Local Wildlife Sightings April 2025

 Following (apparently) the sunniest March on record (and also the driest March on record in my garden), the sunshine continued off and (mainly) on throughout April - what a change from last spring! This spring's weather reminds me strongly of the sunny spring days that we saw during the Covid lockdown year of 2020. Of course, all types of weather, with the possible exception of warm sunshine mixed with heavy showers, bring problems for wildlife, and the rock hard ground will not help ground feeders, such as Blackbirds and Song Thrushes, find food. One issue for 'local patch' bird watchers is that passage migrants will head straight through to their breeding grounds, rather than pausing en route. There was a noticeable lack of Wheatear sightings in Hertfordshire in the early spring and it was no surprise for me to find no sign of these attractive birds locally, throughout the month.

One passage migrant that has been seen in big numbers in the south east this spring is Little Gull. I managed to catch up with a couple (an adult and a first summer bird) at Dernford Farm Reservoir, near Stapleford, on the 4th. This small reservoir (you can walk around it in 15-20 minutes) is a magnet for migratory gulls and terns in what is otherwise a dry area, and wild Ruddy Shelducks are occasionally attracted here from time to time by the farmer's menagerie of captive wildfowl, which includes Ruddy Shelducks.

Record Shot of Two Little Gulls (foreground) with a much larger Black-headed Gull, Dernford Farm Reservoir, 4 April

Two Swallows were feeding over Phillup's Lake when I paid a visit on the 6th, but Chiffchaffs (lots) and a few Blackcaps remained the only other summer visitors seen on my local patch by the end of the first week. However, a visit to the compost heaps north of Ashwell on the Eyeworth road on the 7th proved productive, with at least nine Yellow Wagtails, two White Wagtails (the European, nominate race of our Pied Wagtail - a spring passage migrant) and a male Reed Bunting (my first Hertfordshire sighting of the year) all feeding on the flies that are attracted to this very smelly 'hill'.

Male Reed Bunting, Ashwell, 7 April

Yellow Wagtail, Ashwell, 7 April

The warm, sunny days (albeit followed by cold nights) brought out the insects. My first Speckled Wood, Orange Tip and (by now a local rarity) Small Tortoiseshell were seen on a walk with my partner up the Icknield Way to the 'Fox and Duck' in Therfield on the afternoon of the 5th. Orange Tip and Speckled Wood butterflies were also seen along the main ride at Scales Park on the 7th (where I again failed to record any Marsh Tits), two Holly Blues were seen near the Ivy in my front garden on the same day and a Large White was seen near the Ashwell compost heap, again on the 7th. Bee Flies were seen everywhere, as were small numbers of hoverflies. I will definitely have to bring my macro lens out of hibernation!

Male Orange Tip Butterfly, Scales Park, 7 April

Small Tortoiseshell, Therfield, 5 April

Speckled Wood, Scales Park, 7 April

I was away for five days in the middle of April and again for three days late in the month. This, coupled with a hectic schedule that always occurs at this time of year, meant that my local walks were sporadic. Common Whitethroats arrived in big numbers during the second and third weeks, and by the end of the month I reckon that about 15 males were singing across The Heath. Lesser Whitethroats arrived later and in smaller numbers, but unusually I saw two of this very skulking species (out of three recorded) on a walk up to Hatchpen Farm on the 30th. Yellow Wagtails arrived back earlier than usual at Hatchpen (I don't normally see them here until May), with two recorded on the 18th and three on the 30th. On the first date a male White Wagtail was also seen here. A House Martin was seen over Phillup's Lake on the 23rd and Swallows were seen at most of the local farms by the end of the month. A Willow Warbler was singing in scrub and trees off the Old Rifle Range on the 17th and his beautiful song was heard there until the month's end, raising hopes that he might stay to nest if a suitable female arrives. Amongst the resident birds, my best sighting was of a pair of Little Owls at the private site to the south of Royston. Perhaps they might breed this year (there has been no sign of breeding since 2023)? A Tawny Owl was heard on a few occasions close to the house, with two calling on the evening of the 21st. A pair of Grey Partridge were seen on the Old Rifle Range on the 28th. Once again, there was no sign of Ring Ouzels, although a 'short-stayer' may well have passed through without me being in the right place at the right time to see it. Phillup's Lake was quiet, with Little Grebes still present (heard more often than seen). A pair of Tufted Ducks were present here on the 23rd.

Male White Wagtail, Hatchpen Farm, 18 April

Common Whitethroat, Therfield Heath, 22 April

On the evening that I saw the Little Owls I also saw a Badger trundling down a nearby path. Badger setts are common in the Royston area, but despite my often being out at dusk I rarely see their occupants. Fallow and Muntjac Deer were seen out in the fields to the south of Royston.

The weather got hotter and hotter towards the end of the month. A good selection of butterfly species were seen, with Orange Tip and (particularly) Green-veined White prominent. Another Small Tortoiseshell was seen along the Greenwich Meridian (GM) trail on the 30th. Two Small Heath butterflies were seen on The Heath on the 29th, a day earlier than my first sighting last year. With Brown Argus and Common Blue butterflies being seen elsewhere in Hertfordshire, it should not be long before they (and possibly Adonis Blue) are seen on The Heath too. A colony of small mining bees (species unknown) was establishing itself along the GM path leading south out of Hatchpen Farm, close to where there used to be a colony of Hairy-footed Flower Bees before the diggers got to work. A few of my invertebrate images are shown below.

Dark-edged Bee Fly, Fox Covert, 22 April

Green-veined White on Bluebell, Fox Covert, 22 April

Small Mining Bee on the Path, Hatchpen Farm, 30 April

 

UK Wildlife Sightings, April 2025

 With the weather continuing sunny and settled, I decided to make my now annual (I used to go there more regularly) visit to RSPB Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire on the 2nd, for my first sightings of Gannets, Kittiwakes and Auks. Puffins are always the last of the auks to arrive, and I only saw a handful on the cliffs, with small numbers also on the sea. However, many hundreds (possibly thousands) of Guillemots and Razorbills were present, with huge rafts on the sea and plenty on the cliffs. Guillemots tend to nest lower down the cliffs whereas Razorbills sit higher up, sometimes at the top of the cliffs, and these birds turned out to be the stars of this particular show. One pair, in particular, proved to be very photogenic as they engaged in bill touching, yawning and mutual preening (a few of the many images that I took are shown below). The high contrast between the very dark heads and 'whiter than white' breasts makes it very challenging to photograph these birds in bright sunlight without getting 'blown highlights' or faces so dark that the eyes aren't visible, so some careful post-processing was necessary - these images are far from perfect, but they will have to do!

Razorbill Pair 1, RSPB Bempton Cliffs, 2 April

Razorbill Pair 2, Mutual Preening, RSPB Bempton Cliffs, 2 April

Razorbill Pair 3, RSPB Bempton Cliffs, 2 April

I had expected to take lots of photos of Gannets at their only English coastal breeding site, but I ended up with only a few although many hundreds of birds (which start arriving back at the nest sites in January to grab the best positions) were present. The Gannets were flying, carrying beakfuls of grass back to their nests and occasionally there was a little bit of aggression between nearby birds. Kittiwakes and Fulmars were very active, but I didn't see any Shags on this visit and Tree Sparrow numbers seem to have declined here. Bempton is a wonderful place to visit in the spring and summer months: I can strongly recommend it.

Gannet Dispute? RSPB Bempton Cliffs, 2 April

The birds in London's parks are habituated to people and often allow closer approaches than they would in 'the wild'. With this in mind, I visited Regent's Park and Hyde Park on the 8th, with camera in hand, not knowing what to expect at this time of year but hoping for Coots fighting, Great Crested Grebes weed dancing, etc. I saw neither of the above, but did manage a few interesting shots including some of Red-crested Pochards and Egyptian Geese, two species that are now well established in London's parks.

Egyptian Goose Chase, Regent's Park, 8 April

Jay in Hyde Park, 8 April

Male Red-crested Pochard, Regent's Park, 8 April

In the middle of April my partner and I went on a short break to Paris. This certainly wasn't a bird watching trip, although as always I kept a list of species recorded (which included the first House Martins that I've seen this year, a Firecrest and a few singing Black Redstarts). I was surprised with the lack of variety of water birds seen on the lakes of two parks (Bois de Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne) that we visited - Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Mallard, Coot and Moorhen only - but was not surprised to find a pair of Peregrines at La Defence, the high rise equivalent of the City of London, which seems ideally suited for this species.

Peregrine high up on the Deloitte Building in the Defence Financial District of Paris, 13 April

My partner was invited to a wedding (her best friend's nephew) in Sussex on the 25th and would be away for two nights, so I took the opportunity to go to the other end of the country and spend 48 hours bird watching in Northumberland. On the evening of the 24th I visited Amble, being rewarded with excellent views of a Whimbrel on the estuary of the River Coquet. Amongst several other wader species seen here were a Spotted Redshank and a distant, unidentified wader which looked like a Purple Sandpiper, but with very obvious white supercilia. I'm still trying to work out what this species might be - I took some very poor quality photos (not included below). Sandwich Terns were heard but only one was seen. Other tern species had not yet arrived.

Whimbrel on the Coquet Estuary, Amble, 24 April

Heron about to Strike, Amble Shoreline, 24 April

I was lucky to be able to spend an hour on Inner Farne island on the morning of the 25th, as part of a 'Billy Shiels' three hour boat trip from Seahouses harbour. The Arctic Terns had, disappointingly, not arrived (well, I suppose that they have a long way to come) so there was no need for a protective hat. However, there were thousands of Puffins and Guillemots on and around the islands, as well as smaller numbers of Razorbills, Shags, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Herring, Lesser Black-backed (one pair on Inner Farne) and Black-headed Gulls. A Rock Pipit was seen on Inner Farne and Eider Ducks were everywhere.

Puffins, Inner Farne, 25 April

Kittiwake, Inner Farne, 25 April

Whilst I was in the Amble area I visited the nearby Hauxley nature reserve, a lovely little reserve that I can strongly recommend if you are in the area. Cetti's Warblers have reached Hauxley, but the star bird of my visit was a Grasshopper Warbler, which I saw as it was reeling in the middle of the day (Grasshopper Warblers are normally skulking, crepuscular birds). Walks around the Warkworth area (where I stayed) produced a male Goosander and seven warbler species. Give me bird watching over weddings any day!

Male Goosander on the River Coquet, Warkworth, 26 April

 The day after my return from Northumberland I was on an RSPB trip to Pagham Harbour in Sussex. The weather was glorious and between us we recorded 83 bird species (including those only seen 'en route'). Highlights were seeing over 20 Whimbrel in the harbour (perhaps one or two of these were birds that I saw in The Gambia back in November 2024??!) and watching the display flights of Whitethroats, Sedge Warblers and (best of all) a Redshank.

Linnet, Pagham Harbour, 27 April

Upon hearing news of the return of a Great Reed Warbler to RSPB Ouse Fen, near Earith, I popped over to see it on the evening of the 29th. This year the bird (which I assume was the same vagrant that came here in 2024) was closer, in reeds near the river, and very noisy! However, he was always between me and the rows of reeds in his favoured reed bed, so I was unable to get a clear view or image. Nevertheless, it was great to hear him: I hope that he finds a partner (unlikely though it seems). Also seen and heard here were Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers, whilst a Cuckoo and one or more Bitterns were heard only.

Great Reed Warbler, RSPB Ouse Fen, 29 April

Male Reed Bunting, RSPB Ouse Fen, 29 April