Page 113 - Alderney Regional Environmental Assessment of Renewable Energy: Environmental Report

Alderney Regional Environmental Assessment of Renewable Energy:
Environmental Report
Table 18. Recent counts (since 2000) of seabirds breeding at the main breeding
colonies in the Channel Islands
Site Species Count Type Number* Year
Surveyed
Les Etacs
(near Alderney)
Northern Gannet Occupied nests 4862 2005
Ortac rocks
(near Alderney)
Northern Gannet Occupied nests 2547 2005
Burhou
(near Alderney)
Atlantic Puffin Occupied burrows 176 2012
Lesser Black-Backed Gull Occupied nests 1236 2011
European Storm Petrel Occupied nests 60 2002
Alderney Shag Occupied nests 160 2000
Brecqhou
(near Sark)
Herring Gull Occupied sites 90 1999 - 2000
Lesser Black-Backed Gull Occupied sites 360 1999 - 2000
Shag Occupied nests 54 1999 - 2000
Guernsey Herring Gull Occupied sites 1150 1999 - 2000
Lesser Black-Backed Gull Occupied sites 123 1999 - 2000
Shag Occupied nests 96 1999 - 2000
Herm Herring Gull Occupied sites 140 1999 - 2000
Jethou
(near Guernsey)
Herring Gull Occupied sites 220 1999 - 2000
Lesser Black-Backed Gull Occupied sites 60 1999 - 2000
Shag Occupied sites 250 1999 - 2000
Les Amfroques Common Guillemot Individuals on land 105 1999 - 2000
Herring Gull Occupied sites 60 1999 - 2000
Shag Occupied nests 130 1999 - 2000
Sark Common Guillemot Individuals on land 298 1999 - 2000
Herring Gull Occupied sites 440 1999 - 2000
Lesser Black-Backed Gull Occupied sites 555 1999 - 2000
Shag Occupied nests 69 1999 - 2000
Les Écréhous
(near Jersey)
Common Tern Occupied nests 84 2000
Shag Occupied nests 108 2000
Herring Gull Occupied nests 200 2000
Devil's Hole (Jersey) Herring Gull Occupied nests 93 2000
La Chretienne (Jersey) Herring Gull Occupied nests 203 2000
Sorel Point (Jersey) Herring Gull Occupied nests 92 2000
Wolf's Caves (Jersey) Shag Occupied nests 90 2000
St. Helier (Jersey) Herring Gull Occupied nests 190 2001
* This figure is thought to be an under-estimate. The Guernsey Ringing Group, who use mark recapture methods for work on Burhou,
give population figures close to 1000 (Alderney Wildlife Trust, 2012).
(Source: Seabird Monitoring Programme Online Database; Alderney Wildlife Trust, 2012; States of Jersey, 2012)
The nearby island of Burhou is home to the largest Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica colony
found in the Channel Islands and one of the few breeding colonies at the southern edge of this
species breeding range. The breeding colony has seen a slight increase in Puffin numbers
from 127 Apparently Occupied Burrows (AOB) in 2007 to 176 AOB in 2012. The only
European storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus colony in the Channel Islands is also found on
Burhou Island (also close to the southern edge of its breeding range). A small breeding
population of 60 Apparently Occupied Nests (AON) were recorded during Seabird 2000.
However, this figure is thought to be an under-estimate. The Guernsey Ringing Group, who
use mark and recapture methods for work on Burhou, give population estimates close to 1000.
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