Marsh Harriers by Tony Wright Kingfisher by Tony Wright
wetlands St. Ouen's Pond
by CHRISTOPHER HARRIS, PRESIDENT, THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR JERSEY
Wetlands are vitally important habitats for wildlife. They are wonderfully rich in biodiversity and their uniqueness attracts specialist and often rare wildlife. They also regulate water regimes acting as soaks during periods of heavy rainfall, and they remove pollutants from ecosystems, acting as carbon sinks and they provide mankind with some of the most spectacular of landscapes.
“There are four main wetland
areas in Jersey - St Ouen’s Pond, Grouville Marsh, Samares and Le Marais de St. Pierre or St.
Peter’s Marsh ”
There are four main wetland areas in Jersey - St Ouen’s Pond, Grouville Marsh, Samares and Le Marais de St. Pierre or St. Peter’s Marsh. There are also further valuable wetland habitats at Ouaisne, Haut de la Marais and at Les Landes. The largest freshwater pond in Jersey is St. Ouen’s Pond, owned by the National Trust for Jersey, and designated a Site of Special Interest. St. Ouen’s Pond is also known as La Mare au Seigneur which reflects its prior ownership by the Seigneur of St. Ouen. Until the construction of the Five Mile Road in the middle of the nineteenth century the whole area could only be reached by small roads and tracks leading down to St. Ouen’s Bay from the heights above. The first known report of the pond
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dates from 1309. Landowners at this time often kept ponds on their land for fish. This was one of two traditional functions prior to the twentieth century and carp, tench, roach and eels are all still caught in the pond. The second function was as a source of reeds and up to the 1920s the reed bed was well cropped and extended around the pond to the water’s edge. Reeds were cut regularly and used for bedding and thatch.
The National Trust for Jersey has stewardship of the area, having purchased and received generous gifts of land from donors in the 1970s and 1980s. The Seigneur of St. Ouen sold the pond itself to the National Trust in 1975. The pond and its surrounding reed beds covers an area of 25 vergées but the total area of the habitat sites around the pond and including the meadows and the orchid fields is 266 vergées, much of which can be accessed by the public along pathways across the area.
The pond is most important for its bird life. Large numbers of ducks, geese and waders rely on it for breeding and as a haven during
winter. Over 200 species of bird have been recorded as visiting the Pond, particularly in the spring and autumn as birds migrate across continents. Here they stop over to rest and to feed on the pond's fish. Typical of the migrating birds is the lapwing, which travels each autumn from Scotland to West Africa, returning in the spring and spending a few days at the pond en route. The Brent Goose is the most intrepid traveller, flying in the spring each year from South Africa to Jersey and thence to Siberia, returning in the autumn. Then there are the birds of prey. St Ouen’s Pond is a fantastic place to watch Marsh Harriers and some argue that the pond is the best place in Britain to see them. Marsh Harriers are normally quite shy birds, often only being glimpsed at a distance, but the St Ouen’s harriers come very close to the viewing areas. They first bred at the pond in 2001 and now between four and seven pairs attempt to nest within the reed beds each year. They are present at the pond throughout the year but the best time to see them is either in the spring, when they perform dazzling courtship rituals, or during late afternoons in November, when resident birds are joined by offspring
Jersey’s declining
Lapwings by Mark Andrews
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