Open viewing

Hides to seek along the Five Mile Road, by Mike Stentiford

It’s uncertain as to whether there’s a collective word for bird hides although, should one be needed, perhaps a ‘connection’ would serve the purpose well. The term ‘connectivity’ would certainly be applicable to the bevy of close-knit bird hides and screens dotted along the landward side of St Ouen’s Bay.

While the National Trust for Jersey’s excellent wetland centre - opened in January 2004 - is by far the most popular and prestigious of the bay’s timber-built viewing hides, other somewhat more secretive and modest structures compete for their own fair share of west coast individuality.

Some 40 years ago, one or two very basic and admittedly uncomfortable hides overlooked the reedbeds at La Mare au Seigneur (St Ouen’s Pond). Sadly, the ravages of time, usage and weather eventually took its toll, leaving only fond memories for those, now at a mature age it should be said, who nevertheless managed to capture many a contented birdwatching moment.

The first serious attempt at siting a purpose-built bird hide in the bay took place in the early 1980s. This was when the Jersey branch of the Young Ornithologists Club (YOC) put in a formal request to the National Trust for Jersey to build and site a modest little timber structure alongside the Trust’s pond and reedbeds, opposite Kempt Tower.

Having gained permission, an unusual step was taken to invite ten young student architects from Highlands College to design something both adequate and appropriate. This they admirably did with the winner receiving the princely sum of £25 for such skilful endeavours.

Prior to the hides prefabrication, skilfully undertaken by a DIY team of ‘YOC dads’, an on-site visit by a UK representative from the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Trust resulted in the arrival of a generous grant towards the cost of materials.

Half a century later, this modest little four-seater, pond-side bird hide still stands secretly hidden deep within a willow copse.

In April 2010, a brand new purposebuilt bird hide focussed its timber viewing slats over the freshwater expanses of the Simon sandpits at Le Braye. Its opening to the public came as a result of an amicable arrangement between Simon Sand and local conservation group, Action for Wildlife.

This substantially built timber structure, affectionately known as the GaP, is still very much in avian-spotting demand. The initials G and P are in fond memory of two of the Island’s most respected and sadly missed environmentalists, Gerard Le Claire and Pete Double.

In October 2010, yet another specifically built bird hide came into regular operation, this time overlooking an area of shallow wetland known as ‘the scrape’. Designed and constructed on behalf of the National Trust, this solid twinsided viewing structure replaced a sadly ‘past its sell-by date’ viewing hide built during the 1990s by the late Eddie Buxton.

Now affectionately recognised by local birdwatchers as ‘Eddies Hide’, its modest interior attracts what might best be described as the more astute ornithologist and, in particular, those with a serious passion for bird photography.

The fact that St Ouen’s Bay has such a remarkable diversity of freely accessible bird hides and screens - six in total - says much about the wealth of avian activity throughout this, the largest designated expanse of the Jersey National Park.

Their presence also indicates just how seriously the Island’s ‘watchers of birds’ recognise the importance of non-disturbance at a time when, sadly, far too many species of bird are facing a relentless barrage of challenges, not least an alarming decrease in their populations.