle. Terrace. laid-back lifestyle of this friendly little haven The First and Last Braye Street. Tel 823162 Jack’s Brasserie Victoria Street. Tel 823933 in the middle of the English Channel. Almost Open from Easter to late autumn. Fully licensed restaurant. email [email protected] Open all year for tea/coffee/cakes/meals. Fully licensed restaurant. totally unaffected by the outside world, Harbour Lights Hotel Newtown Road. Tel 823233 Terrace. Alderney offers a relaxing, welcoming and or Mobile: 07781 135616 friendly holiday experience. email [email protected] Nellie Gray’s Indian Cuisine Victoria Street. Tel 823333 Open all year for snacks/bar meals. Fully licensed restaurant. Terrace. Open all year for Indian cuisine. Fully licensed restaurant. Take-away. Just 3.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide this, the The Moorings Boathouse Brasserie Braye Street. Tel 822421 Mai Thai Le Val. Tel 824940 third largest of the Channel Islands, is one of Open all year for snacks/bar meals.
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Writing a Newspaper Article Being a Newspaper Journalist
Writing a newspaper article Being a newspaper journalist Puffin Facts The Puffins on Burhou spend most of their lives at sea. They only leave the water to breed and raise their young chicks. On Burhou the Puffins appear in the later spring and leave the island in July or August. During this breeding season no tourists are allowed to step foot on Burhou and private boats are encouraged not to take tourists to the island. These steps have been taken to protect the colony of Puffins during the breeding season. Activity – Protecting Burhou’s Wildlife You are a reporter working for the Wildlife Trust. Write an article about Burhou’s wildlife. Explain why the State of Alderney have taken the action to ban visits to the island between March and the end of July. What would happen if Tourists were allowed to visit Burhou during the summer months? Curriculum links English Key Stage 2 Choose a form and content to suit a particular audience Effectively create a layout, presentation and oragnisation Protecting the Wildlife on Burhou Why are tourists not allowed to visit the island? You are a newspaper journalist. Read the article below. Find out why Tourists are not allowed to visit the island during the summer months and what steps the State of Alderney have taken to enforce this law. Burhou Island Burhou Island is a low-lying uninhabited island lying one and a quarter miles northwest of Alderney. Despite being only half a mile long and one fifth of a mile wide, Burhou is a bird sanctuary and home to 11 species of breeding birds.
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WALK 4 Burhou & Fort Clonque Walk Summary WALK 4
WALK 4 WALK 4 15 At the bottom of the track head along the coastline with the Victorian fortress, Fort Clonque (a Landmark Trust owned property which can be rented), behind you and continue along Clonque Bay. This is a wonderful place for rock-pooling at low tide. Walk summary Burhou & Fort Clonque To your left you look out across Alderney’s Internationally Important Wetland Site, ‘The West Coast and Burhou Island Ramsar Site’. With Approx. the largest population of puffins to be found in the English Channel 3miles and the only colony of storm petrels the islet of Burhou is the heart of Braye Braye (5km) Harbour Harbour this unique wetland. At low tide, Clonque Bay is the largest intertidal area on Alderney with over 180 different species of seaweed and many other interesting species of invertebrate including green ormer and numerous types of crab. 16 Continue along the coastal track passing the lower wall of ST. ANNE ST. ANNE Fort Tourgis on your right. Fort Tourgis is the second largest of the Victorian forts built on the island and covers over 2.5ha. It was home to nearly 350 men after Approx. Approx. its construction in the 1850’s. Inside the German artillery position, 3miles 1hr facing back along the Clonque Rd and just before you reach Fort (5km) 30mins Tourgis, you can see one of Andy Goldsworthy’s ‘Stones’. This stone was the only one to be built on location as it was much too A varied walk, best enjoyed on a dry spring or autumn day.
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Fish Brought to Young Atlantic Puffins Fratercula Arctica on Burhou
Short Notes occupied in three subcolonies in 2005 (L. Fish brought to Soanes pers. comm.), and a maximum of c.250 young Atlantic Puffins individuals was present in early July 2006 and Fratercula arctica on 2007 (pers. obs.). Burhou, Channel Islands Between 1969 (Operation Seafarer) and 2005, breeding Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus Sanders, J. G. on Burhou increased from 70 to 1,102 pairs and Herring Gulls Larus argentatus from 87 to 202 Email: [email protected] pairs, while c.15 pairs of Great Black-backed The Alderney Ornithological Group, PO Box 24, Gulls Larus marinus also presently breed (L. Alderney GY9 3AP, UK. Soanes pers. comm.). Interactions with Puffins include gulls loafing near Puffin burrows, Introduction kleptoparasitism by Lesser Black-backed and During the last 100 years breeding numbers of Herring Gulls, and predation by Great Black- Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica (hereafter backed Gulls, which became acute in the 1970s ‘Puffins’) in the Channel Islands and Brittany, and 1980s but diminished after 1996 (Lockley the most southern colonies in the eastern 1953; Sanders 2007). Atlantic, have declined dramatically and in 2000 totalled less than 600 pairs (Harris & Nothing appears to have been known of the diet Wanless 2004). Most colonies now have trivial of Puffin chicks at Burhou and this note presents numbers and that on Burhou, Alderney, the results of an attempt to remedy this. Channel Islands is one of only two remaining probably viable breeding populations south of the English Channel, and is therefore regionally of considerable conservation importance. Burhou (49o44’ N, 2o16 W) in the Alderney group is the most northerly Channel Island, about 760 m long by 300 m wide, 18 hectares in area, and 21 m above sea level at its highest point.
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Alderney – Wildlife & History in Style
Alderney – Wildlife & History in Style Naturetrek Tour Itinerary Outline itinerary Day 1 Fly Alderney and transfer to hotel Day 2 - 4 Daily programme of natural history walks and excursions around Alderney Day 5 Fly Southampton Departs May - August Focus Birds and general natural history Grading A/B. All walking will be at a slow pace, with some uphill walking on narrow coastal paths. Dates and Prices See website www.naturetrek.co.uk (code GBR49) Highlights: • An ideal holiday for the keen all-round naturalist. Enjoy spectacular Gannet and Puffin colonies. • Bird-ringing demonstration at the islands Bird Observatory. • Blonde’ Hedgehogs. • Learn about the islands history visiting fascinating historical sites. • Butterflies, moths and flora in abundance. • Exciting migratory species possible • Stay at the island’s premier hotel. Braye Beach Hotel, ‘Blonde’ Hedgehog, Gannet Colony Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf’s Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Alderney – Wildlife & History in Style Tour Itinerary Introduction Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands and, despite lying just eight miles off Normandy’s Cotentin Peninsula, it is strangely the least accessible. No scheduled ferry service links the island with either the mainland of France or England, or with any other island, and herein lies its charm – it being a peaceful backwater where the pace of life is slow, visitors are sparse and the locals most welcoming. Just over three-and-a-half miles long and a mile-and-a-half wide, it is possible to walk around Alderney in a day.
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TRIEUX RIVER … at Last !
[Type text] [Type text] [Type text] TRIEUX RIVER … at Last ! This log is about correcting a ‘cop out’ two years ago, when the objective was to enter the Trieux River, but instead headed for a wide open port, St Quay Portrieux. At least on that occasion, we reached Brittany for the first time. But with gritted teeth, we are determined to get to the Trieux this time. We, that’s me and my Victoria Frances 26 - ‘Jenaka II’ Page 1 of 16 [Type text] [Type text] [Type text] 28 May 2018 Forecast: Variable 4, NE4/5 Later Occasionally F6. 06.15 Dropped mooring EM6 Main up for visibility. Motorsailing out through the North Ships Channel, Portland Harbour. Tide near top of springs. Tidal strategy was to get neaps as I approached the Trieux River, despite the fact that springs might produce some challenges in navigating through the Channel Islands. This would be my first daylight crossing of the Channel. In the past my approach has always been to leave at night so that there was plenty of light as I piloted myself on to a strange coast, The Netherlands, Belgium and in this case France. Experience has taught me that you can do as many night crossings as you like, but approaching anywhere near the Cherbourg area at day break you will still end up ‘searching’ the coast out, as more often than not, it would be shrouded in coastal mist. Page 2 of 16 [Type text] [Type text] [Type text] Transitted the West going TSS entrance, no ships. However, approaching the East going TSS exit, several ships coming at intervals out of the TSS.
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Atlantic Puffin
by Kaja Heising Last chance to see? - Analysis of temporal changes of the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) population at Jersey, Channel Islands Introduction The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) is an iconic bird occurring on the English Channel Islands as one of the southernmost populations worldwide. The colonies breeding on Jersey and the other Channel Islands belong to the English-Channel or French-Atlantic sub- population (Young & Harding, 2008). Picture 1 Atlantic puffin photograph by Nicolas Guillod. Puffins spend the winter at sea and come ashore to breed in colonies. Usually they arrive in the Channel Islands around April and leave again around July (Dobson, 1952; Young & Harding, 2008; Miles et al., 2015). These seabirds have a slow reproductive cycle, as they are not fertile until six years of age, and then only lay one egg per year. Typically, for breeding, puffins return to the sites where they hatched by themselves (Durant et al., 2004) and Jersey, therefore, plays an important role for the annual life-cycle of this sub-population. Although there are still good numbers of puffins globally it is listed as Vulnerable with a decreasing population-trend according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (BirdLife International, 2015). Since none of the sub-populations are listed separately, it is highly possible that the French-Atlantic sub-population is even more endangered. Annually, about 580,799 pairs breed in the entire United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands (RSPB, 2015). Nevertheless, the numbers of the French- Atlantic sub-population are relatively low and have shown a continuous decrease during the 20th Century (Hooper, 2006).
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