I believe there may be a Golden Rule of patch birding - never leave your patch with the added consequence that, if you do, chances are the 'Big One' will turn up!  Well, there's nothing like learning that lesson the hard way...

Taking the opportunity to work remotely and catch up with some coastal autumn birding I headed down to Cornwall for a week on 28th Sep.  I left as the first hints of winter birding were beginning to appear at the pits.  Teal numbers had grown to 15, the odd Snipe was flying around while 5 Golden Plovers made a brief appearance on 23rd and a Wigeon was seen on 24th.  The Dartford Warbler had last been seen on 25th, a Reed Warbler on 26th and a Wheatear on 30th.

It seemed to be quietening down - or so I thought - but I perhaps should have taken the hint when Andrew Steele queried a wader he was struggling to ID on 25th.  Neither of us could relocate it and his distant photos were inconclusive and suggested an odd-looking Green Sandpiper.  It did, however, get me wondering about Pectoral Sandpiper as a possibility.  That said, I don't think Andrew's bird was, HOWEVER, late in the evening on 30th another observer reported 2 Green Sandpipers and 1 probable Dunlin...

Sure enough, I received a message from Steve Pearce the next morning saying he had an 'interesting wader' at the pits.  His description sounded a perfect fit for a Pectoral Sandpiper so I put the suggestion out on the WhatsApp group asking if anyone else could investigate.  Remarkably quickly, another local birder, John Yates, located the bird and from his photos it became clear that Stanborough was playing host to a PECTORAL SANDPIPER!

The first couple of weeks of April are almost done and I'd like to report some amazing sightings but somehow this usually peak period has drifted by quietly.  A settled area of high pressure has brought beautifully clear days with a, at times, strong and chilly east wind.  Rain and cloud cover have been non-existent and it feels as if these missing ingredients have resulted in a lack of migrant birds.  Either birds are backing up waiting to arrive or are flying over, high in the clear skies, not needing to make the usual pitstops.  That said, a steady trickle of migrants has kept things interesting if not exciting.

Full of promise and headlining the period was a stunning male Blue-headed (Yellow) Wagtail of the European race flava.  Found at the pits on 27th March the bird hung around for a couple of days giving many people the chance to view and photograph it.  A perfect picture of Spring the bird suggested the start of something special but actually heralded a quiet few weeks!

While it feels the main influx of Spring migrants has yet to come, prior to the wagtail's arrival, there had been some movement with some expected arrivals in the from of Sand Martins and Swallows​ on 21st Mar.  A Wheatear was found at nearby Nashe's Farm on the same day but it wasn't until 24th that one appeared in the big field at Stanborough GPs.  A further 3 birds were then seen on 5th & 6th April.  A slow passage for this species, especially given the seemingly ideal habitat at the pits.

An Oystercatcher also put in an appearance on 21st along with another Mediterranean Gull and a Little Egret.  The evening finished with a distant circling Marsh Harrier.

Two Dunlin were present on 22nd along with a singing Firecrest while a lone Golden Plover was seen flying around on 23rd & 24th Mar and then a flock of around 50 seen flying over on 27th. A single bird then appeared again on 5th April in the large field.  Equally brief in its visits was a single Shelduck seen on 26th & 30th Mar then on 2nd and 5th April.  Also present in the large field on 23rd Mar were a flock of around 130 Fieldfare but these had dwindled to just a handful in the first week of April.

A Willow Warbler was heard singing at the entrance on 30th Mar and various reports of a Water Pipit on 31st Mar and Rock Pipit on other dates were unconfirmed.  Yellow Wagtails of the usual British race flavissima arrived on 2nd April with at least 10 present on 7th.  Two Barnacle Geese were at the site on 4th April along with a Redshank and first singing Corn Bunting of the year.  With so much of the vegetation gone it remains to be seen whether this species will breed at the site this year.  Two Yellow-legged Gulls also passed through on 3rd April.

Good numbers of Little Ringed Plovers remain on site with at least 16 counted on 7th April.  At least 3 House Martins appeared in the hirundine flock on 6th April while the long-staying 7 Pintail dwindled to just 2 pairs and were not seen after that date.  Remaining onsite were fluctuating numbers of White Wagtails, a pair of Egyptian Geese, at least 2 Green Sandpipers and up to 3 Common Snipe.  Another welcome arrval was a Common Whitethroat on 10th April.

With many of the expected migrants now arriving (the site year list stands at 105 species) the stage is set (hopefully) for something a little more special.  Rain in the forecast still seems to evaporate before arriving and the skies are set to be clear for the foreseeable future so who knows?!

Two weeks into the year and the Stanborough Gravel Pits year list has climbed to a healthy 60 or so species.  New Year's day saw terrible wet and windy weather and yet a few of the regular species could be found - Green Sandpipers, Stonechats, Wigeon and the a Little Grebe.

The highlight of the day was a lone Golden Plover battling low against the wind and rain.  A larger group of nearly 30 were then seen on 9th with 3 on the field near the model airstrip.  A Marsh Harrier put in an appearance on 6th and a Jack Snipe was flushed on 12th.  An unusual sighting on 13th was an Alexandrine Parakeet flying over the site with the regular flocks of Ring-necked Parakeets.

Freezing conditions gripped the pits in the second week of the year and the main pit froze over save for a small pool.  While wildfowl numbers weren't as high as expected a surprise aspect of the freeze was a big increase in Mute Swans with 26 on 12th.

The first really good bird of the year appeared (albeit distantly) on 16th in the form of a Short-eared Owl.  Not recorded in 2024 it is really pleasing to get one in the first winter period.  It appeared to come up from near Cromer Hyde Farm where owls were present in 2023 but headed off NW gaining height all the time.  Hopefully it won't be the last sighting this year.  

The year finished with a variety of highlights - mostly interesting birds that lingered or reappeared and one final new species for the year in the form of 2 Jack Snipe flushed on 27th December along with at least 6 Common Snipe.  Good to know they are still visiting the site and they take the site total to 131 for the year.

A Little Owl was in its usual hole (pictured) on 7th December however, the next day, Storm Darragh brought its tree down and the hole now sits just a foot above the ground!  Subsequent visits have revealed new droppings at the lowered hole suggesting the Little Owl may have continued to visit the hole despite its toppling.

On the water, wildfowl numbers grew with at least 20 each of Shoveler and Gadwall and the occasional single Tufted Duck and Pochard.  Diving ducks seem to have pretty well vacated the site this month but the male Pintail stayed on until at least 29th Dec while Wigeon numbers peaked at 55+ mid-month.  At least one Little Grebe remains faithful to the deep pit.

The Caspian Gull reappeared on 24th along with an adult Yellow-legged Gull, the former then staying with the gull roost until 28th.

The immature male Marsh Harrier put in an appearance on 18th while a lone Golden Plover flew around the site on 26th.  Otherwise it was business as usual with up to 4 Green Sandpipers remaining on site and a flock of c80 Lapwings split between the deep pit and the new workings scrape.  At least 4 Stonechat stayed on the weedy areas while the 100-strong flock of Linnet continued to enjoy the seed-heads on the restored areas.

A final highlight, particularly as they don't seem to common this winter, were 3 Lesser Redpolls (soon to be demoted to simply 'Redpolls') that were feeding on the alders along the Coopers Green Lane border.

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!

It feels like it's been a slow autumn passage this year at Stanborough GPs but that may also be to do with the continuing in-filling work at the pits.  Very little open water is left but just enough to retain the Mallards and a surprising number of Little Grebes (10+).

The expected passage of Wheatear peaked on 8th Sep with at least 7 birds on site and a Whinchat too.  Notable too has been the evening roost of Egyptian Geese which rose to a record 65 birds on 11th Sept - possibly a County record.  The species seems to be going from strength to strength and may well be set to overtake Greylag Geese populations.

The evening of 13th Sept saw the largest flock of Meadow Pipits this autumn with over 200 birds flying around the site and over the main field.  With just one of two birds on 11th these birds are fresh in from the north.  An additional highlight of 13th was a flyover Golden Plover that dropped down into fields south of Coopers Green Lane.

The same evening also saw a roosting juvenile Dunlin at the site (see title picture) and an arrival of at least 7 Mandarin Ducks to roost - absent from the site in the last month.