Jersey Naturally

Jersey Naturally

Constructed from Jersey’s famous pink granite the farmhouse dates back to 1797, but it was only in 1972 that Mr. Bob Blaney planted Jersey’s first commercial vineyard. There are now twenty acres of grapes and several acres of orchard from which they produce Jersey Apple Brandy. They also use the apples to make Jersey Black Butter which is much nicer than it sounds and confusingly isn’t butter at all – more like an apple and liquorice jam. Tours for the public run Mon to Saturday between April and October. (Tel: 01534 481 178

Puffin

Common Dog-violet

Common Whitlow Grass

Stone Chat

Geology Les Landes Les Mielles birds Shallow Seas

Geology

Many hundreds of millions of years ago, Jersey did not exist as we know it today. The Island was mostly on flat ground at the base of a volcano, in those days it was possible to walk to what is now France, and this area now known as the Bay of Mont St. Michel was under constant violent volcanic eruptions. Life form was at it's most uninhibited. Half a billion years ago, Jersey was part of a towering range of mountains, extending across most of north-west France. Nothing much grew in this area because of the flash floods, they were also the cause of the present shape of these coasts. The area of Rozel Bay is a good example of volcanic eruptions. Eighteen thousand years ago the Islands now known as the Channel Islands were close to a vast ice sheet, just 200 miles to the north. The sea level was 100 meters lower than today. The Islands were surrounded by bare wasteland. Sea levels have varied dramatically during last 100 million years. When the sea was 90 meters higher than the present level all that was visible of Jersey was an area called Les Platons. The sea settled to near its present level around ten thousand years ago. There are rocky outcrops to the north east (The Ecrehous) and the south (The Minquiers) these are accessible by boat. The Ecrehous has 33 houses and the Minquiers has a couple of fisherman's huts.

Les Landes

Les Landes is Jersey's largest area of maritime heath land. It's rugged coast faces north-west. This land is of special interest, it is covered in Gorse and Heather, there are around two hundred species of plants at Les Landes, including, Western Gorse, Broom, Thrift, Horseshoe Vetch, Common Whitlow Grass, Common Dog-Violet, Heather, Bell Heather etc... It is also the ideal habitat for the Dartford warbler. Britain's rarest resident warbler prefers low, thick gorse to provide secure nesting and cover for the winter months. At certain times of the year you will also see occasional visitors such as the Peregrine Falcon, Short-Eared Owl, Marsh Harriers, Linnet, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel and the Skylark. This area is ideal for walking and breathing fresh sea air. It is situated at the top of high cliffs. Vehicles are prohibited from the area of Les Landes. Part of Les Landes is a horse racing course, and you will also find the field for the Model Aircraft flying club.

Les Mielles

Les Mielles in contrast to Les Landes, is a low lying area of sand dunes and marshes, it stretches the full length of the west of Jersey, from L'Etacq at the base of Les Landes cliffs to La Pulente on the southern end of St. Ouen's Bay. The dunes are open to the public for long or short rambles, the last one I did here with my family was 5 hours long, this area is a site of special interest. More than 400 plant species have been identified here. Sixteen are recorded in the British Red Data book, as nationally endangered species.

The remains of centuries of fortifications can still be found at Les Mielles, including the more recent German bunkers which run the whole length of the bay.

Coastal & inland birds

There are many migrating and permanent resident birds species on and around the Island including the Skylark, sadly diminishing in numbers every year. There are also Kestrels, Eagle Owls and Barn Owls, although these can also be seen inland.

Other birds to be seen are: Meadow Pipits, goldfinches, Bullfinches and Linnets, if you don't see them you can certainly hear them. Swallows, Swifts, Wagtails, House Martins, Lapwings, Puffins, Fulmars, Oystercatchers, Shags, Razorbills, Little Stints, Dunlin, Snow Buntings, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Brent Geese and many other more common birds can be seen around the Island.

Shallow Seas

There is a fascinating world rarely explored in the shallow seas surrounding Jersey, these areas are visited by divers and snorkellers. Because the island is the most southerly part of the Channel Islands, the sea temperatures are usually higher than elsewhere around Britain. Consequently, a number of sea species that are rarely found in Britain are found here in Jersey. Among these are: Tompot Blenny, Tube Worm, Sun Star, Red Gurnard, Short Mouthed Seahorse, Conger Eel, Chancre Crab (very tasty), Plaice, Sea Scorpion, Sea Slugs, Jewel Anemone, Candy Striped Flatworm, Boring Sponge, Trigger Fish, Devonshire Cup Coral among others we also see quite regularly schools of Bottle Nose Dolphins.