Alderney Wildlife Week

23rd to 30th May

A packed programme of wildlife events organised by the Alderney Wildlife Trust.  Activities range from bird spotting, boat trips, to evening talks about moths.

Butterfly Walk –Tuesday, 8 May 2007.
For a tiny island only a few miles wide an astonishing 30 types of butterfly call Alderney home. Perhaps even more astonishing is the fact that the island has its own entomologist, or insect expert. Whilst Alderney resident David Wedd actually specialises in moths he has an extensive knowledge of butterflies as well.

Alderney is blessed with some very rare visitors including the ‘Large Tortoiseshell’. There have been four sightings of this rare and beautiful creature. The Glanville Fritillary, named after Lady Eleanor Glanville who caught the first specimen in the 1690s, is another visitor. Extinct from the mainland and Jersey a few can be found in Guernsey and Herm whilst thousands come to Alderney.

Butterflies are in fact a very good indicator of the quality of the environment. Because they are so short-lived any changes to their habitat can be seen by studying the amount and type of butterflies.

Shoreline Survey - Thursday, 10 May 2007
On Thursday 10 May, Guernsey born botanist Jennie Grange, took a walk on the shoreline. She explained tat many of our vegetables are actually descended from shoreline plants. The Common Beetroot is descended from the Sea Beet, whilst the Radish hails from the Sea Radish.

The pretty Sea Kale has an aroma of honey when in flower. Rock Samphire smells of shoe polish. Fennel is a well known ingredient in fish recipes and grows along the sea shore. The group then made an historic discovery. The first ‘Curry Plant’ in the wild in the Channel Islands. When its leaves are rubbed they have a strong curry flavour, chicken Bhuna to be precise. Although they are to found in rockeries throughout the islands this was the first recorded instance of a plant in the wild.

Another plant that captured everyone’s imagination was the Bog Plant. This used to grow at the ‘bottom of the garden’ and with its soft leaves was used as a substitute toilet roll. Plants may not be the most exciting things but no one can say they aren’t important.

For more details please contact Alderney Wildlife Trust tel 0044 1481 822935