Royston Wildlife Blog: 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.