As I was putting the finishing touches to my last post catching up with Spring sightings so the first returning birds of Autumn appeared at the pits!

Regular as clockwork, 3 Green Sandpipers appeared on the middle pool on the evening of 19th June and a number of birds have been seen on and off since.  Another anticipated arrival was a juvenile Stonechat on 28th June - a few days earlier than usual but one of two birds noted in the county recently.

A real surprise then came on 30th June with a very early  Whinchat - a smart male sat up in the main weedy area next to the dried-up main lagoon.  The last June records in Herts were from 2018 and were probably lingering Spring birds while this record seems more likely a returning migrant. 

Today Alan Gardiner found a QUAIL calling form the field along the track. A new species for the site (#165) and one that seems to be having a good year in the country with several records across Herts too.  I nipped out at lunchtime and soon heard it calling about 10 yards off the track but, as usual, heard not seen.  Hopefully it will hang around as a long-expected bird at the site and one that I have been keeping an ear out over the last few weeks knowing there are a few around.  See if you can pick it up calling inbetween the Skylark song in this video!

Two Hobbies were also present and a noisy 'cronking' Raven. Elsewhere on site the sole remaining Little Ringed Plover chick survives and is almost full-grown. Another adult may be on a nest but chicks have yet to appear.  The first fledged Yellow Wagtails are also out and about - more to come no doubt.

The Barn Owl family continue to delight too with the parent birds taking it in turns to keep lookout.

In non-bird news, a number of Fallow Deer have been enjoying the tall cover vegetation of the weedy area next to the dried up lagoon. A single Roe Deer has also been with them - always a scarcity in this part of Herts. On my wanderings I also encountered at least one Essex Skipper - my first record for the site and one of many on the wing at the moment.

Sadly the farmer has seen fit to strim between all the newly planted tree whips - an unnecessary exercise as the area would naturally scrub up if left and produce a far better ecosystem in the long-run. This is on the back of weed-killing too - all in the height of the breeding season when nesting and feeding areas like these are critical. What hope is there for nature if this is how we treat our 'green' areas?!

At mid-way through the year it is definitely time for another update! Somehow the weeks have passed and I haven't got round to updating and Spring has come and gone. It proved a quieter one and has done for many other patches but undoubtedly in Stanborough's case, contributed to by the loss of the main body of water.

A summary of highlights will therefore suffice but one or two in particular stand out.  March closed with the first 2 Sand Martins of the year sneaking through on 31st and a Great White Egret visiting the middle pool - the first record since 14th Feb.

April then opened with a bang on the 3rd with 2 WHITE STORKS picked up heading northeast along the line of the A1 motorway.  Both birds were un-ringed and, as such, make it on to the Stanborough List as species #164

Of course, White Stork sightings are producing a growing conundrum for recorders as to the provenance of this species. Traditionally, un-ringed birds were considered wild while ringed birds were attributed to released birds and therefore treated as 'escapees'. Of course, if the ring could be read, the bird occasionally did prove to be a wild bird from a continental ringing scheme.

To date there are now many more release projects and not all released birds are being ringed, greatly muddying the waters.  As an additional spanner in the works, Natural England has declared that it does not believe there's enough evidence to show that White Storks were ever native to Britain! It seems we may now have a situation where any White Stork record will have to have a permanent question mark over it unless of course it carries a ring proving its wild origins! That said, as a humble local patch - it goes on the list!!

The 2 storks - it is assumed the same birds - were later picked up on the North Norfolk coast by several birders, apparently having continued their NE trajectory from Stanborough. We enjoyed distant views but, judging by the photos, the birds gave better views in Norfolk!

The storks provided the excitement of Spring but while wader passage was virtually non-existent the end of April did deliver a few welcome waders.  A Ringed Plover on 25th was a pre-cursor to more movement on 28th April with 4 Whimbrel appearing in the tilled fields near Symondshyde Farm. Later one observer found a Ruff but this did not stay long enough for others (including me) to see it. I did however pick up 5 Ringed Plovers flying through and together with the Whimbrel made for a welcome flurry of activity.

It was great to see these birds visiting the site, despite the loss of water, and also to hear their evocative 7-note calls.

As for the rest of Spring, it's very much been as expected with the bulk of arrivals throughout April and into early May and with wintering birds - snipe, wildfowl & thrushes - absenting themselves by early May.  A summary of key arrivals & departures follows:

5th April - the first Yellow Wagtail (see lead photo)
6th April - the first (and so far only) singing Willow Warbler
8th April - the first Little Egret of the year visits
9th April - 7 House Martins feeding over the site & the last flock of c30 Fieldfares are noted
10th April - the first Common Whitethroat is found
17th April - 2 Grey Partridge put in an appearance

18th April - Wheatear numbers peak at 8 with the last Wheatear staying until 19th May.  The first Cuckoo is also heard calling from Symondshyde Wood.
19th April - a Lesser Whitethroat turns up
22nd April - the first (6) Swifts are feeding over the site
25th April - a single Ringed Plover is found
28th April - wader day! 4 Whimbrel, 5 Ringed Plovers & 1 Ruff visit the site
1st May - a Sedge Warbler is singing & is later joined by another 2 singing males. To date, 2 pairs seem to be breeding
2nd May - a Reed Warbler is singing
3rd May - a russet-coloured Swallow is seen with normal Swallows on the fence wires by the middle pool - possibly an African (savignii) or Easter Mediterranean (transitiva) race? Either way a very striking bird that I managed to get a few snaps of a week later at Symondshyde Farm.

11th May - 2 Dunlin drop into middle pool

15th May - Garden Warbler singing by long pit - not a common visitor to the site
19th May - the first Hobby is seen at the site

Notable absences were Common Sandpipers (despite a good passage at other sites) and no Spring Whinchat.

With all the new arrivals the site year list has reached 108 species and the attention now turns to the breeding season. Early breeders have included Mallards (at least 2 broods), Canada Geese (at least 2 broods) & Mandarin Duck (at least 3 broods - presumably from the nearby woods).

At least 3 pairs of Lapwing have also bred while up to 3 or 4 pairs of Little Ringed Plovers have been stationed around various parts of the site.  Finally on 12th June, a pair produced 4 chicks on the 'deep pit' but inevitably these appeared to have dropped to just one chick by 19th June. Despite so much loss of habitat, these rare breeding birds have bred successfully yet again - long may it continue!

Yellow Wagtails and Skylarks seem to be having a particularly good year enjoying the farmland and no doubt soon young will appear. At least 2 pairs of Pied Wagtails have already fledged young.

I'm hoping the Little Owl seen earlier in the year is breeding while the Barn Owls have successfully raised 3 owlets in the box. Little Grebes remain on site but have yet to breed.

Despite staying into May, the male Stonechat eventually disappeared so no breeding there but a pair of Meadow Pipits may still be present although not recorded recently.  The large weedy area adjacent to the former main pit holds many pairs of Whitethroat and Reed Bunting. A fairly large (60+) Linnet flock is also enjoying feeding in the big oil-seed rape field.

June is typically a quiet month bird-wise but who knows - maybe a surprise will turn up...a Montagu's Harrier would be nice!  Insects and flowers come to the fore with Painted Lady butterflies having a particularly good year.  A single Pyramidal Orchid has also sprung up in the same area as last year.

A whole month has gone past since my last update with no real excitement in the intervening period.  However, Spring is in the air and most noticeably in the form of returning wildfowl to the site.

Like clockwork, the first Coot appeared on 3rd Feb and was soon joined by a pair of Tufted Duck on 6th Feb - much to consternation of the resident Little Grebe that had had the whole of the deep pit to itself all winter!  Along with these arrivals, Gadwall numbers have swelled to up to 80 birds with Teal peaking at 110+ birds on 21st Feb.  A few Wigeon have stayed around the site with 8 on 17th January dropping to just a pair for most of the rest of the period.  A pair of Shoveler was present on 29th Jan and a Pochard appeared on 15th Feb and stayed to at least 22nd while Tufted Duck numbers grew to just shy of 10 birds on site.  A Moorhen remained on the drainage pool while Coot numbers settled at up to 6 birds.

A flock of up to 80 Canada Geese has been present for most of the period with a pair of Egyptian Geese in the field by the deep pool and joined by another pair on occasion.  The first Greylag Geese appeared on 8th Feb and 4 birds now seem to be regularly joining the Canada flock.  With such a good winter for rarer grey geese in the country there's still hope for a passing White-fronted Goose or even Bean Goose.  Also yet to materialise are any Pintail or Shelduck.

Despite being typically quiet the last month has not been without its highlights.  A single Golden Plover was discovered in the flock of Lapwing on 22nd Jan and was present again on 24th.  While the Lapwing flock has grown to nearly 300 birds (280+ on 20th Feb) Golden Plover have been notable by their absence.  The only other waders recorded have been up to 4 Common Snipe and the occasional Green Sandpiper although the latter don't seem to be regularly using the site at the moment.

Another welcome highlight was the brief appearance of 2 Great White Egrets on 14th Feb - a species not recorded on site last year.  Little Egrets have yet to appear at the site this year but 2 Grey Herons spent some time on the flooded fields by the woods on 15th Feb.​

After initial interest in early January, gulls have not really featured much in the last month save for a regular feeding flock of Black-headed Gulls and Common Gulls over the sheep fields.  Hopefully March will see some more passage but for now the larger gulls seem to be bypassing the site.

Stanborough GPs also continues to be a reliable site for the scarce Grey Partridge with at least 3 birds seen on 12th Feb followed by a single on 14th.  Somewhat easier to come by were up to 5 Red-legged Partridge on 11th Feb with 2 jousting males on 17th.

A particular feature of this winter has been the presence of Crossbills in the adjacent Symondshyde Woods and these have regularly strayed over the site during the last month.  Other flyovers have included several Siskins and a few Redpolls but not in any great numbers.

At least 4 pairs of Stonechat remain at various points around the site, possibly even 5 but these will no doubt move off as the breeding season beckons.  With breeding in mind, both Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers have begun to join the Skylark song with their own familiar repertoires.  There seem to be good numbers of Reed Buntings in the weedy area next to the main pit with additional pairs in the reeds at the middle pool.  The singing males look very fine and seem to puff up their white collars as they sing.

Spring is also in the air for the resident pair of Barn Owls that can occasionally be seen nuzzling their beaks together at the box entrance but no sign of any Little Owls yet this year.

To date the site year list stands at 81 species - a little behind last year but all to play for!  The stage is set once again for Spring migration so, with the first Swallows and Sand Martins already being reported elsewhere in the country, hopefully we'll see some action soon.

Rather than write a lengthy review of 2025 I thought I'd simply summarise in a paragraph or two...

Despite misgivings about the future of the site at the start of the year, 2025 proved to be one of, if not the, best years on record with 134 species recorded over the whole year - 3 up on last year.

An additional 7 new species were added over the course of the year taking the all-time total to 163 species.  March saw the addition of a smart summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe followed on 13th April by a distant Purple Heron part of an influx into the country that week.  An overdue Crossbill became the first known record for the site on 6th July with many more arriving later in the year.  September saw the addition of a stunning male Redstart on 14th followed by the discovery of a Dartford Warbler on 21st - one of several that appeared in the County from autumn onwards.  The year saved the best to last however with a Pectoral Sandpiper found on 1st October that lingered a few days and then a Lapland Bunting on 4th November.  If accepted, the latter would be a first for the County.

The year also saw the addition of two new 'escapees' that fall short of truly wild status: an Alexandrine Parakeet on 13th Jan and a Bar-headed Goose on 21st May.  Both very smart birds and worthy of note regardless of their status.

Once again the New Year presents a very different site from that of January 2025.  Much of the worked gravel areas and open water have gone with just 3 key pools remaining.  These are also subject to reduction by pumping and still their future remains uncertain.  Elsewhere most of the land has been returned to arable/sheep-grazing fields, divided up by new fencing and presumably eventually hedgerow planting.

All of this means that it is likely that the site will not be as attractive to birds as it once was but while areas continue to be disturbed and worked there is hope.  Whether Little Ringed Plovers and Sand Martins will still find areas to nest in remains to be seen but based on other restored sites around St Albans it seems unlikely.

As well as the so-called 'restoration' work another dynamic seems to be at play.  The latest tool in the developer's arsenal - Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) credits - have meant that areas such as Stanborough GPs may well form part of a 'BNG Habitat Bank'. Developers elsewhere (anywhere!) can purchase 'offsite' BNG units thereby fulfilling their obligations to increase biodiversity.  They must be able to demonstrate a minimum 10% uplift in biodiversity (not much really) so to make it even easier it is best if the banked habitat is degraded first so its low biodiversity can be quickly and cheaply 'upgraded'.  The lower the biodiversity the higher the value to a prospective developer looking to offset the destruction elsewhere caused by their development.  Such cynical calculations may well be the justification for the degrading of Stanborough GPs witnessed over the last few years, rather than the embracing of its already excellent biodiversity.

Perhaps the ray of hope is that, in time, the biodiversity of the site will be uplifted, but I suspect in a very 'managed' way producing a shadow biodiversity, a poor imitation of a truly re-wilded state.  Some hope may also be held in the identification of the site in the new Local Nature Recovery Strategy as ear-marked for wetland habitats.  Only time will tell but history is not encouraging on this front and I, for one, struggle to feel too optimistic!​

Many of the birds present at the end of 2025 are still on site, including at least one Jack Snipe and some Common Snipe too.  Three Wigeon appeared on 10th and rose to 7 on 12th.  An adult Yellow-legged Gull was a nice find in the gull flock on 10th and was followed by a first-winter bird on 16th.  The same day also saw the French-ringed Great Black-backed Gull first seen at Coursers GPs further south join the gulls in the sheep field.  A species that was not recorded at Stanborough last year and in generally very scarce in the County.

Another highlight of the New Year so far has been the continuing presence of Crossbills in Symondshyde Great Wood.  With good numbers still present in the woods it means they occasionally venture into Stanborough GPs boundaries with a flyover flock of at least 10 on 13th and at least 3 birds in trees bordering the site on 16th.  As they gather to leave for their breeding grounds I'm sure there'll be more records for the site too.

At least 2 Barn Owls are in the box while a Green Sandpiper has been frequenting the site as has a Little Grebe.  Other site faithfuls include up to 5 pairs of Stonechat over the whole site and a flock of c.100 Lapwing roosting on the workings.  As yet Golden Plover are yet to appear in any numbers but this seems true of other regular sites too.  A family party of 3 Mute Swans has been visiting regularly and, while wildfowl numbers are almost non-existent, a flock of at least 60 Teal were present on the middle pool on 16th.

​To date, the site year list has reached 60 species with plenty more (hopefully) still to come.  Late January can see the start of late winter movements as birds get ready to depart - perhaps evidenced today (16th) in the increase in Meadow Pipits on site.

The first week and a half of March saw some much warmer weather with temperatures reaching a heady 18 degrees Celsius.  South-easterlies also felt promising but those elusive Spring migrants are still awaited.  New planting has begun (following and perhaps prompted by the recent hedge destruction) and hopefully new good habitat will grow up along the track bank in time.

​Despite the lack of Spring migrants a few highlights have headlined the period and are indicative of the changing season.  New for the year, a Shelduck appeared for one day on 2nd and another 2 on 11th.  Also new for the year, up to 3 Barn Owls have been present on site with one regularly hunting the back of the turnip field.

The real highlight came today, along with the 2 Shelduck, in the form of 2 Redshank feeding along the edge of the main pit.  Hopefully harbingers of more wader passage and certainly an expected arrival in early Spring.  Along with the Shelduck and Barn Owls, they take the site year total to 89.  The first White Wagtail of the year was also with the Pied Wagtail flock.

Despite the restoration of much of the site 2024 proved to be another very good year for birds at Stanborough Gravel Pits with 131 species recorded, just one shy of the total for the previous year.

In all, 5 new species were added to the site list taking the all-time total to 156*.  First to be added were the 9 Brent Geese that appeared at the site on 11th March and later in the day a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen by one lucky observer - another new record for the site.  The day proved exceptionally good and can be read about here.

April saw the addition of a Sandwich Tern - seen by just a few observers - and then a Spoonbill in July seen by just one observer.  The final, and somewhat expected, addition came in December with the arrival of a 3rd winter Caspian Gull that then stayed to almost the year end.

In addition a number of escapes provided added interest in the form of a White Stork ringed at the Knepp Estate in Sussex.  On 16th May a pale-morph Lesser Snow Goose joined the goose flock and tempted thoughts that it might possibly be genuinely wild.  However, without a ring to prove it one way or the other, it is most likely a roving bird from a feral flock elsewhere.

Aside from the new additions, 2024 also held some real highlights on the wader front with the freshly scraped areas clearly proving attractive to migrant waders.  The 3rd May saw the site's second Avocet, 3-4 Little Stints on 21st & 22nd May, and both Spring and Autumn Wood Sandpipers.  Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Grey Plover and Sanderling also put in a good showing with a very smart summer plumaged Grey Plover from 15th-16th May.

While no evidence was found of breeding Lapwing this year, Little Ringed Plovers did breed successfully with at least 3 pairs raising a brood.  The site continues to be the main breeding site in Herts for this rare British breeding bird.  Little Ringed Plover numbers peaked at 17 on 23rd June and the last birds seen on site were on 15th August.   A lingering pair of Ringed Plovers gave hope that this former Herts breeding species might consider staying but they eventually left by the second week in June.

Other notable breeders at the site included Mandarin Ducks (although numbers were down on the previous year) and both Little and Barn Owls.  Sand Martins are likely to have bred but in small numbers while a pair of Corn Bunting may also have bred.

A number of birds recorded in 2023 were not seen in 2024 - some less surprisingly than others.  Garganey, Whimbrel and Ruff were surprise absences while Bewick's Swan and Turnstone less so.  The removal of the large scrubby area as part of the gravel pits restoration work meant that Sedge, Reed and Grasshopper Warbler were not recorded on site - a real loss as at least 2 of those species bred in 2023.  Common misses included Bullfinch, Brambling and Garden Warbler while Water Pipit and Tree Sparrow absences were less surprising. 

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.