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About Jersey
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| Changing Seasons |
Spring (February-April)
Spring starts early in Jersey and signs of new life are evident in February. In the woodlands, Bluebells, Primose and Stichwort abound, while in the hedgerows, many varieties of cultivated Daffodil grow from bulbs which have been discarded by the farmers over the years.The Wild Daffodil, also known as the Lent Lily, can also be found by the cliffs as well as in many woodland areas.
The sand dunes have a show of Dwarf Pansy, Shepherd’s Cress & other spring-flowering annuals. Although not an indigenous species, Camellias proliferate and can be seen over many a garden wall. In late April and early May the cliffs abound with Thrift, Sea Campion and Horseshoe Vetch.
February and March see the departure of our Winter visitors and by the end of March the Spring migration is under way. The first migrants to arrive are generally the Wheatears and the Sand Martins. By the end of April they are joined by varying numbers of Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts and Yellow Wagtails - the open fields providing the best sites to see them.
Summer (April/May, June, July & August)
Puffins, Razorbills, Fulmar Petrels and the Common Tern should be looked for along the headlands and, if you can get there, the offshore reefs.
Inland, an excellent cross section of Summer visitors regularly nest in the various habitats throughout the island. These include Swallows, Sand Martins Swifts, Cuckoos, Linnets and Whitethroats.
Jersey’s mixed woodland is favoured by the breeding Chiffchaff, the Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest and Spotted Fly - Catcher. In May and early June, the hedgerows are luxuriant with Hawthorn, Sorrel, Campion and Hogweed.
This display ends, temporarily at least, when the potato season finishes and the farmers have spare hands with no work available who are then switched to hedgegrow trimming before the first of the annual wayside inspections - the Visites de Branchage.
Down in St. Ouen’s Bay the Lady’s Bedstraw, traditionally used for stuffing mattresses, can be seen. It is a small, low growing yellow flower. The Common Centaury and two sorts of Evening Primose, the fragrant and the large flowered, can be found on the dunes while, nearer the sea, grow the Sea Holly and the Yellow Horned Poppy.
Of special interest to botanists is the very rare (elsewhere) Sand Crocus, which flowers in April and May, but only opens when the sun shines. It can be found near the dunes and on the headlands, growing in the short turf.
Around the flowers of St. Ouen’s Bay can be found examples of the many species of resident and migratory butterflies and moths which flutter over the landscape doing their invaluable job of pollinating from late March through to October. The usual species of butterflies can be seen in greater profusion than in many areas elsewhere and of the migrant butterflies and moths one might be fortunate enough to see the Swallowtail, the Queen of Spain and the Humming- bird Hawk - moth.
Autumn (September, October & November)
The Spring and Summer migrants leave on their journey south, you may be able to see Pied Flycatchers, Wheatears, Swallows, Redstarts and Yellow Wagtails on the open headlands – occasionally, the rather uncommon Hoopoe as well as the Sedge Warbler can also be spotted, particularly at St Ouen’s Pond, as they head for their Winter feeding grounds.
Of those birds that remain, Little Terns & Little Gulls can be seen at St Catherine’s breakwater. Back on the cliffs, September is the time to look for wild Golden Rod, Saw-wort, Betony and Bell Heather
In the hedgerows the Red Campion and the Hogweed will flower again through the Winter, if the weather remains mild. It is during this season, in the many lanes lined with Autumn fruits, that one can see the unusual fruits of the Medlar. Very common around the island, however, are the sweet chestnut trees and the hunt for the ingredients for the Christmas stuffing as the roads become covered in the fallen nuts - thick gloves are a definite advantage!
Winter (December, January & February)
In a mild Winter, such as 1989, over 100 species, including honeysuckle and broom, were in flower during what is traditionally the dead season. These also included Winter Heliotrope and, a member of the Groundsel family unlikely to be seen in the U.K., the German Ivy.This flowers in December and its yellow flowers are most in evidence on the East coast.
By February the early cultivated daffodils bloom in the fields, last season’s discarded ones are appearing in the hedgerows and the wild ones are making their own appearance. Meanwhile the early gorse is flowering, the Camellias are showing over the garden walls and Jersey starts off another floral year.
Wintering in Jersey in excellent numbers are Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Oyster Catcher, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank and Sanderling. Added to these are Brent geese, usually in excess of 1,000 individual birds who seem, almost as much as the golfers, to prefer the fairways of the Royal Jersey Golf Club’s course at Grouville Common by the East coast.
PTGH wish to thank Jersey Tourism for their help in providing the above information.
19/01/2006
© 2006 Preston Travel Group Holdings Limited. All rights reserved.
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