After a quiet few weeks of mild and sometimes wet and windy weather the daily searching has paid off!  A visit yesterday evening, saw me scanning the huge flocks of Skylarks mixed with Meadow Pipits and large flocks of Linnets.  I was almost done but as I scanned yet another group of Skylarks another smaller, more rusty-coloured bird was also moving along with them, very much in their slow, low-to-the-ground style, but clearly not them.

On the first good view as the bird appeared from behind the furrows of soil I knew I had a LAPLAND BUNTING!  The usual panic then ensued as I tried to fit my scope-phone adaptor to my scope, relocate the bird and start videoing!  All of this I did but, need I say typically, as I pressed record everything flew off.  I have a short clip of video with blurred soil and some fuzzy flying birds!  I'd like to say the header photo is of the bird but it is one I took in Cornwall last year of a far more obliging bird.

I watched the sub-flock of around 30 Skylarks fly across the track and away - at one point I thought I could hear a call reminiscent of a Lapland Bunting but wasn't sure.  Either way, it disappeared and a 5-hour search this morning from first light was unsuccessful.  I shall continue to search, as I'm sure others will as, if accepted by the rarities panel, this will be a first for Hertfordshire (rather surprisingly).  An inland Lapland Bunting on the deck is a rare thing so re-locating it would be a very popular outcome.

Searching for the bunting did reveal a few other birds including at least 2 Corn Buntings with the flock of Skylarks, 6 Grey Partridge and 4 Crossbills.  Two males and a female of the latter species perched up in the tree by the ruin giving excellent views before flying over to the puddles on the track to drink.  They were only there briefly before they headed towards Symondshyde Great Wood where there is no doubt a resident flock this autumn .

In other news, the site has been fairly quiet but highlights included a male Brambling with the finch flock along the track on 16th-18th October.  Two Crossbills circled the site on 26th Oct and the juvenile Merlin was seen again in flight.

A drop in temperatures (albeit short-lived) on 23rd Oct saw 6 Green Sandpipers roost and Teal numbers increased to over 40 birds.  The Teal were also joined by an immature male Wigeon on various dates along with a few Shoveler.

Work at the site continues apace with land drainage completed in many sections and the worked areas quickly tilled and seeded by the farmers.  Attention has now turned to the main pit which is sadly being drained and exactly how much of that will be left remains to be seen.  'Enjoying it while it lasts' is the order of the day and the site is still playing host to a great variety of birds as the ground continues to be worked.

The number of small birds on site has been increasing rapidly over the last few weeks with the arrival of many Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Skylarks.  This must all be enticing to birds of prey and indeed a Sparrowhawk has been regularly seen harrying the flocks along with up to 3 Kestrels.

A particularly large 'dump' of small birds - including a 300+ strong flock of Linnets - seemed to occur on 12th with misty, damp conditions during the first part of the morning.  I stationed myself on the track and, as I have done many times before, imagined a Hen Harrier skirting the back edge of the big field before hunting over the main pit weedy margins.

The raucous cries and caws of Rooks and Carrion Crows startled me from my day-dreams and I put my binoculars to my eyes and...picked up a ringtail Hen Harrier, making its way along the back edge of the large field!  It then began to hunt over the weedy area at the back of the main pit before dropping down into ground cover.  I couldn't quite believe it!

I took some very distant and somewhat shakey record shots and video to confirm that it was indeed a Hen Harrier and not a rarer form.  Unfortunately the corvid ranks were not as delighted as I was and rallied to drive the poor harrier up high and away offsite heading southeast.  I assumed that was the last we'd see of it but a message came in later on that the neighbouring farmer had seen it over his fields in the afternoon.

Others re-located it in the rough fields adjacent to Cromer Hyde Farm that had previously hosted 4 Short-eared Owls.  Unfortunately the mobbing continued and the harrier was last seen heading south just before sunset.  The harrier takes the site year list to 130 and is the first record at the site since one on 24th October 2022.

With the continuing abundance of potential prey items at the site it was perhaps no surprise that the next day saw another bird of prey visit - a Merlin (#131 for the site year).  Rather obligingly it perched up just 50 yards away on the new fence along the track.  The video below records some of my best views of the species ever - likely to be a juvenile bird.

The presence of so many flocks of small birds on site has brought an air of excitement to the recent visits, spiced up by the activities of these scarce raptors.  With the first flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares arriving in the county this state of affairs will hopefully continue for the next few weeks.  Autumn is in full swing but worthy of note also was a late Sand Martin on 6th October.

While the search for the recent Pectoral Sandpiper proved predictably fruitless it did however yield some nice autumn birds.  I'll take these as consolation prizes and proof that it's worth keeping looking.

First up, were 4 Stonechats followed by a late first-winter Wheatear enjoying the newly dug drainage pipe mounds.  Skylarks and Meadow Pipits continue to move through the site along with an increasing number of Reed Buntings.  Three Little Grebes continue to frequent the deep pool along with a Grey Wagtail and it was while observing this latter bird that I notice the star bird of the day - a Rock Pipit!

A pretty scarce bird in the county, Stanborough Gravel Pits does well for this species with Rock Pipits visiting annually and this the second record of the year following a Spring bird on 16th March.  In classic form, it crept along the edge of water, taking a bath at one point before preening on the bank.

Some photos of the Rock Pipit with a video of it preening below.

I mentioned the Wheatear enjoying the newly dug drainage pipes and this work represents another major step in the site's 'restoration' to farmland.  Many hundreds of metres of perforated pipe are being laid underground every 20 metres or so on all the slopes.  These then feed into main drain pipes that will take run-off water to both the main pit and deep pit.

While the work is fascinating to watch I can't help feeling that an awful lot of plastic is being buried in the soil and that good old-fashioned ditches might have been a more environmentally suitable solution.  Whether these drains work long-term or not remains to be seen and hopefully some water-logged areas will remain for over-wintering Snipe and Jack Snipe.

You always know it's been a quiet end to the month when Coot headlines the blog!  However, this bird that turned up on 31st Jan is the first one of the year and signals the start of some spring movement of birds.  Many more will follow and, hopefully as in years gone by, will breed at the site.

The last half of January was quiet but the site list grew steadily to 77 by the month end with singing Mistle Thrush added and 3 Pochard on 31st.  A pair of Pintail on 24th was a nice surprise along with 55 Wigeon, 27 Gadwall and a few Shoveler.  A pair of Peregrine were also in the big field on that day and at least 5 Stonechats were on site.

On the passerine front, Linnet, Goldfinch and Chaffinch numbers have dwindled and only about 20-30 Meadow Pipits are in evidence.  A couple of Reed Buntings have also been mixed in with the flock along the track.

February beckons and with it the hope of some migrant waders arriving at the site - hopefully Oystercatchers but maybe also Dunlin and Redshank.

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.