Local Birding delivers

Since leaving Cornwall a week has already gone by and each day has delivered one or two additions to the 2025 5 Miles From Home List.  In fact I am 6 species up on the same date last year so the local area has certainly been delivering!  Since my Cornish trip I have added a further 17 species to the list - some of them expected such as Greenfinch, Sparrowhawk, Green Woodpecker, Raven and Red-legged Partridge but others not so expected.

The Little Owl headlining this post is always a pleasing find - especially as this one at Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits has been harder to find in recent years.  After what appeared to be a good year with 2 pairs at nest holes they then disappeared and have not been regularly seen in the last couple of years.  Knowing they are still there is reassuring as I know of at least two other sites where the main nest tree has been felled - either by the land manager or by strong winds.

Two star birds reappeared while I was away - the Yellow-browed Warbler at Verulamium Park in St Albans and the Black Redstart over-wintering in the roof of St Albans Abbey.

The Yellow-browed Warbler & the Black Redstart in St Albans

The Yellow-browed Warbler had been giving astonishing views low down at the lake's edge but I had to make-do with treetop views.  Local birder Murray Brown had re-found it on 7th January after it went missing during Christmas.  The Black Redstart - presumably last year's returning bird - was a somewhat peculiar sighting in that the bird has taken up residence in the cathedral roof.  It's believed to be feeding on a healthy supply of Ladybirds but can only be seen when it appears at a small diamond-shaped window at the west end.  I trust it knows how to get out but is no doubt benefiting from the shelter and free food!

The same day saw me visit Stanborough GPs where I flushed a Jack Snipe and Garden Wood at Tyttenhanger GPs where I found an over-wintering Firecrest - both great birds to get on my list so early on.  I was a bit slow with the camera but did manage a distant shot of the Jack Snipe as it (unusually) chose to fly around quite high before dropping back down.

Jack Snipe at Stanborough GPs

A very pleasing find on 14th came in the form of a Woodcock in a wood at Highfield Farm on the edge of St Albans.  It has become my most reliable site for the birds and will hopefully remain that way for many years more.  A dog walk around the Munden Estate, Bricket Wood the next day gave me a pair of Mandarin Ducks but these were out done on 19th with a flock of 15 at Coopers Green GPs!  The dog walk the next day brought brief views of a Barn Owl that has been regularly hunting at Redbournbury and at least 2 of the resident Cetti's Warblers there.  My list now stood at 90 species.

Distant video-grabs of the Short-eared Owl at Stanborough GPs on 16th Jan

I was extremely pleased to get the Barn Owl - after all I've yet to hear or see a Tawny Owl this year.  However, that same evening I popped into Stanborough GPs and was rewarded with a distant Short-eared Owl.  It appeared to fly up from Cromer Hyde farm but then headed off north-west flying higher and higher.  This is a real bonus bird as I didn't record one locally in the whole of 2024 despite there being 4 in the area at the end of 2023.  To have it 'in the bank', so to speak, this early on bodes well for the 2025 year list!

The week was not done however and with gulls on my radar I spent some time checking local roosts.  I trekked out to the back of Coursers Farm where a newly scraped area has been attracting gull flocks.  After some scanning I was rewarded with an adult Caspian Gull that with the Little Owl took me to #93.  A visit to Coopers Green GPs today also revealed a healthy gull roost with a surprise Great Black-backed Gull among them.  This is a bird I usually have to wait until Christmas to see and is maybe the bird that appeared at Coursers GPs this Christmas just gone.  Either way, it takes me to 94 species for my local list and begs the question as to whether 100 is possible before the end of January?  Watch this space...!

Adult Caspian Gull at Coursers Farm and a Great Black-backed Gull at Coopers Green GPs