Royston Wildlife Blog: Local Wildlife Sightings, October 2026

The warm, dry, settled weather from September extended into the first week of October, with daytime temperatures reaching 24C on a couple of occasions. The latest 'drought' of over three weeks was finally broken on the 7th, when a day of rain at least allowed me time to update my blog! By the start of the month Small and Large Whites appeared to be the only butterfly species left on the wing. A few faded Common Darter and Migrant Hawker dragonflies were seen during my occasional local forays. Ivy, still flowering in shady areas, continued to attract Ivy Bees together with Honey Bees and a few hoverflies. I was interested to see both a Hornet Hoverfly, and then a genuine Hornet, flying around the same bushes near the house.

Ivy Bee on Ivy, Royston, 5 October

With nearly all the summer visitors having departed (except for a few Chiffchaffs) and autumn visitors yet to arrive, all was quiet locally on the bird watching front. A few Little Grebes and a single Tufted Duck were on Phillup's Lake when I visited on the 1st.

Female Tufted Duck, Phillup's Lake, Reed End, 1 October

I usually see Garganey in the spring, soon after they have arrived from their African wintering grounds. However, I missed out this year so reports of a young male bird at Wilstone Reservoir (Tring) encouraged me to make another visit on the 6th. Having earlier reminded myself of the differences between Garganey and the very similar (and similarly sized) Teal in 'eclipse' plumage, I was able to identify the bird (a juvenile male) fairly quickly as it swam around, showing well. The two images below (deliberately high key) illustrate the key features that distinguish Garganey from Teal, namely the longer, straighter bill, pale loral patch at the base of the bill, emerging stripe above the eye, pale, whitish chin and throat patch and the lack of a pale patch at the side of the tail. Some emerging feathers on the back (not clear in these images) were suggestive of this being a male bird. For comparison, I've included an image of a female Teal below, taken at the same time.

Juvenile Male Garganey, Wilstone Reservoir, 6 October

Female Teal, Wilstone Reservoir, 6 October

Also seen at Wilstone were an unusually pale Common Pochard, at least four Pintails and two Roe Deer (image of one below). An interesting observation was that a couple of Teal were seen diving in shallower water, even though this is known as a dabbling duck. The Ferruginous Duck that I had seen on my last trip to Wilstone was reported again, but I didn't see it on this visit.

Roe Deer (Seen from the Hide), Wilstone Reservoir, 6 October

As the month wore on the weather deteriorated somewhat, becoming considerably more autumnal (and more like the weather we expect in October). Bizarrely, the only butterflies that I saw locally after the 6th were all Clouded Yellows - two on The Heath on the 8th and one near the house on the 12th. My walk on the 8th took me up the path between the far western section of The Heath and Thrift Farm, where a returning Stonechat (I saw up to four here last winter) was present.

Stonechat at Thrift Farm, 8 October

Regular readers will be familiar with my gull identification struggles. This usually involves trying to separate the various age groups of Herring Gulls from Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls. A walk up to Hatchpen Farm provided another opportunity, when an adult gull, with a mantle darker than that of a nearby Herring Gull but lighter than those of several Lesser Black-backed Gulls, was present in a large group of gulls on the ground there. This individual also had dark 'smudging' around the eye, making it an excellent candidate for Yellow-legged Gull. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me and (at distance) its legs were not obviously yellow. Nevertheless, I'm confident that it was a Yellow-legged gull. I saw another flock of larger gulls at Thrift Farm the following day. I had my camera with me, but this time only Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were present (image of a Herring Gull below). A visit to Phillup's Lake on the 15th produced a local rarity in the form of a small flock of Lapwings near the lake. Little Grebes were the only birds of note on the lake itself.

Adult Herring Gull at Thrift Farm (Royston) 8 October

Little Grebe (Moulting into Winter Plumage?), Phillup's Lake, 15 October

A large field at Hatchpen Farm was ploughed on the 19th. When I walked up the following day there was an extraordinary amount of small bird activity as both seed eaters (Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Linnets, Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings) and insect eaters (Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails) were seen, mainly on or around the edges of the field. Linnets (200+) were the dominant species, but there were surprising numbers of Chaffinches (winter visitors from Europe?) present, as well as 30+ Yellowhammers. I had hoped to find a local rarity (Brambling, perhaps?) but had no luck there. One very pale bird stood out as it fed. It never came close to me, but I managed to get a few photos as it fed amongst the Goldfinches and Linnets. It appeared significantly larger than either, so I am guessing (and it is a guess) that it was a leucistic Corn Bunting. Check it out, in the image below.