The Best Places To Spot Wildlife

Octavia Pollock goes wildlife-spotting around Jersey and its neighbouring archipelagos

- Octavia Pollock

For a small island, Jersey punches well above its weight in the wildlife stakes. In the past few years, it’s honed its conservation credentials to become a haven for birds and other animals, but the past wasn’t always so rosy.

In 2009, with developers threatening the sensitive coastal area of Portelet Bay, 7,000 islanders literally drew a line in the sand, forming a human chain from Le Braye to L’Etacq. Their peaceful refusal to give up the natural beauty of their home led to the formation of the Jersey National Park, which now covers nearly 5,500 acres, about 16% of the island.

‘Despite a modest land mass of some 48 square miles and a rising population, much of Jersey’s natural landscape remains “open for business” as far as wildlife is concerned,’ says veteran environmentalist Mike Stentiford, former president of the National Trust for Jersey (NTJ). He cites the island’s coastal landscapes, reedthronged wetlands and wooded valleys as prime wildlife-spotting grounds, with all benefitting from predator control.

‘Animals such as foxes, badgers, deer and stoats are all refused residential permits,’ he explains, ‘which means red squirrels and an indigenous charmer known as the Jersey bank vole can flourish.’