The River Lea starts in Luton and meanders its way down to Hertford. South of Hertford it becomes a little more complicated as on its way to the River Thames parts of the old River Lea have been incorporated in the Lee Navigation Canal. We live 550 yards away from the Lea, but there is no risk of flooding as, being on a hill, we are also 63 feet or 21 yards above it. Anyway I had a couple of hours to spare, so time for a walk along the bank to see what I could find.
These days you don't have to go far to find a Little Egret in Hertfordshire, which 20 years ago would have been unheard of. Nowadays they seem to be more common then Herons and certainly more photogenic. Just look at those yellow feet which you don't always notice when they are standing in water.
Lesser Redpolls are normally seen feeding high in their favourite Alder trees, but luckily on this occasion the Alder tree was at the bottom of the river bank and therefore the Redpoll was at head height. If only it was always this easy.
But the star of the show today was this cracking male Kingfisher which was totally unperturbed by my presence. The only reason I couldn't get closer was that it was on the other side of the river.
Why travel far and wide when you have these little gems on your doorstep?
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