 A few days earlier than last year but bang on schedule a Little Ringed Plover appeared on the mud this last Sunday 8th March. Such a welcome sight as it represents the first true migrant from African shores. It vanished the next day but today there were 3 on site. Whether they will find the site suitable for breeding this year is another matter. Work to 'restore' the remaining rough areas of the site to arable farmland is set to commence in mid-April - probably before these birds have settled into breeding. Hopefully they will find a suitable corner, possibly in the remaining workings, but I shall be keeping a close eye on any established nests! The damp, misty weather on Sunday also felt right for a Rock Pipit to drop in and while I was convinced I heard one I could not locate it. I did however find one at nearby Coursers GPs so my hunch was correct. In other news...Leading up to Sunday, the remaining week of February and the first week of March were fairly quiet but not without some highlights. The last day of February saw a 2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull on the workings and the 1st March a flyby Corn Bunting, that headed out into the big field, dropping down and out of site. A little earlier that usual but good to know they are around. The same day also saw the first Lapwings displaying and, to date, several pairs have now taken up territories. The first weekend in March saw some lovely warm weather - tonic for the soul - and with that a noticeable change in birds on site with Gadwall numbers dropping right down to c10 birds over the next few days and the lingering male Wigeon departing. Teal numbers have stayed around 40 birds although difficult to count as many hide away in the weeds. The first Chiffchaff of the year was found on 3rd March and now there are at least 3 singing birds on site. The warmth also brought a single Peacock butterfly out. Another feature of the warmer weather was the wholesale departure of the Stonechats that have been present all winter. A single male was then seen a few days later but last seen on Sat 7th March.  Great Crested Grebe on 4th March A Great Crested Grebe spent the day of 4th March on the main pit - a scarce visitor but annual around this time of year. The evening before a small flock of 27 Golden Plover flew south over the site and a few days later, on 7th, two were present on the mud for the morning. Golden Plover flock on 3rd Mar & one of 2 birds present on 7th Mar A lovely warm evening on 5th March saw me linger late till dusk while I enjoyed great views of a hunting Sparrowhawk and then a real site rarity in the form of a Roe Deer, sneaking down the the water in the last light. A Noctule Bat also came out and hunted over the site along with at least one presumed Daubenton's Bat. Sparrowhawk on 5th Mar & the rare Roe Deer in the fading light Up to 5 Shoveler have visited the middle pool on and off while at least 2 Green Sandpipers have been seen regularly. The flooded areas seem to contain many snipe with up to 4 Jack Snipe flushed and a peak count of at least 33 Snipe yesterday. Spring is definitely in the air with foraging bees and a noticeable increase in midges along the track - all good fodder for the approaching hirundines hopefully! Some notable absences so far this year in the form of Mandarin Ducks, Shelduck and Oystercatchers but there is still plenty of time for these to show up. A pair of Mandarin Ducks did fly high over the site on 8th but declined to land. Will we see the same numbers at the site as in previous years or will they turn their beaks up at the newly restored farmland? The site year list has progressed to 86 species and no doubt this is set to grow with the imminent arrival of Spring migrants. Hopefully there'll be some good ones!  One of the regular Green Sandpipers on site - a bird ringed at Lemsford Springs NR in Nov 2020
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 This morning a Black Redstart was found feeding along the track, up and down off the posts along with a pair of Stonechats. The 134th species recorded at the site this year and making it a 2-redstart year with the site's first Common Redstart back in September. A Corn Bunting was also reported this morning - another good bird for this time of year. The find brightens up an otherwise dull period with nothing much else to report. A Jack Snipe has been flushed on two occasions along with some Common Snipe but, thanks to the draining of the main pit, very few wildfowl have been noted. A few Teal appear every now and then and a male Gadwall joined the domesticated Mallards today. Up to 3 Mute Swans have also visited on and off while up to 3 Little Grebes remain, but diving ducks are yet to return.  Mute Swans on 30th November Up to 6 Grey Partridge are occasionally flushed while the odd Golden Plover has been seen flying over the site but not landing. Up to 4 pairs of Stonechat remain on site while other regulars such as the Green Sandpipers and Grey Wagtail are regularly recorded.  Male Stonechat on 19th December One positive development is the discovery that the scraped areas of the actual quarry workings are attracting a regular gull roost and Lapwing flock. The area is viewable from the public footpath adjacent to Coopers Green Lane and 30th November saw 166 Lapwing roosting on the mud. Combined with birds at Coopers Green main pit down the road it seems there is a flock of about 200 birds in the area. So far no unusual gulls have been found but late December is a good time for these to show up - including the now locally rare Great Black-backed Gull.  The scraped area in the workings Significant changes continue to the site as 2 pumps now battle the re-filling pools daily. I'm hoping this battle is lost as the whole idea of pumping such a vital resource away from the land is ridiculous not to mention irresponsible! In addition, new fencing (and no doubt eventually hedgerows) are now lining the track and cutting across the main field, dividing it into 3 smaller fields. While this may change the site dynamics in the future, for the moment the new posts provide a focal point and will possibly attract Merlin or Short-eared Owls. With plenty of water building up on site again we can perhaps continue to hope that good birds will be found despite the obvious loss of habitats. Perhaps some grey geese or a winter wader might be attracted but it was enjoyable watching a Sparrowhawk today, making use of the track pools to bathe.  Sparrowhawk on 19th December  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.  A photo (cropped by me) that beautifully captures the moment taken by Louisa Veasey as the harrier left the site on Sunday evening. The same day also saw 3 Rock Pipits at the edge of the main pit. Two flew off high while one remained, being seen the next day too.  Two of the three Rock Pipits on site on 12th Oct 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.
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