An Afternoon at Rye Meads

4th July 2022

The Kingfisher second brood is well under way so time for a visit, but first an hour in the Draper Hide. The usual suspects were present including this female Tufted Duck and a juvenile Pochard. Nice to know that they bred.

Muntjac are quite common here but nice to see one right out in the open.

As is the case in the rest of the Lea Valley, the Common Terns have been ousted by Black-headed Gulls. As recent as 2008 there weren't any Blacked-headed Gulls breeding in the valley.

This Common Tern is interesting as it has a purely red bill without a black tip. However, based on wing and leg length  it appears to be just a Common Tern.

There were also a few Little Ringed Plover present, easily separated from Ringed Plovers by their conspicuous yellow eye-rings.

But the star of the show today was the beautiful summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwit. Unfortunately this was as close as it got.

Now on to the Kingfisher Hide where a Grey Heron had parked itself quite close to the Kingfisher bank. It wasn't a threat, but had the effect of pushing the Kingfishers to the nearer perches which was fine.

When you go to the theatre the most expensive seats are the boxes overlooking the stage, particularly the Royal Box. Well, at Rye Meads it is no different with the best view of the Kingfisher comings and goings is from, in this case, the Kestrel Box.

So what about the Kingfishers? Well they are on their second brood which is expected to fledge any day now and are already preparing a new nest hole for their third brood. So time to just sit back and wait for the action.

Only the male was active today, but he did provide me with a couple of action shots. Happy with that!!!!