 A memorable day at Stanborough Gravel Pits that delivered some fantastic birds including 2 new species for the site! For weeks the large, wet, muddy scraped area adjacent to the main pit had been looking perfect to attract something of interest and on 11th March it finally did. On that particular day I was picking up my son from Heathrow following his travels abroad so ignored the regular ping alerts on my phone. However, as we drove home, I couldn't help but notice the words 'Stanborough' and 'Brent Geese' on the screen. I then explained to my family that on our return I would have to go out immediately but would be back as soon as possible to complete the family reunion! I got to the pits by 11.30am and immediately got on the small group of 9 Brent Geese looking very at home on the muddy scrape, feeding and chasing each other about in typical Spring fashion. A new addition to the site list at #153 but more was to come... The news of 2 Curlew drew me back to the site after lunch and indeed, there they were, with the Brent Geese. In addition, a couple of Dunlin and 3 Redshank had also dropped in making it clear that a proper movement of birds was underway. A summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit was seen flying around by some and was then present on site the next day. The Brent Geese flew north along with the Curlew around 3.30pm and were later seen at Broom GPs in Bedfordshire.  2 Curlew on 11th March 2024 With quite a few birders on site it was inevitable that more would be found and indeed one lucky observer saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the hedgerow trees along Coopers Green Lane. Unfortunately no-one else spotted it but nevertheless another site tick taking the list to 154. And still there was more to come - a White Wagtail was on site and, as the day drew to a close, a Scandinavian Rock Pipit was found at the far end of the long pits.  Scandinavian Rock Pipit on 11th March 2024 The pipit concluded a remarkable day when I felt I had to pinch myself to check I was in Herts and not somewhere else like Frampton RSPB in Lincs! By the end of the day the site list had grown to 154 species and the site year list to 96. The next day, while the Dunlin and a single Redshank lingered, four Rock Pipits were found on site feeding together! The birds were always distant but included two birds transitioning into their beautiful pale summer plumage (see the rather distant 'record shots' below).
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 Not much in the way of photos to prove it thanks to heavy rain but this morning saw an influx of waders to the site. Heavy rain moving in from the southeast with easterly winds in the previous days meant the conditions overnight were ideal to bring waders down as they migrated. As soon as I stepped out of the car I could hear a Ringed Plover calling overhead and as I searched for it another bird started calling too. I picked the latter bird up first - a very early Bar-tailed Godwit - before getting on the Ringed Plover too. Both birds spent about 20 minutes circling the site calling but never seemed to land. Eventually both birds were lost to sight. However, Tom, another birder on site had already located 4 Dunlin which soon turned into 5 and were joined by a Redshank. In the process of scanning and searching the site 2 Green Sandpipers were also located. Along with a couple of Lapwing it was a 6-wader day for Stanborough GPs! Despite the rain and getting soaked the morning was a classic early Spring experience with the feeling that anything might drop in at any point. Tom had seen a pair of Pintail before I arrived and also had a probable Merlin sighting. This follows on from another 3 Pintail seen a few days ago and another Merlin sighting yesterday as it hunted the flock of 200+ Fieldfares still in the turnip field. A Little Owl was heard to call from towards Cromer Hyde Farm while a Great Crested Grebe graced the main pit - just the second record this year and a scarce visitor. A pair of Little Grebes and a pair of Mandarins also remain on site.  Great Crested Grebe  On Friday 1st March, just as I was leaving the site, a local resident described to me a massive bird they had just seen flying off from the site towards Hatfield. It sounded like a White Stork from their description and I couldn't quite believe I had been on site and missed it! Sure enough, the next day, a White Stork was reported further east along the River Lea near Essendon. Although not relocated over the weekend I decided nevertheless on Monday to drive over to Essendon to check if it had reappeared. Driving along the fast B-road I glanced right over the flooded fields and there it sat, next to the River Lea in full view! My immediate thought was to establish whether the bird was ringed or not and thereby ascertain if this was a genuine wild bird or part of a re-introduction programme. Some shakey video taken from next to the busy road gave me the answer in the form of a blue leg ring numbered GB9U.  That the bird was ringed confirmed it as part of an introduction programme and therefore not technically wild. Until such time as the British populaton of White Storks can be proved to be self-sustaining, ringed White Storks are classed as Category E that includes escaped birds and other introductions.
A quick email to the White Stork Project revealed that this bird is a male and was hatched in the wild at Knepp in West Sussex in 2022. It was then confirmed as being in Calais in February 2023. Presumably the bird has travelled even further south for winter and is now returning (as it would in the wild) to breed. Hopefully he will find a mate and somewhere to breed...maybe even in Herts.  Pintails on 28th February 2024 At last it feels like Spring may actually be here and visiting the gravel pits comes with an air of expectancy as to what might have turned up! A particularly wet day on 22nd February saw the arrival of 4 Dunlin at the edge of the smaller pool along the track. No doubt pushed down by the rain they spent the day by the pool but were gone the next day. With them arrived the first Mandarin Ducks of the year with 2 males chasing a female bird around on the same pool. A single Dunlin was also present on 6th March.  Mandarin Ducks on 22nd February 2024 Easterly winds then delivered the first White Wagtail of the year on 26th February before bringing 3 pairs of Pintail on 28th February. Pintail are scarce in Herts away from Tring Reservoirs so to have 6 of these beautiful ducks felt very special. A single female was also present later at the site on 7th March.  Female Pintail on 7th March 2024 More easterly winds helped bring more waders and the first Redshank of the year appeared on 5th March typically staying for just the day. A Black-tailed Godwit was also seen flying high over the site on 7th March - a wader that we should see more of as the Spring progresses!  The Herts Bird Club held its annual conference on Sat 2nd March 2024 and featured a talk on the Birds of Stanborough Gravel Pits by me, Rupert Evershed! The talk covered many of the avian highlights of the last three years and expressed hope that, despite plans to restore the pits to farmland, some valuable wetland would remain. The talk can be viewed below: |
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