Watch Out Sark! The Sark Watch Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 1 October 2015 Welcome to a very late summer issue of the Sark Watch Newsletter with a new editorial team of Esmee Byrne, Katie Knight and Phoebe Higham supported by Mrs Cottle. In this edition we review some of the activities from July and August including visits by David Wedd from Alderney and Miranda Krestovnikoff who came for the day on her way from Alderney back to the UK to enjoy some rock pooling at the Eperquerie. We also have a report about seabirds from Esmee and a report on wheelbarrow success in Guernsey. But first.... to Phoebe Higham, Esmee Byrne and Ashley Guille who all achieved their Kestrel Awards in July. All three gave presentations to the school sharing the work they had done to achieve the award. Ashley s Owl Cake Esmee s Pond Cake Phoebe and her walking stick They were all presented with books to reward their hard work and inspire them in their Ranger Award work. Esmee has decided that her area of interest is sea birds, a very suitable subject for Sark and Phoebe is keen to study the garden birds of Sark. We look forward to them sharing their findings. Ashley has moved to school in the UK and we hope he is able to inspire them and we will soon be hearing about a Watch group in Buxton.
In July we were delighted to welcome David Wedd from Alderney to our Watch group meeting. After heading down to the forest school site, members showed David the bug hotels that had been made earlier and also the bird boxes, with at least three being occupied by nesting birds before a hunt around the site looking for natural objects for our artistic creations, reflecting nature on Sark. David was very impressed with our creativity! Finn, Ashley & Mali s Duck Katrina & Cerys fish under the sea Alfie s hedgehog The group also took David on a walk around the site and showed him the Seigneurie Garden ponds where, earlier in the year, we had gathered at dusk to watch nearly twenty pipistrelle bats feeding above the waters [this was also the evening Adam fell in but we won t mention that!] A group photo to end the meeting with one of the bug hotels in the background.
On the 31 st August Miranda Krestovnikoff came to visit with her two children, on her way back from her camping holiday in Alderney to her Bristol home. The day got off to a worrying start with fog delayed flights and heavy rain meaning that the picnic at forest school s was cancelled amid great disappointment. We were very relieved when Miranda s bags turned up at La Maison Rouge meaning that flights must have flown and she must be on the island! After an indoor lunch it was decided to go to L Eperquerie for rock pooling. Sue Daly joined us and was very impressed when we managed to net a giant goby fish. After photographing it was put back in the waters to swim away at high tide. Various anemones were found as well as some very small crabs. Miranda and Esmee, buckets in hand Exploring the rock pool A group photo on the rocks before leaving the pool, blackberry picking on the way so Rosie could make blackberry and apply crumble for supper later on. The rain held off long enough for a trip to Harry s tea garden for a cream tea before returning to La Maison Rouge. We hope Miranda and her children will be back for a longer visit next year.
On the Beach in September by Katie Sark Watch members, together with their class mates have taken advantage of the beautiful sunny late summer weather, to spend time on Dixcart Beach. Class 2 spent time making music with rocks, pebbles and water as part of their sound topic as well as creating lovely sculptures out of stones. They spent time listening to the sounds of the beach and the waves splashing against the rocks. Class 1 also had a creative time on the beach, creating some interesting pictures but also finding time to have a paddle. The sea water is usually at its warmest in the autumn as it has had the whole of the summer sunshine to warm up. Even though this summer hasn t been as sunny as some, the water is just about bearable. One problem of this summer has been the number of jelly fish around Sark. Lots have been seen in all the bays and at the harbour. They have been seen in a variety of colours, purple, white, orange and brown. Katie says that she doesn t care what the colour is, she doesn t like them! The best way to treat a jelly fish sting Remove stingers. Remove any pieces of jellyfish tentacle in your skin by rinsing the wound with seawater.... Rinse with vinegar or apply a baking soda paste.... Take a hot shower or apply ice packs
Puffins by Esmee Sark has its fair share of reefs and islets, its coastal waters are particularly full of rocky outcrops which are home to a wide variety of seabirds. Shags on a rock near Maseline Harbour A gull and her young chicks There are lots of high up cliffs on Sark so there are plenty of nesting points on Sark for birds. Seabirds like to nest in little holes in cliffs nests, on ledges or in burrows. Puffins like to nest in burrows and can live up to the age of 23. They are quite unusual and Sark is lucky to have puffins who visit every spring to make their nest on l Etac to the south of Little Sark. They raise their young and then in July they fly away but we don t know where. Nobody has ever put a tracker on a puffin although we do know that they flap their wings 400 times a second! Sark Puffins swimming near L Etac Their number one enemy is the black backed gull for stealing their eggs and unfortunately there are gull on Sark ready to do this so the puffin parents have to be vigilant from early May when they lay one single egg. It takes about 6 weeks to hatch. The baby puffin, called a puffling, remains in the darkness of its burrow for the first few weeks of its life which must be a safe place to hide away from predators. A good way to view the puffins is by taking a boat trip with George Guille. A black backed gull L Etac Non Pareil
Phoebe s Garden This Summer My bug hotel has had lots of bees filling up the tubes in it. I like looking at all of the creatures in my bug hotel. The Buddleia bush in my garden has had lots of butterflies and other winged insects on it. Here you can see a Red admiral, a Painted lady and a type of hover fly. We found this eggshell and it belongs to a Wood Pigeon. Now we have 7 tubes filled up with the grubs of the bees. We took part in the RSPB Garden Watch. The most common bird in our garden is the House Sparrow; we saw 23 in one hour! For my Kestrel Award I did another bird watch and recorded all the birds that I spotted in my garden. There were many varieties including robins, blue tits, herring gulls and black birds. Look at this hairy creature! I think it is a oakeggar caterpillar.
Sark Butterflies by Joyce We get a lot of butterflies in Sark including the silver studded blue, common blue, meadow brown, small heath, wall brown, and small copper butterflies. This summer David Wedd from Alderney also found a white admiral in the field by Stocks Hotel and this was the first sighting of this butterfly in the Channel Islands outside Jersey. He also saw a long-tailed blue butterfly in the hedge by the lighthouse at Point Robert. Butterflies especially like to nest in gorse and damp places. I and my dad went to the L Eperquerie looking for silver studded blues in the summer and we saw lots. Recently I have also seen some speckled wood butterflies who enjoy feeding on the plentiful blackberries in Sark. A small copper butterfly A speckled wood butterfly A silver studded blue butterfly, the inspiration for our Sark Watch logo. Wheelbarrow Success at Floral Guernsey! With very little notice the Sark Watch Group were asked to take part in the Wheelbarrow Challenge as part of Floral Guernsey. With just three weeks the group had to design the planting of the wheelbarrow, source the plants and plant it up ready to be transported to Guernsey for judging. Katie was inspired by Freya s song my Green Bike and found an old bike wheel and bike basket to give structure to the planting. The group panicked when no plants were available from the gallery stores but luckily Lynn and Ann came to the rescue. The wheelbarrow was planted, watered and finally sent off to Guernsey on the cargo boat. The group were thrilled to hear that it had been awarded a Silver Gilt Certificate. With more time to prepare, we hope for even greater things next year!
To create factual and fun ways to investigate our surroundings To increase understanding of our environment To foster awareness of the world we live in To encourage a caring attitude towards wildlife To ensure young people s ideas, concerns and opinions are recognised and developed Sark Watch Group is now in its third year and already has five Kestrel Award winners! Everyone is welcome to come along and take part in events and have fun. Winter Eperquerie Walks Enjoying and recording the sights and sounds of late autumn and winter. Meet 10.30am at the Island Hall Saturday 31 st October Saturday 21 st November Saturday 12 th December Other events coming up include A Winter Litter Pick Art Workshop Fundraising Event Look out for details