What makes bird watching so exciting in Guernsey is that within a small area there are different habitats for a variety of sea and inland birds.

In addition the island is a crossroads where migrating birds stop off to feed before continuing their long passage north or south in autumn and spring. More than 100 species can be seen.

Within the space of an afternoon you can watch wheeling tern, oyster catcher, curlew and many species of small wader on the shore line, then turn inland to see Wheatear and Stonechat or woodland birds such as Blackcap and Chiff-Chaff.

Experienced birdwatchers will probably be on the lookout for rarer species like the Dartford Warbler or the Short-toed Tree Creeper.

The island is particularly ideal for the more casual bird lover or beginner because most sites are so accessible that it is easy to get quite close to the birds and identify many different species.

Catchfly and Cocks-Eggs may sound as though they belong to the world of birds but they are actually 2 of some 1500 varieties of wild flowers and plants that grow in the island.

Botanists consider this profusion to be quite remarkable and it is estimated that the ratio of different species in Guernsey outnumbers any similar-sized area in the UK by almost 4 to 1. All these different plants are found in their special habitats on cliff and common, or in the island's picturesque water and green lanes.