 Despite the cold and quiet past few weeks of February little signs of Spring are beginning to creep in to view. Easterlies have dominated the month so far with temperatures struggling to get above 5 degrees Celsius. The cold, overcast conditions have not proved conducive to early Spring passage but finally, mid-month, it feels like we may be on the brink of Spring. The sun actually came out yesterday and this coming week promises a new and warmer weather system. By the last few years' standard, returning Oystercatchers are now officially late but little clues to early movement have appeared. Today the lone and patient Coot was joined by another - I assume they can now get to the business of courtship and nest-building but I'm sure challengers will arrive! Tufted Ducks have returned with numbers now up to 13 birds and just yesterday, 3 Mandarin Ducks arrived with 5 today. Despite their love of parkland pools with mature trees for their nests these ducks seem to really enjoy the bare gravel pits and appear to find plenty to nibble at on the stony ground.  Wildfowl numbers in general have fluctuated and never seem to have recovered from the shooting onslaught unleashed by the farmer on his pet Mallards. Unfortunately, the more savvy wild ducks are quick to leave and while occasionally visiting soon vacate the site once they spot human visitors. These have included around 30 Wigeon, similar numbers of Shoveler, a few Gadwall, a single male Teal and female Pochard. Other regulars have included the 2-3 pairs of Stonechats, 2 Green Sandpipers and varying numbers of Egyptian Geese arriving to roost in the evenings. A high count of 24 birds was noted on 5th Feb. A Chiffchaff was also foraging with the Stonechats on 5th. Highlights of the first few weeks of February include 2 Jack Snipe flushed along with 10 Common Snipe on 10th Feb and an adult Yellow-legged Gull on 4th Feb. A Little Owl was also calling from its usual area on 5th and a Little Egret was noted on 1st Feb. A Great Crested Grebe on 8th Feb and a pair of Grey Partridge on 9th were also new for the site year list. With a pair of Red-legged Partridge seen on 15th the site total now stands at a healthy 85 for 2025.  Adult Yellow-legged Gull on 4th Feb 2025 One final highlight of the month so far has been the continuing sighting of Marsh Harriers with a wing-tagged bird on 13th and a male on 14th. The male has been presumed to be an immature - possibly a 3rd calendar year bird - with contrasting underwing and dark trailing edge to it wings. However, it does not appear to be the same as a similar bird seen in November 2024 that had darker wings with dark ends to its tail feathers. In addition a full adult male was seen on 26th June last year along with a juvenile and female bird. Assuming some of the sightings are of the same birds it seems that there may have been 5-6 individuals involved over the last 12 months. With records in every month for a whole year it seems to bode well for a possible breeding attempt somewhere in the area at some point. Below are 4 of the birds seen over the last year: Having recently been introduced to a paper on Marsh Harrier identification I am less sure about ageing Marsh Harriers as the paper suggests it is nigh on impossible! The paper can be found here and makes for interesting reading.
Whatever the case, hopefully these birds will continue to be seen in the area and one day stay to breed.
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 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.  The 3rd winter Caspian Gull 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. The White Stork (photo from off-site) & the Snow Goose 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.  Grey Plover Other highlights in 2024 included more records of Pintail than in previous years and many more records of Marsh Harriers with up to 3 different individuals visiting the site throughout the year. The presence of these birds begs the question as to whether they will attempt to breed in the near future - either at the site or in the St Albans area. An Osprey on 5th April was the only record for the year while up to 4 Scandinavian Rock Pipits were on site from 11th-13th March. A Black Redstart on 9th November was a welcome late autumn visitor too. Osprey & Black Redstart 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. Looking ahead to 2025...So what will 2025 hold? The site restoration work is scheduled to continue in the Spring and it is unclear how the site will eventually look. It is hoped that bodies of water will remain with attractive margins for birds. As to the longer term management of the site, that is unclear. Without any management successional growth would stifle the site and remove the scraped areas attractive to birds such as waders, not least the breeding Little Ringed Plovers. Disturbance is also a concern, not just from quarry work but also from increased shooting by the local farmer. The sighting of a fleeing fox before a fox-hunting group with horses and hounds was also a worrying development. Only time will tell but the site remains a fantastic opportunity to create a nature reserve should the landowner and land-managers be so minded. It also functions as an important flood-management system, storing water that would otherwise put pressure on the river and drainage system. The site awaits a vision and hopefully, when there is one, it will recognise the high-value of the site for birds and wider nature.  An unwelcome sight at Stanborough Gravel Pits on 5th Dec 2024 Bird-wise, hopefully 2025 will deliver the same excitement of the last few years. Some notable holes in the site list exist such as Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Common Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Hawfinch and Crossbill among others. Will 2025 see these added? We shall have to wait and see...! *Attentive readers will note that this is one down on the previous published total as Ruddy Shelduck was removed from the list as a species not yet accepted on to the official Herts List. The status of Ruddy Shelduck in the UK is currently under review by the BOU (British Ornithologists Union) but the outcome of that review is still pending. Instead, the species must be relegated to the "Escapes & Introductions" category as a non-wild bird.
 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.  The toppled Little Owl tree 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. From left to right: the 3rd winter Caspian Gull, the Caspian Gull showing primary wing pattern & the adult Yellow-legged Gull 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. Lesser Redpolls
 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.  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 |
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