 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! Blue-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava flava on 27th & 28th March 2025 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. Migrants on 21st March 2025 - Oystercatcher, Little Egret & Mediterranean Gull 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. 2 Dunlin on 22nd Mar & the lone Golden Plover on 5th 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. Yellow Wagtails, a White Wagtail & Common Whitethroat 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?!
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 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. The Redshank feeding on 11th Mar Otherwise, the usual parallel trends of growing flocks of winter birds feeding up before leaving and others pairing and courting with a view to breeding have been evident on site. The Fieldfare flock enjoying the turnip field has stabilised around 200 birds while Common Gull numbers have diminished being replaced by increasing numbers of Black-headed Gulls. A female-type Marsh Harrier was seen on 7th and on the same day at least 24 Common Snipe were flushed from the main weedy area along with at least 3 Jack Snipe. In the same area a single Stonechat was last seen on 3rd and may be the last sighting until they return in late summer post breeding. On the water, wildfowl numbers have generally fluctuated day-by-day but overall have increased. Around 30 Teal, 5-10 Wigeon and up to 50 Shoveler remain on site along with up to 20 Gadwall and well over 30 Tufted Duck and just one Pochard. Mandarin Duck number remain around 12 birds with a peak of 16 on 7th but mostly now paired up. A Great Crested Grebe visited again on 3rd and a pair of Little Grebes are now exploring nesting sites around the deep pit. Coot numbers have risen to at least 5 birds and their calls are now heard constantly as they begin courtship.  Great Crested Grebe on 3rd Mar  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!
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