wildlife

#newyearnewme

We asked our local wildlife recorders what top tip they would give to someone starting their journey of wildlife recording for the New Year

1. Start off simple. Learn a few new species at a time and get to grips with them for a few weeks or months before moving on to others. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself with too much information to remember at the start. 

Join in a session of rock pooling searching for inspiration for live drawing. Working along close to shore this area of the bay is very accessible from town. Despite its looks, this area of rocky shore is a buzz for wildlife including sponges, fish, anemones and loads of crabs. Use guides to learn the animal names and help record wildlife for Jersey conservation.

Settle down along the shore with wildlife and enjoy the scenery whilst drawing and painting your rockpool finds. Equipment for drawing and watercolour is provided.

And we’re off – the first ‘Wildlife Warriors’ can start their trails from today! There are four trails to choose from and families can use them to:

Identify birds at Elizabeth Castle

Discover minibeasts at Hamptonne

Explore the trees at La Hougue Bie

Spot wall lizards at Mont Orgueil Castle

PondWatch is asking you this Valentine's week to look out for toads getting together in your garden. Spread the love for amphibians and watch as they head back to their ponds for the breeding season. 

PondWatch is a community science project where we're asking you to spot wildlife in your pond and share sightings to help pond conservation. Jersey has three native amphibian species, and a host of other wildlife for which ponds are a vital habitat for them to survive.   

How often would you say you are mindful?  Do you know what being mindful involves, how to do it or what it actually means? 

Earthworms are not actually a type of scientific classification but instead is the common name used to describe the largest members of Oligochaeta which are found in the phylum Analidia. Currently there are 29 species of earthworms in the UK that are considered native. And they are typically split into 3 ecological groups Epigeic, Endogeic and Anecic although some people also consider compost worms to be an extra ecological group. 

Epigeic 

The Biodiversity Centre has a huge legacy of wildlife sightings dating back to the 1800s and is one of the biggest ways our supporters can make a difference in future conservation.

Every wildlife sighting that is shared with us is stored safely for the future and is used to monitor population trends and support protected areas.

Species: The Palmate newt scientifically known as (Lissotriton helveticus) are the only species of newt found on the island of Jersey. Approximately 6cm in length with a similar appearance to the common newt. Although there are a few records on the JBC database of common newts these are most likely to be misidentified as Palmate newts. Both male, and sometimes female is characterised by smooth brown skin with lines of spots along the sides (flanks) and tail (McLaren, 2009).

Species: The Agile frog (Rana dalmatina) is unique in Jersey and is found nowhere else in the British Isles. It is no surprise that these frogs get their name as they are slim, with unique long stripey hind legs. Adults can grow up to 9cm, snout to vent length (SVL) and can jump up to a staggering 2 meters. This is particularly important when escaping from predation such as domestic cats which is a huge problem for almost every island native species. Whereas frogspawn is at risk by waterfowl (ducks) and non-native fish.