A Day at Rainham Marshes

13th December 2025

As is customary a clockwise circuit today starting with breakfast in the Purfleet Hide. Very few Wigeon today for whatever reason...................

 

........................but you can always rely on the Shovelers to put on a show. This male was having a preen........................

......................but eventually recognised me and gave me a wave.

A few Shelducks were leaving the Thames ahead of the high tide and flying in to provide a bit of flight action.

But the duck stars today were my favourite duck, the Pintail. These seem to be getting more numerous each year, not only at Rainham but everywhere.

And of course there were the hundreds of Greylag Geese which are forever flying to new feeding areas.

Always worth a slow scan of the islands in front of the hide as there are often Snipe hunkered down in the vegetation roosting inbetween feeds.

Normally the resident Grey Wagtail at the Ken Barrett Hide would be the star of the show as it parades right in front of the hide. Just look at those colours.

Today it even put on a bathing display.

But today the star of the show honour goes to the Black-tailed Godwit that was feeding just 10 yards outside the window of the Purfleet Hide

What an absolute poser!!!!!!!!!

A Smew at Bowyer's Lake

8th December 2025

A dull and damp day but a male Smew had been reported at Bowyer's Water. It was nowhere to be seen when I first arrived, but I eventually found it asleep close in to one of the islands some 80 yards away. It drifted around there for a while, but then got disturbed and began to wake up and swim around. In fact it started swimming towards me, unfortunately just as it started raining.

The rain passed after about 10 minutes and I was able to grab some shots while it was just 40 yards away and in a brief period of sunshine.

The bird had quite a bit of brown in the plumage and I therefore assumed it was a 1st winter male.

However, some of the shots showed it had distinctive black lines running down the back of the head which are characteristic of an adult male moulting out of eclipse plumage.

What a cracking bird, but sad we only get low numbers in the Lea Valley these days, compared to the double figures we used to get at Amwell alone 20 years ago.

A Morning at Aspley Heath

3rd December 2025

My first visit to Aspley Heath in search of Crossbills. A perfect day for it too with wall-to-wall blue sky and flat calm conditions so you could hear a pin drop. So all I needed now was some Crossbills chip-chipping to give away their presence. Perfectly quiet at the moment apart from the tantalizing call of a Nuthatch high up in a stand of Scots Pines.

Looking for a very small bird in a maze of closely planted trees is not easy but the call helped, and I soon tracked it down although had to wait until it came out of the shade before I managed a couple of shots.

Now back on the main track and once again in listening mode. I did here some calls now and again but most were either distant, the birds were seen flying away or not seen at all. I did eventually track five birds which landed in the tops of a line of Larch trees at least 100 yards away, but because of the fantastic light I did manage to get a couple of shots of this male.

They then flew, towards me for a change, and landed in a Silver Birch next to me. Unfortunately, as opposed to perching on top of the Larch, they perched inside the Silver Birch and therefore were obscured for much of the time behind a multitude of small twigs. However, after a bit of manoeuvring to get a line-of-sight and get round the sun, I did manage to get a few shots before they flew into some adjacent Scots Pines and started feeding deep inside.

Well, got there eventually and thanks to Ian Conn for the information.

Peregrine Falcons and Kingfishers at Verulamium Park

2nd December 2025

During the winter months Kingfishers used to be seen regularly on the River Ver at the eastern end of the main lake, but were absent last winter and very intermittent this winter. They are sometimes seen further along the Ver east of the Fighting Cocks pub, although today a look along this stretch of river also drew a blank.

There was, however, a very entertaining male Kestrel which was perching up high in the trees and staring down at the ground looking for prey, just begging to have his photograph taken.

And then he was off.

I then decided to walk up to the Cathedral to see how the Peregrines were getting on. Recently both adults and one of the youngsters have been seen on or around the tower, but today I could only find one adult which was initially perched on a lead overflow pipe on the north side of the tower, and then gave an impromptu flying display.

So finally the Kingfishers. Still no sign on the River Ver by the lake, so off to the boating lake which appears to be the favourite spot this year. Here a juvenile male has taken up territory and likes to perch on a Weeping Willow which overhangs the lake.

Then, for a change of scene it will perch on overhanging trees on the Ver next to the lake.

One of the most photographed Kingfishers in Hertfordshire at the moment.