Alderney Nature Diary

(included to bring records up to date)

Weather report for December 2009

With only 3 totally dry days, December had about 35mm more rain than both last year and the long term average. It was however still only the 8th wettest December since 1955 and by coincidence but usually in different years, the 8th wettest year in total, with 1960 topping the charts with 1199.4mm.

Sunshine was noticeably lacking, 17 hours less than 2008 but still 9 hours more than the average for December. In compensation the total for the year was the highest ever recorded, with only 1955, 56 and 59 previously recording over 2,000 hours.

Temperatures and barometric pressure were slightly lower than usual except for the actual lowest temp, with frequent Atlantic lows covering the islands. The few flurries of snow or hail melted almost immediately on contacting the ground and we had no air temperatures below zero at Platte Saline.

Winds were no stronger than usual but more prolonged at the higher speeds with several unpleasant days from the NE giving several hours of negative wind chill factors, but averaged SSW-SW for the month as usual.

Figures for comparison with December last year and the 20-year average.

Year	2009	2008	20-year average
			1989-2008
Rain mm.	134.0	96.5	99.7
Sun hrs.		82.0	54.3
Max. temp recorded °C	13.4	14.4	14.2
Min. temp recorded	2.1	5.7	1.6
Mean day temp	8.4	11.0	8.8
Total rainfall for year, mm.	867.1	804.9	729.2
Total sunshine for year, hrs.	2505.5	1934.9	1869.0

2009 monthly figures

Maximum figures in each line in red type, minimum in blue

Year 2009	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	TOTAL
Temp. highest °C	11.2	12.3	14.8	18.8	20.1	23.1	25.0	26.0	22.2	20.7	16.9	13.4
Temp. lowest °C	-1.1	-0.9	1.8	4.2	5.9	8.9	12.4	13.2	10.4	7.7	6.4	2.1
Average daily Max.	10.1	9.1	11.6	10.5	12.7	19.2	20.2	19.8	19.5	16.7	15.7	10
Average daily Min.	4.5	4.9	6.1	4.2	10.0	12.9	14.5	15.0	14.3	12.8	13.6	6.3
Monthly mean °C	6.4	6.9	8.6	10.5	12.4	15.3	16.9	17.4	16.5	14.6	10.4	8.4
Rain mm.	99.97	62.03	48.99	36.48	27.76	43.6	74.34	13.2	33.3	79.99	213.46	133.98	867.12
Sun hrs.	82	128	272	296	289	364	324	245	243	130.0	67.5	65	2505.5
Barometer highest mb.	1031	1035	1034	1028	1032	1028	1025	1024	1034	1033	1019	1031
Barometer lowest mb.	969	976	980	996	1002	997	1001	1004	996	991	983	982
Barometer mean mb.	1010	1015	1016	1012	1018	1017	1013	1016	1001	1016	1002	1005
Humidity max. %	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	95	97	96	96
Humidity min. %	55	53	57	50	63	42	51	40	62	51	65	55
Humidity average %	87.1	85.4	84.6	85.9	84.3	82.1	85.4	84.9	81.5	82.7	83	83
Wind direction mean °	292	190	227	186	188	160	220	241	143	171	197	191
Wind speed max kts.	40	40	44.3	28.7	34.8	20.7	32.2	28.7	34.8	27.8	40	37.4
Wind speed mean kts.	7.9	11.6	6.1	4.8	6.2	4.3	5.8	4.5	6.5	5.7	11.1	8.6

Summary for the 20 years 1990-2009

(Only 10 years 2000-2009 for parameters in red)

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
Temp. highest °C	12.6	12.6	14.9	17.0	21.0	23.6	23.9	24.2	22.1	19.1	16.1	14.1
Temp. lowest °C	1.3	0.9	2.5	3.8	6.4	9.0	11.4	11.4	10.7	7.8	4.9	1.7
Average daily Max	9.2	8.9	10.1	11.6	13.5	16.0	18.6	19.2	17.9	15.1	12.2	9.8
Average daily Min.	7.0	6.7	7.3	8.0	10.0	12.3	14.7	14.6	14.6	12.7	10.1	7.7
Monthly mean °C	8.1	7.8	8.8	10.0	12.5	15.0	16.6	16.5	16.3	13.9	10.8	8.8
Rain mm.	79.6	63.4	47.7	51.2	44.6	43.3	42.4	51.7	49.3	84.5	89.9	101.1	748.9
Sun hrs	62.1	80.8	135.6	197.0	240.7	253.9	256.6	237.5	186.2	115.5	69.2	54.5	1889.5
Barometer highest mb	1039.7	1041.6	1038.5	1035.8	1031.6	1033.9	1031.4	1030.2	1033.5	1034.4	1034.7	1038.1
Barometer lowest mb.	989.7	991.9	992.0	995.9	995.0	1002.7	999.1	1000.8	1002.2	984.9	987.4	984.2
Barometer mean mb.	1020.1	1017.9	1017.9	1017.2	1019.5	1020.2	1018.5	1019.1	1019.2	1015.9	1016.4	1018.7
Humidity maximum %	101.2	101.6	101.2	100.7	90.7	90.1	100.2	99.3	99.5	99.8	89.9	99.8
Humidity minimum %	70.4	72.9	70.9	59.0	63.6	59.3	70.9	69.4	73.6	73.9	74.9	71.7
Humidity average %	91.4	91.6	90.9	83.1	82.6	82.3	90.6	90.1	91.4	90.5	91.3	90.1
Wind direction mean °	216.4	180.6	185.9	162.3	171.0	171.0	218.7	218.7	173.6	194.1	201.5	188.9
Wind speed max kts.	48.4	46.6	45.7	35.9	40.7	40.7	34.5	32.7	36.3	44.7	45.4	52.1
Wind speed mean kts.	14.7	13.2	12.1	8.2	9.8	9.8	8.1	6.9	8.7	10.8	10.8	11.4

At this point a comparison of the annual summaries of all the available Alderney rainfall figures since 1851, which I have collected over the years, makes an interesting demonstration of the declining rainfall figures across the British Isles generally and no doubt across many other areas. The first figures 1851-60 followed by 1865-71 were recorded at the Breakwater during its construction, the next block 1906-16 were recorded in Le Huret in St. Anne by the island's Greffier. The next block from 1955-1980 at the Airport, those from 1982-97 at the Lighthouse and the remainder at my house on Platte Saline.

. a. Note the steady decline of amounts in years of high rainfall, average rainfall and low rainfall since 1960

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Alderney Botanical Report 2009

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The Alderney Wildlife Trust, of which I was again re-elected President at the AGM in May, continues to flourish and expand its activities and has cleared considerable areas of bracken/gorse/bramble scrub to the benefit of the low growing plants formerly smothered. The trust has also cleared scrub from several footpaths, especially along the coast to give access to naturalists and other walkers. We now have two areas designated by the Alderney States as Nature Reserves to maintain. The much larger reserve consists of the east coast, Longis Common, Corblets Quarry and Mannez Hill, where a second bird hide has been installed, this one at Mannez Pond at the south-eastern end of the island. The steep, watered and wooded, Val du Saue (Willow Valley), half way along the south coast has become the second and scrub cleared and part of the area replanted with native deciduous trees. A third reserve at the Giffoine on the SW tip of the island was under negotiation in 2008 but has not yet been decided.

The Essex Farm house renovation was completed with a considerable upgrading and expansion into the barn with additional showers and toilets, two large rooms which can be used as conference or exhibition rooms or alternatively temporary dormitories for visiting groups of students and the derelict outbuildings re-roofed and put in good order. The main accommodation has been occupied throughout the year by 3 and later 4 postgraduate students who, amongst other things have contributed considerably to the species recording and development of the Alderney Records Centre Website, run jointly with the Alderney Society Museum.

Several Wildlife Weekends have been well attended by both members and visitors. Daytime Wild flower and evening Bat Walks both proved very popular and several hundred people attended them over the summer. Guided walks in the town area with historical information about the various features and earlier happenings have also proved popular with both visitors and locals

The Ramsar site has been resurveyed for both plant and animal species and expanded species lists published on the Trust website <www.alderneywildlife.org>. Recording both the Flora and Fauna has been given considerably more attention this year and several new (or only the second record) plant species noted. (See below). Literally hundreds of new moth species and several dragonflies have been added to our earlier lists thanks to David Wedd a skilled, retired entomologist, and he has done considerable work with the children at both schools to encourage their interest in nature and the environment generally.

Jennie Grange (JG), a former chairman of La Société Guernesiaise's Botanical Section, retired from teaching during 2006 and moved to Alderney. She has been of considerable help in expanding the number of recorded sites of some of our rarer plants and ran two botanical evening classes at the school during 2008. Her remarriage towards the end of that year caused her to move back to Guernsey, but, having a daughter and grandchildren here, she is still a frequent visitor. Margaret Long (ML), one of the two Jersey BSBI recorders has continued her many years of regular visits to Alderney and once again has also noted several new sites for established plants.

The extension and repair of the former Watermill dam wall, carried out last year, has been most successful and a considerable lake, up to more than a metre in depth has formed behind it, as it would have been almost a century ago. This area and depth allows much of the silt to settle before it goes to the filters and pumping station further downstream.

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The newly formed lake behind the Bonne Terre dam.

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A long-needed scheme was started to harness the unused water from below the pumping station and to collect from the three other streams and road run-off along Platte Saline and Crabby Bay, filter and treat it and pump it along Braye Common into Battery Quarry was started and good progress made on installing the large pipes and control points and valves needed, so much so that in early 2010 the water collected was able to be added to the main supply quarry and in only a few weeks, with a wet winter, this had filled to the top, about 20 feet above its previous level, a condition not seen for some years and the excess was being "forwarded" to Corblets Quarry through the existing pipework. In a few short weeks this had also risen 10-15 feet and was filled to the highest level for about 12 years. The subsequent very dry spring with two drought periods in April and May failed to have any great effect on the total amount stored.

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Further work on Alderney's Ramsar site has added to the records of both the terrestrial and maritime flora lists and those of various fauna, noted in the site area.

Several visits from during the year from Dr. Charles David, who runs the recently set up Guernsey Biological Records Centre, (GBRC), and has also taken over Bridget's role as BSBI Recorder for Guernsey after her untimely death. Thanks to Dr. David, my entire 11,800+ database of Alderney records since 1824, of which he has modified the grid references to account for a large part of the long term discrepancy between the grid references obtained from the States of Alderney map and their true position on the UTM grid, have enabled me to create a new map which almost exactly coincides with the true satellite co-ordinates, and they can now be mapped, printed out and manipulated to produce various printed records and species distribution maps on both the GBRC and the Alderney Wildlife Trust Dismap and Digimap programmes. This still leaves a few species records of cliff-top plants apparently about 100m out to sea and some on the north facing beaches about the same distance inland but I am gradually weeding these out and making the appropriate corrections to their co-ordinates. I have also created a new A4 map of the island, with a (more or less) corrected grid on it and most roads and features named. This can be obtained in printed form from the AWT office or downloaded from my website <flora.org.gg> (File Alderne.gif) and is now included in all new copies of my Alderney Flora lists, books and CDs.

A much expanded update to my 1988 Flora of Alderney booklet finally made its appearance in September, now entitled The Wildflowers of Alderney. 258 pages with the several maps including the corrected island map and some 95 colour photographs, this is in A5 size and makes a more professional "perfect-bound" version with a completely updated plant list (see the "Books" page on this site). This is available from the AWT office, the paper shop and the Museum.

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New plant records 2009

Zelkova carpinifolia Caucasian Elm. Found by visitor E. Crowe 16.6.09. 2 well grown trees, 25+ years old probably. Behind roadside wall opposite Judge Barbenson's fountain. Almost certainly planted. Seemingly unaffected by several well-grown suckers (4-5m) from Dutch-Elm disease affected Elms nearby. Confirmed by BB. 1st Bailiwick record I believe. (Photos below).

Oenothera glazioviana Large-flowered Evening-Primrose. Found by BB 2.7.09. 3 plants in verge well away from houses in Val Fontaine. Last record JO 1953.

Arctium lappa Greater Burdock. Found by BB 13.7.09. 1 large plant 2m high 1.5 m across , leaves 50x35cm with 30cm petioles and solid stems. Fontaine David. Previous record was by Babington 1838. Possibly overlooked in the interim as A. minus is common.

Primula vera Cowslip. Found by LP on golf course April 2009. New site

Agapanthus praecox African Lily. Found by BB 16.8.09. 1 large clump with several flower heads deep in gorse scrub on Tourgis Hill overlooking the sea. No houses nearby. Presumably (?) from bird-dropped seed. 1st record in the wild although much planted on the island and self seeds regularly in gardens.

Agapanthus praecox African Lily. Found by BB 16.8.09. same day. Large patch on the Giffoine in gorse/bramble scrub. at least ½mile from any habitation and further from the above. 2nd record.

Cardamine flexuosa Wavy Bitter-cress. Found by BB 16.8.09. Patch in Mannez Quarry. 3rd record.

Cleome sesquiorygalis Spider Plant. Found by BB 12.9.09. About 20 plants over 50 sq. yards on a large mound of recently disturbed and screened Victorian (or possibly 1960's) quarry spoil in Mannez Quarry. 1st Island record, and possibly 1st Bailwick record. Confirmed by Clive Stace.

Nicandra physalodes. Apple of Peru. found by BB 12.9.09. more than 50 plants in flower and seed on same mound. New site.

Datura stramonium Thorn-Apple. found by BB 12.9.09. Abundant, probably over 200 plants in flower and seed same place. New site. All three spp. must be from long-buried seed.

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