Chiltern Birder

I paid a return visit to Stockers Lake near Rickmansworth today with the benefit of a pair of wellingtons. It was an interesting visit, the lake had all the usual waterfowl with coot, tufted duck, mallard, gadwall, mute swans and herons. I didn't see any shoveller this time but the wigeon were a treat as I hadn't expected them on a lake without adjacent grazing and a real surprise were the red crested pochard which I had not seen in the wild before. At one point a row of stakes in the water, each one topped by a gull gave me the opportunity to include leg colour in identification but they were all black headed. From talking to other birders I seem to have missed some goldeneye and an escaped black swan. In the adjacent scrub there were the usual woodland birds with a small flock of redwing and a probably female reed bunting.

When I spotted that the forecast had changed and this afternoon would stay dry I decided to sample the lakes at Rickmansworth Aquadrome. Water levels were very high and some paths flooded. Bury Lake produced little of special interest with mute swans, tufted duck, mallard, coot. black headed gulls and a heron. The latter was close to the path keeping totally still and totally unfazed by passers by. He kept so still while I took a couple of pictures with my phone that I was beginning to think that it was a model but then he finally turned his head slightly. I wasn't wearing boots which made, the potentially more interesting, Stockers Lake mostly inaccessible but from the tarmac path on one side I did see a pair of shoveller and a pochard. The low sun made it difficult to identify most of the birds from that angle. I don't know if I was just unlucky or if they don't like the area but I didn't see any red kites. I had been wondering how far towards London they were sp