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.

Kingfishers in Hertford

28th November 2025

We are very fortunate in Hertford to have so many waterways passing through our boundaries including the Rivers Mimram, Beane, Rib, Old Lea and Lee Navigation as well as three substantial lakes in Panshanger Park. This is why Hertford has such a healthy Kingfisher population. But many people have already found out why they can be difficult to see.

The first reason is that they fly low and fast over the water and therefore easily missed. You often hear people talking about the "flash of blue". And if you were to see the back of a Kingfisher you would understand why, as it is a bright turquoise from the back of the neck to the tip of the tail.

The second reason is that they like to perch in a tree overhanging a river so they can stare down into the water looking for Sticklebacks and Bullheads. Unfortunately,  the Kingfishers are difficult to see when the trees are in leaf. So now we are approaching the 1st December, and nearly all the leaves have fallen, is a good time to go looking for them. Here is a series of shots I took over three hours on the Old River Lea near the town centre on the 28th November.

But you have to be quick!!!!!

An Hour at Abberton Reservoir

25th November 2025

After a most successful morning at Holland Haven time to try and get to Abberton before the low winter sun casts long shadows over the eastern side of the Layer de la Haye causeway. There was quite a significant increase in the wildfowl since my last visit with hundreds upon hundreds of Tufted Ducks with a sprinkling of Pochard and Great Crested Grebes. But the most pleasing of all were the 30+ Goosanders present, a sure sign that winter is on its way.

Mostly keeping their distance and not coming into the sluice to feed on the large shoal of small Perch that live in there, but one or two did come close enough for some shots. 

Here is a male................

.........................and a female.

Further out on the reservoir there was a lot of commotion...............

.......................which eventually turned into aggression........................

.................and appeared to be males fighting for females for next years breeding season.

I then spotted a particular brown duck far out amongst the tufties. Luckily it started swimming towards the bank and after about five minutes had come close enough for some photos, a female Scaup. There had been five during the week, but no sign of the others.

And a couple of shots showing the comparison with a male tufty. Notice the difference in head profile.

There had also been a Slavonian Grebe in the morning, but it had swum out with the main flock and did not return with them, so that will have to wait for another day.

Purple Sandpipers at Holland Haven

25th November 2025

The main target today was the Purple Sandpipers at Holland Haven but I decided to walk along the sea wall from Frinton in the hope of finding some Snow Buntings. No luck there, but I did manage to find a pair of Stonechats. There is the male...................

........................and the female.

Once at Holland Haven, the first job was to scan the outflow for sandpipers. At the far end of the outflow was a group of Herring Gulls with a single Great Black-backed Gull amongst them.

There was also a couple Turnstones running around amongst them which eventually came closer to shore for some shots.

Still no sign of any sandpipers so I sat down and poured a cup of tea and settled down in anticipation. Abour five minutes later I looked up and there on the outflow were two Purple Sandpipers which had obviously sneaked in while I was enjoying my cuppa.

I quickly packed lunch away and got into position with the sun behind me. For some reason they were feeding half way along the outflow which is unusual as they usually prefer feeding on the seaweed at the landward end. But today they chose to feed on what appeared to be bare concrete, but presumably looking for tiny micro-organisms within the cracks.

Well, what a fantastic day at Holland Haven, and good to catch-up with Mike O'Hanlon who was patrolling his estate.