Pre-Spring Update

A whole month has gone past since my last update with no real excitement in the intervening period.  However, Spring is in the air and most noticeably in the form of returning wildfowl to the site.

Like clockwork, the first Coot appeared on 3rd Feb and was soon joined by a pair of Tufted Duck on 6th Feb - much to consternation of the resident Little Grebe that had had the whole of the deep pit to itself all winter!  Along with these arrivals, Gadwall numbers have swelled to up to 80 birds with Teal peaking at 110+ birds on 21st Feb.  A few Wigeon have stayed around the site with 8 on 17th January dropping to just a pair for most of the rest of the period.  A pair of Shoveler was present on 29th Jan and a Pochard appeared on 15th Feb and stayed to at least 22nd while Tufted Duck numbers grew to just shy of 10 birds on site.  A Moorhen remained on the drainage pool while Coot numbers settled at up to 6 birds.

A flock of up to 80 Canada Geese has been present for most of the period with a pair of Egyptian Geese in the field by the deep pool and joined by another pair on occasion.  The first Greylag Geese appeared on 8th Feb and 4 birds now seem to be regularly joining the Canada flock.  With such a good winter for rarer grey geese in the country there's still hope for a passing White-fronted Goose or even Bean Goose.  Also yet to materialise are any Pintail or Shelduck.

Wildfowl variety - the pair of Egyptian Geese, 2 of the Greylag Geese with the Canada flock and the Pochard.

Despite being typically quiet the last month has not been without its highlights.  A single Golden Plover was discovered in the flock of Lapwing on 22nd Jan and was present again on 24th.  While the Lapwing flock has grown to nearly 300 birds (280+ on 20th Feb) Golden Plover have been notable by their absence.  The only other waders recorded have been up to 4 Common Snipe and the occasional Green Sandpiper although the latter don't seem to be regularly using the site at the moment.

Single Golden Plover with Lapwing on 22nd Jan

Another welcome highlight was the brief appearance of 2 Great White Egrets on 14th Feb - a species not recorded on site last year.  Little Egrets have yet to appear at the site this year but 2 Grey Herons spent some time on the flooded fields by the woods on 15th Feb.​

After initial interest in early January, gulls have not really featured much in the last month save for a regular feeding flock of Black-headed Gulls and Common Gulls over the sheep fields.  Hopefully March will see some more passage but for now the larger gulls seem to be bypassing the site.

Stanborough GPs also continues to be a reliable site for the scarce Grey Partridge with at least 3 birds seen on 12th Feb followed by a single on 14th.  Somewhat easier to come by were up to 5 Red-legged Partridge on 11th Feb with 2 jousting males on 17th.

Red-legged Partridges on 17th Feb

A particular feature of this winter has been the presence of Crossbills in the adjacent Symondshyde Woods and these have regularly strayed over the site during the last month.  Other flyovers have included several Siskins and a few Redpolls but not in any great numbers.

At least 4 pairs of Stonechat remain at various points around the site, possibly even 5 but these will no doubt move off as the breeding season beckons.  With breeding in mind, both Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers have begun to join the Skylark song with their own familiar repertoires.  There seem to be good numbers of Reed Buntings in the weedy area next to the main pit with additional pairs in the reeds at the middle pool.  The singing males look very fine and seem to puff up their white collars as they sing.

Spring is also in the air for the resident pair of Barn Owls that can occasionally be seen nuzzling their beaks together at the box entrance but no sign of any Little Owls yet this year.

A posturing Reed Bunting & the resident Barn Owl pair

To date the site year list stands at 81 species - a little behind last year but all to play for!  The stage is set once again for Spring migration so, with the first Swallows and Sand Martins already being reported elsewhere in the country, hopefully we'll see some action soon.