Kingfishers and Other Wildlife in Hertford

10th March 2022

Had a couple of hours spare so time for a stroll down into Hertford to see what wildlife I could find. Amazingly I only got as far as the Hertford Castle grounds when I came across a most unexpected bird in this setting, a Stock Dove. It was feeding on the seed thrown out for the ducks and was obviously a regular visitor as it allowed me to approach with 5 yards, so no cropping necessary here.

And there were also the first signs of spring with a Coot sitting on its nest in the Dicker Mill Stream, a Comma and male Blackcap by the Old River Lea. Actually the Blackcap is not necessarily a spring migrant as these days a few individuals over-winter in the UK.

In my opinion Moorhens are grossly under-rated with that gaudy red and yellow bill and are somewhat take for granted on our local waterways.

Long-tailed Tits were looking for food on the riverside trees which are now in leaf and a Wren was belting out its song, such a loud noise for such a small bird!!

But the star of the show as always was the male Kingfisher which was fishing from one of its favourite branches. This Kingfisher must be one of the most photographed birds in Hertfordshire, not only by all those photographers with long lenses, but also by members of the public passing by and snapping it on their phones, and yes it is that close.

Basically, like a fisherman, it just sits there patiently waiting for a bite..............

.......................and then when it spots a potential catch................

.........................it launches itself on the attack..................

Yes, and all of this in our wonderful town of Hertford and right on our doorstep. Why not get out there and enjoy it?