Spring Highlights

At mid-way through the year it is definitely time for another update! Somehow the weeks have passed and I haven't got round to updating and Spring has come and gone. It proved a quieter one and has done for many other patches but undoubtedly in Stanborough's case, contributed to by the loss of the main body of water.

A summary of highlights will therefore suffice but one or two in particular stand out.  March closed with the first 2 Sand Martins of the year sneaking through on 31st and a Great White Egret visiting the middle pool - the first record since 14th Feb.

Great White Egret on 31st March

April then opened with a bang on the 3rd with 2 WHITE STORKS picked up heading northeast along the line of the A1 motorway.  Both birds were un-ringed and, as such, make it on to the Stanborough List as species #164

Of course, White Stork sightings are producing a growing conundrum for recorders as to the provenance of this species. Traditionally, un-ringed birds were considered wild while ringed birds were attributed to released birds and therefore treated as 'escapees'. Of course, if the ring could be read, the bird occasionally did prove to be a wild bird from a continental ringing scheme.

To date there are now many more release projects and not all released birds are being ringed, greatly muddying the waters.  As an additional spanner in the works, Natural England has declared that it does not believe there's enough evidence to show that White Storks were ever native to Britain! It seems we may now have a situation where any White Stork record will have to have a permanent question mark over it unless of course it carries a ring proving its wild origins! That said, as a humble local patch - it goes on the list!!

The 2 storks - it is assumed the same birds - were later picked up on the North Norfolk coast by several birders, apparently having continued their NE trajectory from Stanborough. We enjoyed distant views but, judging by the photos, the birds gave better views in Norfolk!

The distant White Storks at Stanborough around 11.45am on 3rd April

Presumably the same White Storks picked up 3 hours later directly NE of Stanborough over the N Norfolk coast - photo by Steve Gantlett

The storks provided the excitement of Spring but while wader passage was virtually non-existent the end of April did deliver a few welcome waders.  A Ringed Plover on 25th was a pre-cursor to more movement on 28th April with 4 Whimbrel appearing in the tilled fields near Symondshyde Farm. Later one observer found a Ruff but this did not stay long enough for others (including me) to see it. I did however pick up 5 Ringed Plovers flying through and together with the Whimbrel made for a welcome flurry of activity.

2 of the 4 Whimbrel present in the morning on 28th April

It was great to see these birds visiting the site, despite the loss of water, and also to hear their evocative 7-note calls.

As for the rest of Spring, it's very much been as expected with the bulk of arrivals throughout April and into early May and with wintering birds - snipe, wildfowl & thrushes - absenting themselves by early May.  A summary of key arrivals & departures follows:

Spring Arrivals & Departures

5th April - the first Yellow Wagtail (see lead photo)
6th April - the first (and so far only) singing Willow Warbler
8th April - the first Little Egret of the year visits
9th April - 7 House Martins feeding over the site & the last flock of c30 Fieldfares are noted
10th April - the first Common Whitethroat is found
17th April - 2 Grey Partridge put in an appearance

A pair of Grey Partridge on 17th April

18th April - Wheatear numbers peak at 8 with the last Wheatear staying until 19th May.  The first Cuckoo is also heard calling from Symondshyde Wood.
19th April - a Lesser Whitethroat turns up
22nd April - the first (6) Swifts are feeding over the site
25th April - a single Ringed Plover is found
28th April - wader day! 4 Whimbrel, 5 Ringed Plovers & 1 Ruff visit the site
1st May - a Sedge Warbler is singing & is later joined by another 2 singing males. To date, 2 pairs seem to be breeding
2nd May - a Reed Warbler is singing
3rd May - a russet-coloured Swallow is seen with normal Swallows on the fence wires by the middle pool - possibly an African (savignii) or Easter Mediterranean (transitiva) race? Either way a very striking bird that I managed to get a few snaps of a week later at Symondshyde Farm.

The rusty-red Swallow at Symondshyde Farm on 11th May

11th May - 2 Dunlin drop into middle pool

2 Dunlin on 11th May

15th May - Garden Warbler singing by long pit - not a common visitor to the site
19th May - the first Hobby is seen at the site

Notable absences were Common Sandpipers (despite a good passage at other sites) and no Spring Whinchat.

With all the new arrivals the site year list has reached 108 species and the attention now turns to the breeding season. Early breeders have included Mallards (at least 2 broods), Canada Geese (at least 2 broods) & Mandarin Duck (at least 3 broods - presumably from the nearby woods).

Female Mandarin Duck with ducklings on 29th May & Canada Goose pair with goslings on 1st May

At least 3 pairs of Lapwing have also bred while up to 3 or 4 pairs of Little Ringed Plovers have been stationed around various parts of the site.  Finally on 12th June, a pair produced 4 chicks on the 'deep pit' but inevitably these appeared to have dropped to just one chick by 19th June. Despite so much loss of habitat, these rare breeding birds have bred successfully yet again - long may it continue!

The parent Little Ringed Plover with 4 newly-hatched chicks on 12th June

Yellow Wagtails and Skylarks seem to be having a particularly good year enjoying the farmland and no doubt soon young will appear. At least 2 pairs of Pied Wagtails have already fledged young.

I'm hoping the Little Owl seen earlier in the year is breeding while the Barn Owls have successfully raised 3 owlets in the box. Little Grebes remain on site but have yet to breed.

An adult Barn Owl keeping watch (sort of)

Despite staying into May, the male Stonechat eventually disappeared so no breeding there but a pair of Meadow Pipits may still be present although not recorded recently.  The large weedy area adjacent to the former main pit holds many pairs of Whitethroat and Reed Bunting. A fairly large (60+) Linnet flock is also enjoying feeding in the big oil-seed rape field.

June is typically a quiet month bird-wise but who knows - maybe a surprise will turn up...a Montagu's Harrier would be nice!  Insects and flowers come to the fore with Painted Lady butterflies having a particularly good year.  A single Pyramidal Orchid has also sprung up in the same area as last year.

Pyramidal Orchid