Birdwatchers’ cover blown in order to replace old hide
WEAR and tear over the last 20 years has meant one of Guernsey’s hidden-gem bird hides needs to be replaced.
Keen birdwatcher Vic Froome has built almost all of Guernsey’s bird hides with the help of a few good friends.
In the late 1980s he built one on a concrete base at Claire Mare, between Perelle and L’Eree.
‘The structure itself is wooden, but the very rigid base meant it would survive for a long time – which it has,’ Mr Froome said.
After two days of taking the old bird hide down, and another two days filling in the ground to make it safe, it will soon be replaced with another wooden hide of the same size in the same place.
‘The hide here is fantastic, it’s open 24/7 every single day of the year and overlooks the large stretch of pond,’ Mr Froome said.
‘Lots of different species of ducks can be seen here – coots, moorhens, lots of rare birds like little egrets, grey herons of course, and lots breed in the reeds around the pond as well.’
The new hide might take two to four weeks to be installed, but when it is, Mr Froome wanted to encourage lots of people to visit.
‘I love nature – we have to try to work with it and understand it, and then you can get a real buzz from it,’ he said.
‘All of La Societe Guernesiaise’s bird hides are self-policing, and there’s always people coming and going, which is what I love about these places.’
* This story was updated on 18/9 to correct an error. Grey herrings has been changed to grey herons.
