Ortolan Bunting photographed at Pleinmont [PLE] on 26/9/2015 Photo: © Wayne Turner (visit site)

Ortolans are widespread across much of Europe, preferring areas with a continental climate with many hours of sunshine and low rainfall. This excluded it from much of coastal western Europs including the UK & Ireland and much of northern France and the low countries. It is solely a scarce autumn passage migrant to the Bailiwick.

Neither Dobson or Smith record Ortolan Bunting. The first Bailiwick and Channel Island record was in 1957 when a bird was seen in a mixed flock of House Sparrows, Greenfinches and Chaffinches on Lihou on 7 October. The next record did not occur until 1978, a gap of 21 years. Since that date this extreme rarity has now become a near-annual autumn migrant and has been recorded in 14 of the 20 years between 1978 and 1998.

Ortolans are predominately an autumn migrant and there has only been one spring record to date, which was that of a bird at Petit Bot on 2 May 1979. In autumn, the timing of passage is fairly narrow. There is one record from August, 17 from September and 5 in October and most of the birds have been recorded during the first three weeks of September. The earliest record is from 20 August and the latest date is 30 October. Most records are of single birds but flocks of 5 birds have been recorded twice.

Ortolans tend to occur in weedy fields and in open areas. They often associate with autumn Linnet flocks. Fifteen out of 25 records are from Pleinmont but birds have occurred on other coastal headlands, such as Fort le Crocq and Fort Doyle and also along the south coast. Most records are of female/immature birds where recorded which is typical of many vagrant autumn finches and buntings. The concentration of records from the south-west of the island is probably in some part due to the amount of attention by birders Pleinmont receives in autumn. The majority are single day records but occasionally birds are seen over 2 days. There has only been one long-stayer in 1990.

1979: 1 at Petit Bot on 2 May

1978: 5 at Pleinmont on 5 September

1978: 2 at Pleinmont on 3 September

1979: 3 at Pleinmont on 1-2 September

1982: 2 between Fort Doyle and Fort Le Marchant on 19 September

1982: 1 at Miellette on 19 September

1982: 1 at Pleinmont on 3 October

1983: 1 at Pleinmont on 20 October

1983: 1 at the Reservoir on 28 October

1983: 1 at Pleinmont on 11 September

1986: 3 at Pleinmont on 12 September

1986: 1 at Fort Doyle on 14 September

1986: 1 at Pleinmont on 17 September

1986: 1 at Pleinmont, mid-month August NO SEPCIFIC DATES

1987: 2, possibly 3, at Fort le Crocq on 30 October

1988: 1 at Pleinmont on 6 September

1989: 1 at Trinity Cottages on 11-13 September

1990: 1 at Pleinmont on 3-20 September

1991: 1 at Pleinmonton 6-8 September

1993: 5 at Pleinmont on 19 September

1993: 1 at Pleinmont on 8 October

1995: 2 at Grandes Rocques on 11 October

1997: 1 probable at La Claire Mare on 11 September

1998: 2+ at Pleinmont on 19 September

1998: 2 at Mont Herault on 28 September