ALDERNEY WILDLIFE TRUST

01/09/2026

🌟 This week’s sightings board is up!

📒 If you spot wildlife on Alderney, please submit your wildlife sightings to iRecord, iNaturalist or the Alderney Biodiversity Centre website. By doing so, you're contributing to the understanding of the island's nature and biodiversity.

If you spot invasive flatworms, please report to https://www.alderneywildlife.org/report-invasive-flatworms

31/08/2026

Join us in the Marine Tank Session on Monday, 31st August, 3.30-4.30 pm at Moorings

It’s the last Marine Tank session of the season.

🦀Come have a look at a wide range of marine creatures that live on the rocky shores of Alderney. We will have a huge spiny starfish, pipefish, clingfish, sea urchins, green ormers, crabs, sea slugs and many more!

The event is free. Donations would be gratefully appreciated. The Moorings Alderney

27/08/2026

🙋 We asked the students who did a week of volunteering on Alderney for their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award: What do you feel you have learned or achieved?
Some of their answers are:
‘Everything we did was linked and I learn more about teamwork and communication.'
‘Litter picking and MCS Beach Cleans – more to it than I thought, and the long-term impact it can have to wildlife. i.e. Gannets’

🌊 In the week commencing 10th August, we worked with Youth Commission for Guernsey and Alderney to support 11 students aged 17 to 20 in their DofE volunteering placement. They took part in a variety of activities, including beach cleans, Sour Fig removal, post-Alderney Week litter picking, 🦋 moth trapping with moth recorder Lou Collings, a Pacific Oyster invasive species walkover with Living Seas Coordinator Dr Mel Broadhurst-Allen, rockpooling, preparing the Marine Tank session for the public, and a bat and hedgehog walk.

🌳 Based on their experience on Alderney, they also completed an ‘Alderney project’. This project includes two deliverables: (1) the creation of an annual youth programme that provides a dedicated week for young people on Alderney, and across the Channel Islands, to complete a similar range of activities; and (2) a dedicated nature route that encourages the whole community to discover, explore and find invitations to enjoy nature.

Over their week on Alderney, the students had a ‘good variety of tasks’ and felt like they ‘were making a difference’.

💚 We’re delighted to know that the students had a great time volunteering and growing on Alderney.

❤️ Supporting students in their Duke of Edinburgh volunteering section and work placements is part of our ‘Wilder Learning’ Project. These activities depend on the availability of the Trust’s resources.

Photos by Abigail de Castella and Lou Collings

26/08/2026

We're proud of our Action for Wildlife Team and grateful for the support we receive from our lovely volunteers.

The AWT's Action for Wildlife Team and volunteers meet every Wednesday and Saturday, 2-4 pm for hands-on Conservation Volunteers sessions.

25/08/2026

🌟 This week's sightings board is up!

The highlight of last week's sightings is a Passenger moth recorded in Le Colimbot garden on 21st August. It is a rare record for Alderney as it is the second (official) record since 2006.

It is a continental species, occurring in southern Europe and Africa. In Britain it is a rare vagrant, and has only been recorded on a small number of occasions, all in the southern counties, usually with no more than one or two in a year.

📒 If you spot wildlife on Alderney, please submit your wildlife sightings to iRecord, iNaturalist or the Alderney Biodiversity Centre website. By doing so, you're contributing to the understanding of the island's nature and biodiversity.

Video of a sea hare by Leigh Porter

19/08/2026

This year, we started using thermal drones to monitor seals. Check out this short video to see how it works.

This survey is part of Alderney State of Nature Project which build...

18/08/2026

🌟This week’s sightings board is up!

The highlights include two sightings of Praying Mantises, one at Hammond Memorial and the other at Saye Campsite. We’re not sure whether they were the same individual.

Around this time last year, a Praying Mantis was also reported near Whitegates.

Praying Mantises are not native to Alderney and may have been blown across to the island. They are predatory insects that ambush other insects and feed exclusively on live prey. They get their name from the way they hold their raptorial forelegs, which can look as though they are praying.

Botanically speaking, Autumn Lady’s-tresses orchids have also been spotted at Picaterre.

📒 If you spot wildlife on Alderney, please submit your wildlife sightings to iRecord, iNaturalist or the Alderney Biodiversity Centre website. By doing so, you're contributing to the understanding of the island's nature and biodiversity.

13/08/2026

🦋 Moth trap opening
Check out the collection of moths recorded on 24th July and 8th August from the moth traps in Longis Road Garden.

If you’d like to observe a wide variety of moths up close and learn about why we record moths, feel free to drop by our Moth Trap Opening at Essex Farm (Longis Bay), Saturday mornings, any time between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM. The end time may vary depending on the number of moths recorded that day.

Moth trap openings are weather-dependent and subject to change based on the availability of our moth recorders. If you plan to visit, please stop by the office and let us know or dial 01481 822935.

📸 Photo credits: Lou Collings