 Late November proved to be quite a quiet period at the pits so just a few highlights to mention along with the usual increase in wintering wildfowl and Lapwing numbers (c200). The 19th saw the arrival of a lone Barnacle Goose that stayed until 26th Nov. The day before a Marsh Harrier put in an appearance while a Great White Egret flew over on 29th but did not land.  Barnacle Goose The real highlight came on 28th Nov with a male Pintail gracing the far end of the main pit. It's been a good year for Pintail records at the site with this being the 4th record this year involving 10 different birds. The bird remained to the end of the month and on to 1st Dec. Scraping the barrel a bit but 3 Grey Partridge put in a reappearance along with 7 Red-legged Partridge - perhaps heralding further releases. New game feeding stations are also in evidence so their days could be numbered! A highlight for me was a particularly beautiful evening on 28th Nov when the Barn Owl chose to sit out in its recently adopted hole.
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 After a quiet autumn period the first week of November saw some welcome variety with a steady trickle of migrant birds visiting the site. Unsurprisingly, easterly winds dominated the period and, as usual, seemed to change things up. A male Marsh Harrier on 3rd Nov seemed to herald a few arrivals - 3 Wigeon that increased to 4 on 7th, at least 5 Golden Plover flying around the site and a huge flock of 400+ Linnet in the fields. In addition, a peak count of 8+ Common Snipe on 3rd joined up to 6 Green Sandpipers, a flock of 60+ Lapwing and up to 3 pairs of Stonechat around the site. The young male Marsh Harrier hunting at the far end of main pit The 4th Nov saw the arrival of a Dunlin and the 5th a smart adult female Shelduck. The Barn Owl was also back at its hole that evening.  An adult Yellow-legged Gull joined the afternoon roost on 6th November. The gulls seem to like the newly scraped exposed mud on the edge of the deep pit. The area also looks good for waders and maybe will be as the ground matures and provides more invertebrate food. The main pit however is clearly still attractive to waders with a Redshank appearing on 8th Nov.  Adult Yellow-legged Gull on 6th Nov  A distant view of the Redshank on 8th Nov The real highlight of the week however came on 9th Nov with the discovery of a smart male Black Redstart that spent the day hopping around the newly formed earth bank along the track. While it had gone the next day many local birders were able to see it and it becomes #128 for the site year list. A few more shots of the obliging Black Redstart on 9th Nov While the Black Redstart charmed another bird puzzled - appearing to be the site's first Caspian Gull, closer scrutiny suggested it may have been a hybrid with a Herring Gull. The bird gave a very 'Caspian' vibe with its bulk, extremely long legs and white head. It also had a nice white underwing and clean black tail band in flight. However, small notches on its tertial feathers, heavily chequered inner greater coverts and heavy anchor-marked scapulars suggested at least some Herring Gull influence. Despite the bird's stand-out 'presence' among the other gulls it sadly does not make it on to the site list. It surely must soon though!  Putative 1st winter Caspian Gull on 9th Nov that appeared to be a Herring-Caspian Gull hybrid. Regardless of the disappointing outcome the Caspian-type gull provided further education on the pitfalls of gull ID and the challenge of pinning down pure species. Equally, the first week of November was by no means disappointing and delivered a welcome variety of birds to spice things up after a dull autumn!
 September and October proved to be very quiet as far as autumn migrants were concerned and in that respect a little disappointing. However, on a positive note, heavy rainfall quickly re-filled the main pit and other areas such that plenty of open water with muddy margins still remains. In addition, quarrying operations have by and large ceased for the winter period leaving the site relatively undisturbed and ready for anything that might be passing. There have been some highlights however - the best perhaps being an adult Mediterranean Gull (first for the site this year) that joined the gull flock on 8th Oct. The gull flock also attracted an adult Yellow-legged Gull on 26th Sep. A flyover Great White Egret on 30th Sep took the site total for the year to 127 species.  A poor photo of the adult winter Mediterranean Gull on 8th Oct Marsh Harriers continue to visit the site with the possibility of up to 3 different birds - a juvenile, a young male and a female. Single records came from 30th Sep, 8th & 16th October. Saturday 2nd Oct saw 3 Ringed Plovers visit briefly which, along with arriving Lapwing (62 on 21st Oct), Common Snipe (10+ on 11th Oct) and up to 3 virtually resident Green Sandpipers, were the only waders recorded in October. Summer migrants had pretty well gone by the end of September with the last Swallow seen on 11th October. The last Hobby was seen on 30th Sep and a Wheatear was present on 28th Sep with House and Sand Martins having gone early in September. The usual winter arrivals have taken their place with at least 3 pairs of Stonechats regularly on site and a few Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and Tufted Ducks making an appearance, albeit in very low numbers. Sep 24th saw the first 2 Wigeon with 3 together on 5th Oct. Perhaps the highlight for me has been a Barn Owl that has sat out in full view on a number of evenings, preening and stretching before heading out to hunt. Hopefully, the pits will see some more action soon - there's plenty of possibilities, among them Rock Pipit, Black Redstart, Short-eared Owls and, of course, rarer geese or swans.  Wigeon |
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