 2nd cal year male Marsh Harrier on 26th June June is the pivotal month of the year when the compass swings slowly round from bringing us Spring migrants from the South to bringing us back Autumn migrants from the North. As the last Ringed Plovers of Spring departed the first returning Green Sandpiper appeared on 15th with up to 3 birds on site subsequently. Little Ringed Plover numbers also grew to at least 17 birds on 23rd June with apparent new arrivals from off site. Lapwing numbers have also swelled during the month and the first Shoveler and pair of Teal appeared on 26th. June 4th saw a young (2nd calendar year) Yellow-legged Gull on the deep pit - a species we will no doubt see more of as the the year progresses.  2nd cal year Yellow-legged Gull on 4th June The anticipated wader 'drop-ins' began with an Oystercatcher on 15th followed by a Redshank on 20th. Hopefully July will bring more waders and maybe a site tick in the from of a Spotted Redshank or Curlew Sandpiper!
A Great White Egret on 24th was the first for the year while a young male Marsh Harrier (pictured) briefly quartered the main pit weedy area on 26th. This latter species has seen a huge increase in records over the last few years and maybe in time we'll see our first breeding pair.
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 A Hobby on one of its favourite perches June is a busy month at the pits for breeding birds with many farmland birds finding the site attractive. This year an oil-seed rape crop has been buzzing with life supporting not just many insects but breeding pairs of Reed Bunting, Whitethroat and Skylarks. The field has also attracted surprisingly large flocks (for this time year) of Yellowhammer (20+) and Linnet (60+). The month as also seen a couple of Hobby visiting the site, at least 2 Corn Buntings singing from the weedy field margins and several pairs of Yellow Wagtails raising young. Pied Wagtails seem to have had a particularly good season with juvenile birds almost everywhere you look! At least 4 pairs of Little Ringed Plover have successfully hatched young although it is not clear how many went on to fledge. A pair of Ringed Plover, once a Herts breeding species, lingered to the middle of the month giving hope that they might breed but the last bird departed on 16th.  Little Ringed Plover chick Mandarin Duck numbers have fluctuated but a female emerged with 11 ducklings on 16th. Compared to last year, at least to date, the Mandarins don't seem to be having such as fruitful year and this may have something to do with increased disturbance on site and the removal of areas they would formerly have used.  The female Mandarin Duck with her brood of 11 new ducklings Both Little Owls and Barn Owls have nests on site and the Barn Owls have raised at least one chick and probably more. In addition, a Cuckoo seen on 28th gives hope that they may too have bred nearby. At least 3 singing males were present in the Spring and may well have bred around the Symondshyde Farm end of the site.
Some species appear not have faired so well this season such as Lapwing that, despite being present on site most days, don't seem to have taken advantage of the seemingly perfect habitat. Sand Martins also seemed to adopt a number of holes from last year but haven't raised young from them. That said, they remain in good numbers on site so may have bred nearby. |
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November 2025
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