landscape plans for mont orgueil

Although the historic remains form the focus of the site, soft landscaping and native plant cover produces important habitat for a variety of species as well as a setting for the Castle. Some of these are of high priority within the Jersey and British Isles context, while others are more common and widespread. This plan seeks to optimise conditions for them all, but focuses on the more important elements.

Key Species and Features

i) Wall Lizards
The population of wall lizards on the Castle is the most important in Jersey. In the British context, wall lizards do not occur naturally on the mainland, thus giving a very high value to the population at Mont Orgueil.

The basic requirements are:-

• crevices and holes in walls for shelter (which are limited to the few unpointed walls and the dry-stone walling used for the flower beds and raised path below De Carteret's rampart).
• deep crevices/holes for dormant periods in the winter. These need to be above 3°C in winter for the lizards to survive hibernation.
• a wide range of invertebrates of the right size which will be in well structured vegetation (not lawns). The lizards mostly feed on small invertebrates such as woodlice which are found in the litter layer under vegetation. The wider the range of wild plants there are supporting an equally wide range of invertebrates, the more food there will be for the lizards. More invertebrates will be associated with wild flowers than garden plants usually. In addition, since many invertebrates are associated with the litter layer beneath plants, flower beds should be full rather than have unproductive bare soil showing.
• cover from predators close to basking and feeding sites, eg. crevices, ivy or other plants. However, walls completely covered with ivy will be less valuable since basking sites are unavailable. Some ivy is desirable, but in patches toprovide an intimate patchwork of basking sites, cover and feeding sites.
• warm soil or crevices in which eggs are laid.

The lizards emerge from hibernation in mid to late April, mate and bask. The female lays eggs in May mostly in warm soil or in sheltered, warm crevices. The females feed more actively between egg laying. The hatching period is temperature dependent , but young usually emerge in mid-June. They keep away from adults which might eat them, and feed on any small invertebrates. The male feeds more evenly throughout the summer. Feeding is reduced in both sexes by about September.

This seasonal pattern of habitat requirements permits the grasslands to be cut just before and after the lizards are using them for feeding. This gives time for insect populations to rebuild as the vegetation re-grows. Fig. 1 (p3) shows the areas where wall lizards have been recorded in a survey by Courts and Feistner (1999). The main feeding areas will be close to the walls shown. The objective in the management plan is to optimise feeding opportunities in these areas. This is mostly achieved by filling flower-beds or by converting the flower-beds to wildflower grassland. In addition, particular attention is paid to the maintenance of walls free of pointing so that lizards can continue to use the cracks and fissures.

ii) Plants and Habitats
There is a wide range of common species and habitats associated with the Castle but, in addition, several plant species which are scarce in Jersey, or on the east of the island, and some habitats which are less widespread, are both worthy of integration into the Management Plan.

Particular species of interest (numbered 1-10) are shown in Table 1 (p4). These are mostly species characteristic of grassland or thin soils in rocky areas. Some have been included for their value as "castle" species, illustrative of aspects of the site's history, rather than their nature conservation value.

Click here to view Table 1

In addition to these Jersey specialities, there are also 6 species which are classified as Nationally Scarce or Red Data Book species in the British Isles, for which Jersey is often an important outpost. The species are:-

Red Data Book Species

11. Polycarpon tetraphyllum - Four-leaved allseed
12. Scrophularia scorodonia - balm-leaved figwort

Nationally Scarce Species

13. Arum italicum - Italian lords-and-ladies
14. Erodium moschatum - musk stork's-bill
15. Medicago minima - bur medick
16. Medicago polymorpha - toothed medick

Fig.2 (p6) shows where they have been found using the 1-16 reference numbers. Their location on Fig. 2 relates to the whole plot rather than a particular spot in it.

Click here to view Figure 2

There may be other species, or further locations of the species shown on Fig. 2 which could not be detected in the July 1999 survey, or are not precisely known by the Island's botanists.

The main habitat of value is grassland. Because most semi-natural grasslands in Jersey have been lost to agricultural production, the few remaining areas, even those in less than ideal condition, are of high nature conservation value. The best are rich in species, with good populations of most of these spread equally throughout the sward. Those which also support uncommon species are enhanced in value.

Fig. 2 also shows the more valuable grassland habitats. None of these are very rich or diverse, but the frequency of scarce species highlights their value. In addition, there are several rocky habitats with thin soils and a good range of non-competitive species, especially in areas 3a/b and 21 (Fig. 2).

The key requirements for the management plan to maintain or encourage such grassland and its constituent species are to minimise fertility so that species do not outcompete each other, and to remove the build up of litter and dead plants annually so that smaller plants are not swamped, and annuals (of which there are many on the site) can maintain a foothold.

iii) Invertebrates
The surveys that have been conducted by Tony Warne (Warne 1999) have revealed two species not found in mainland Britain. These are:-

- Sitona discoideus, a weevil common in mid and southern France which was found in remarkable abundance in the medick at the foot of the south facing castle walls (area 18). It has been found occasionally in other sites on the island.

-the ant Lasius emarginatus, which is common in Jersey, often occurring around buildings as well as in semi-natural vegetation.

In addition, three Red Data Book (RDB) beetles or ground bugs, and five Nationally Scarce species were also found. These are:-

Red Data Book species

Astenus procerus	a rove beetle	potential RDB
Anthicus tristis	an ant-like beetle	potential RDB
Peritrechus gracilicornis	a ground beetle	RDB

Nationally scarce species

Ectobius pallidus	a cockroach
Conocephalus discolor	long-winged cone-head
Astenus immaculatus	a rove beetle
Sunius melanocephalus	a rove beetle
Perapion sedi	a weevil

There are most likely to be other species of groups not yet widely sampled which are also important within the British Isles context. The species listed mostly require a grassland habitat with a good structure in which a dead leaf litter and debris layer can develop. Tussocky grasses are important as hibernation sites for many of the species, but one, the weevil Perapion sedi, feeds on stonecrop which grows in the dry places on top of the walls or on rocky outcrops. The ant-like beetle Anthicus tristis feeds on dead and decomposing insects, most of which will be found in the litter layer.

The survey work conducted (Warne 1999) has revealed that there is a wide range of species occupying the habitats round the Castle, but that the assemblage of species varies between the hotter, drier, south-facing slopes and the cooler, north-facing areas. Only about half the species caught were found in both areas, with more unique to the south-facing slope. Within the southern slope species, there are equally strong differences between the assemblages found associated with the short and long grass areas on and below King Charles Battery (area 18 and 18a).

The animals caught which are herbivorous were found to feed on a range of plants, but particularly species in the pea family, especially clovers, medicks and their relatives. Several species also feed on a number of more weedy species, including mallow, docks and crucifers.

The implications for management of these findings are the need to maintain both a varied structure of habitats, especially grasslands, and to ensure that a wide range of species, especially in the pea family, are present in the turf. The abundance of medicks and related species is, in turn, determined by low fertility levels, and lack of competition from more vigorous plants.

iv) Bats
All bats are protected under the EC Habitat Regulations, and although Jersey is not part of the EC, it is committed to meeting the EC environmental standards. Bats use buildings as well as woodlands and other habitats. Although there are no definite records for bats at Mont Orgueil, they have been seen flying from the Castle to feed nearby around floodlights. Pipistrelle bats may creep under the roof tiles or wooden fascia boarding (eg. above the second gate) to roost during the day, but they tend to move around between roost sites adjusting their position according to the temperature, and may use other sites as well. Bats like grey long-eared prefer an open roof space separated from the floors below. Small gaps under the edge of the soffat boards afford convenient access.

The key requirement for all bats is for wood preservatives to be bat friendly. Many of the earlier chemicals contained organo-chlorine based products, the fumes of which, even after some time since treatment, killed bats. There is a wide range of bat-friendly, but effective, treatments now available.

v) Birds
The Castle is used by a range of birds. First, it is an important location for seeing migrant species which are passing through to England or the Continent. Species include warblers, pied flycatchers, goldcrest, firecrest, starlings and finches. Some of these do not feature in the Island's bird fauna except in migration, since they breed and winter elsewhere.

A few species breed in the Castle. A kestrel pair regularly utilise the high towers or walls. In 1999, they nested in the vicinity of the Fourth Gate, having moved from the area of the building works (Busgros Tower/Cornish Bastion) due to the disturbance. Swifts are also known to nest in the roof of the Medieval Hall, and use the slits or square holes in the walls, fairly high up on the main part of the Castle.

vi) Other Mammals
There is no information on other mammals which might be inhabiting the Castle and its environs, but Caesar's Fort, in particular, provides an excellent view of the sea where dolphins can be seen, together with a variety of sea birds like fulmars. Such sightings also coincide with the Castle's history. There is a story that an 80-plus pod of dolphins was beached on La Rocque in around 1597, and being Crown property, the Governor, Amias Paulet, had the task of distributing the bodies amongst favoured islanders, presumably as a source of food. This also ties in neatly with the potential for the integrated interpretation of the Castle's history and wildlife.

The Management Plan
The species and assemblages described, provide the basis for the Management Plan, the objectives of which are:- to enhance the Castle and its grounds for a wider range of plants and animals and hence improve its biodiversity and the contribution it can make to the conservation of the Island's biodiversity;

• to improve the habitat for the very important wall lizard population;
• to increase the plant richness and diversity of the grasslands which, in turn, assist in promoting the lizard's requirements;
• to protect and conserve the rare and scarce species of plant and animals;
• to improve the habitats for invertebrates in general, and especially invertebrates which provide the food for the wall lizards;
• to accommodate bats in the Castle;
• to provide for breeding birds;
• to encourage migrants by optimising the natural food supplies;
• to reinstate the Castle grounds to resemble more how they might have been when in use historically.

An additional objective is to interpret the wildlife and historical features of the Castle, where possible, in an integrated fashion. This would, first, demonstrate to the public how valuable the Castle is and identify the key features, but it would also provide an explanation of why the Castle and its landscape was being managed in a particular way. However, although this objective needs to be actioned at the same time as this Management Plan, it is not covered in the following pages as it is to be developed by the States' Environmental Services Department.

It is envisaged that where works or activities are likely to impact important species or habitats, or when new ideas are being developed for enhancing the ecological and nature conservation importance of the site, then appropriate consultation with local specialists will be an integral part of the programme.