Wildlife
Alderney is a magnet for birdwatchers. The island's proximity to France means that species found on mainland Europe but not in Britain, are sometimes seen here.
Birdlife
Thanks to a keen interest of many islanders in their natural heritage, the wildlife on Alderney is in safe hands, from the famous blonde hedgehogs unique to the island, to the multitude of gannets on the incredible gannetries at Ortac and Les Etacs. About 7000 pairs nest here, totalling approximately two per cent of the world population. Les Etacs is arguably the most easily viewed colony in Europe.
Alderney has 260 species of birds that has made the island their home including puffins, pulmars, guillemots, Dartford warblers and peregrines, and many interesting continental visitors can be seen as they stop off here on migration.
The island of Burhou, which lies one and a quarter miles northwest of Alderney was granted a Ramsar designation in 2005. Low-lying and uninhabited it is only half a mile long and one fifth of a mile wide and home to 11 species of breeding birds including the puffin.
The Island's official bird recorder produces an annual Ornithological Report which provides a seasonal account of Alderney's feathered residents and visitors. For further information please contact the Alderney Wildlife Trust on tel 01481 822935 or email ecologist@alderneywildlife.org
For the Alderney Wildlife Sightings page visit www.alderneywildlife.123guestbook.com
Blonde Hedgehogs
One of Alderney’s more unusual residents is the blonde hedgehog which is unique to the island. The origin of this nocturnal creature, that carries no fleas, remains a mystery, although some claim the first species arrived on the island in the 1960’s in a Harrods shopping bag. Not albinos, these hedgehogs have a rare recessive gene giving rise to beady, button-black eyes and attractive creamy coloured spines.
Flora
Alderney’s mild climate encourages an abundance of wild flowers – over 1,000 species of which more than 200 are winter flowering. Many gardens feature Mediterranean and Southern Hemisphere plants. The cliff paths are surrounded by superb wild displays. Wild orchids colonise the commons, whilst the intriguingly named Bastard Toadflax plant makes its home close to the sea along the east coast.
Alderney possesses an extremely rich natural flora. In relation to its total area of just under 2,000 acres, there are more species recorded than almost anywhere else in the British Isles, with some 1034 species having been recorded at various times since the earliest records published in 1839. Of these about 850-900 are currently to be found in the wild.
Subscribe to our newsletter 