Sacred Ibis photographed at Rue des Bergers on 0/12/2004 Photo: © Vic Froome (visit site)

The Sacred Ibis is typically a bird of sub-Saharan Africa but populations have been introduced into France, Italy, Spain and the USA. The population breeding in Brittany is expanding at a rapid rate and record from the Bailiwick is most likely from this introduced population.

The first Bailiwick record occurred in Alderney from the 10th to 27th December 2004. What was presumably this bird was found at the Claire Mare on the 27th December and it then moved to the Rue des Bergers NR that day where it remained for several days. It was then seen in a number of grassland sites (including Barras Lane and Vingtaine de L'Epine) and over the next few months and was finally seen on the 25 March 2005.