With work and being away I've got a bit behind so a brief summary of late August and early September highlights below.

18th August - the site's first Black-tailed Godwit of the year finally made an appearance, with another 2 joining it on 20th.

19th August - the Barnacle Goose was present again with the Canada Geese flock and then again on 24th.

22nd August - the site's first Spotted Flychatcher since Sep 2021 was found near the horse paddocks and then another bird by the long drainage pit on 30th.

23rd August - a juv-type Marsh Harrier was seen and a Sedge Warbler was present in the main weedy area.  At least 7 Yellow Wagtails were recorded as well.

24th August - the first 3 Meadow Pipits of the autumn appeared in the evening, coming down to drink and bathe at the edge of the main pit.  A Common Snipe was also feeding at the water's edge and Stonechat numbers rose to 4 on site.  Five Swifts were also likely some of the last to be seen this year at the site.

27th August - a Wood Sandpiper was found in the long drainage ditch with a high count of 5 Green Sandpipers and 3 Common Sandpipers.  The 4th record of the species this year.
A Wheatear was also present and found the next day too.

30th August - a Whinchat was on the new fence along the main track.

31st August - a Mandarin was present on the main pit - perhaps the last for a while?

4th September - a juvenile Little Ringed Plover was probably the last for the year.  At least 10 Chiffchaffs were seen feeding in the willows over the long drainage pit water - an area that's proving very attractive to passage birds.

7th September - the arrival of a juvenile Little Stint along with a Ringed Plover brought welcome interest to the site with the stint a site year tick.  The Barnacle Goose made an appearance along with a Reed Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat feeding in the long drainage pit.

8th September - 3 Whinchat were found and rose to at least 4 birds on 12th Sep.  These birds continue to be present on the site along with up to 6 Stonechat.

13th September - while Yellow Wagtail numbers were at 7 again, Meadow Pipit numbers had risen to at least 40 birds on site.  Swallow & House Martin passage is now a continual feature of the site along with the odd Sand Martin.

Barely had the metaphorical ink dried on my last post and the very next day it felt like autumn passage got into full swing!  The write-up has had to wait until now though as soon after I went on holiday and got back to busy-ness thereafter.

On the morning of 8th July 8 Green Sandpipers were reported so for my evening visit I had in the back of my mind that a sudden influx like this could come with a Wood Sandpiper too.  Not finding one, I had begun to pack up to leave when a wader hunched at the edge of a pool drew me back for a second look.

I had initially dismissed it as another Green Sandpiper but something about its head shape didn't quite seem right for that species.  The light was poor so I couldn't really see much else but as I continued watching so it began to feed and I realised I had a Wood Sandpiper!  Eventually it walked out of the glare and allowed the somewhat grainy record shot above. 

Other passage on 8th was also evident with an increase in gulls, including a Mediterranean Gull and a surprise early Common Gull through.  The first juvenile Black-headed Gulls also made an appearance.

Waders continued to feature during the rest of July but in a somewhat muted way.  It has officially been a poor breeding season for the Little Ringed Plovers with just a second pair raising one chick from 18th July.  This means that, in total, only three new Little Ringed Plovers have hatched this year from 2 pairs with likely less than that making it to adulthood.  It's difficult to pinpoint why it's been a poor year for them but it is likely to be a combination of disturbance at key moments in their breeding cycle and loss of habitat due to quarry restoration.

Green Sandpipers have been present throughout July, averaging about 4 birds on site with 2 ringed individuals and 2 unringed birds regularly being seen.  A Common Sandpiper appeared on 15th July and was joined by another on 19th, with a maximum of 3 counted on 27th.  Another Wood Sandpiper was seen briefly on 20th with another heard but unseen on 27th.

A Greenshank put in an appearance on 25th and an Oystercatcher on 29th.  Despite the substantial areas of exposed mud and seemingly ideal wader conditions the offering feels a little paltry for this time of year.  However, it is still early days...

Away from the water, interest included a high count of 4 juvenile Stonechats on 25th and an evening count of 167 Ring-necked Parakeets heading over the site in small groups to their roost at Stanborough Lakes.

Also flying over the site were 2 Peregrine Falcons on 26th, the first Siskin for the year on 27th and the first 3 Ravens for a while on 28th.  The site year list for 2025 now stands at 121 species.

Perhaps the most noticeable change with the new month is the arrival of large numbers of geese.  As in previous years, this seems timed to coincide with the harvesting of the cereal crops.  The goose flock on occasion has grown to almost 500 birds, among them up to 300 Canada Geese, 120 Greylag Geese and a maximum count of at least 57 Egyptian Geese on 10th Aug.

A Barnacle Goose was found with the flock on 7th and seen subsequently on and off.  The goose flock is very mobile, switching between the fields and the water and sometimes vacating the site altogether, however numbers are highest in the evening and early morning.

The first Wheatear appeared near the farm on 1st August and at least 3 were present on 14th with one seen the next day too.

In the same vein a Whinchat was found on 10th August behind the middle pool and seen again the next day - the first site record for the year.  Stonechat numbers peaked at 6 or more on 10th - all scruffy juvenile birds.

Wader passage has been almost non-existent with Green Sandpipers remaining on site but the last 2 Common Sandpipers being seen on 7th.  More noticeable has been the passage of hirundines with several flocks of House Martins (100+ on 12th) moving east with a few Sand Martins.  Swifts are also still passing through with at least 50 noted on 12th but these will be some of the last birds this year no doubt.

Yellow Wagtail passage is also underway with at 10 birds being regularly seen in horse paddocks near the farm.  Both Sedge Warbler and the site's first Reed Warblers of the year have been noted at the back of the main weedy area.  It is likely these are passage birds although it is possible they may have bred on site unnoticed. 

Perhaps the most notable record for the first half of August has been the sighting of 3 Marsh Harriers together by one observer on 13th.  The sighting involved 2 adults calling and being followed by a juvenile bird.  Harriers are certainly on the radar as they disperse post-breeding and who knows, maybe a Montagu's Harrier will come our way!

Much of the autumn remains to come and hopefully the best bits too!  It's always tricky to work out why some years are quieter than others but, given the seemingly ideal conditions, the last 2 months have not delivered the hoped for wader passage.  It is difficult to know if the ongoing quarry restoration works play a part with landscaping and new topsoil being put down - perhaps on top of formerly good feeding areas.

The 'deep pits' have been reduced to a small lake and it remains to be seen if these will be attractive to birds.  Since the new topsoil has gone down these pools have been devoid of birds other than loafing gull flocks.  The middle pool has virtually dried up while the main pit has been given an extended life as water has been pumped into it temporarily.  It too faces the same fate however with further landscaping set to greatly reduce its size.  Let's hope what is finally left recovers to attract birds and wildlife again but for the moment you can't help feeling that the site is in decline.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Starting with the 'low' and that is the inescapable fact that back-filling and 'restoration' work at the pits has continued apace.  The main pit has been drained using a pump system and just a couple of large puddles remain.  It is not clear yet how much of the pit they intend to backfill but at least half of it is ear-marked for re-landscaping.

It remains utterly baffling as to how this plan has been persisted with and, to me, appears to be a clear example of the absence of joined-up thinking.  The local farmers would have liked the water body preserved - they know they cannot farm this land as historically it has always collected water.  In addition, the local water company has been encouraging farmers to keep water on their land to avoid flooding downstream.  And yet, the gravel company has been told to persist with a plan of drainage and restoration involving pumping water off-site - something that, in all likelihood, will have to continue indefinitely.

All this while, an area rich in wildlife has been destroyed and the opportunity to create something really special for nature missed.  Of course, left to nature, that opportunity might return but once again, we as humans, seem set on fighting nature - to what end I don't know!

While water remains on site and large areas remain disturbed by diggers and the plough the attractiveness to birds and other wildlife continues at the site.  Passage this month has been slow but steady with the highlight a Wood Sandpiper on 12th August.

One or two Common Sandpipers have remained on site with varying numbers of Green Sandpipers.  Joining them occasionally have been up to 3 Ringed Plovers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, at least 5 Common Snipe and a single Greenshank.

Away from the water's edge a juvenile Peregrine has been practising hunting over the site and a couple of Grey Partridges have reappeared following the harvesting of the fields.