Amwell (28th July 2012).

Twelve people joined me for this walk, at Amwell Nature Reserve at the north end of the Lee Valley Regional Park. Most of the participants met me at Stanstead Abbots railway station, a short walk from the reserve, and we started to see interesting wildlife on our way to the reserve, including Blackcaps and Sedge Warblers as we walked along by the New River (not particularly 'new' now, the waterway was opened in 1613 after being constructed to supply drinking water to the people of London).

We met a few more people nearer to the main viewpoint over the reserve, and then quickly made a start on finding out what the reserve had to offer.

Late summer can be one of the quietest times of year for birdwatching because for many species the breeding season is starting to come to an end, and they are often moulting worn feathers in preparation for migration or the forthcoming winter. This means that there is little bird song to be heard, and the birds are often secretive. Autumn migration has already commenced by the end of July though, and the Common Sandpipers that were feeding on the muddy edges of islands in the gravel pit that the reserve encompasses were a sign of this. Common Sandpipers don't breed locally so these were among the first migrants on their way back south.

Other birds were still busy trying to raise broods of young, including Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings seen carrying food, and Great Crested Grebes with their stripy 'humbug' youngsters. Others had clearly already fledged their young, and we saw quite a quite a few fully fledged, and independent, juveniles, including Grey Herons and Green Woodpeckers. We were lucky with the weather, considering how the British summer can be, and the frequent sunny spells suited the resident Common Buzzards well - we had superb views of them overhead. A Hobby also showed very well above us, as it hunted flying insects.

A 'phone-scoped' Green Woodpecker - this one an adult male.

Warm, sunny weather meant that insects were active, so we found far more than we would have otherwise managed. Dragonflies and butterflies tend to be the insects that attract most attention and we found a good variety of both, including Emperors, Brown Hawkers, Common & Ruddy Darters (dragonflies), Red Admirals, Gatekeepers, Peacocks, and Large and Green-veined Whites (butterflies). Other interesting invertebrate finds were Dingy Footman moths, Cinnabar Moth caterpillars, and a variety of hoverflies.

Dingy Footman.

Cinnabar Moth caterpillars on Ragwort.

We found plenty of other interesting birds as well, in addition to those already mentioned, with Kingfishers, a less than cooperative Marsh Tit (perhaps more than one?) which was calling frequently but gave only glimpses, and Little Egrets, among the highlights. More commonly seen species weren't ignored though, with Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Cormorants among the species that showed well from the main viewpoint.

All together, a very enjoyable day.

Cormorant in a well known pose!

Stumped by a duck! (25th May 2012).

On what was a nice sunny day, I spent the afternoon at two of the sites at the northern end of the Lee Valley Regional park - the RSPB reserve at Rye Meads, and the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust Reserve at Amwell Quarry.

I had made the decision to concentrate on invertebrates, and had only taken a macro lens with me, rather than my usual photographic kit which includes a 500mm telephoto lens, so naturally when I made what was intended to be a brief visit to the first hide at Rye Meads, I found something I really needed a telephoto lens for!

 

In front of the hide (but still fairly distant) was the hybrid duck that had been reported occasionally during the previous winter, and which had recently returned to the reserve following a period of absence. The above photos are heavily cropped, but still show the duck very well. It is always very difficult to be certain about the parentage of suspected hybrids, and this one had me stumped when I first saw photos of it (though this was the first time i had actually seen it 'in the flesh'). Crosses between quite a few duck species can produce the yellow facial patches which give a resemblance to Baikal Teal, but in this case the consensus is that one of the parents is a Baikal Teal - it is thought to be a Baikal Teal x Chestnut Teal cross, which would mean that it definitely has captive origins. Never-the-less, a very interesting bird, and certainly something that you don't see everyday.

More usual duck species were also present, including the Shoveler, Gadwall, and Tufted Ducks which can be seen with the hybrid in this shot:

It was good to see several school groups being shown around the reserve, and making use of the pond dipping areas, even if their use of the bird hides did cause some slight disturbance to other visitors on the reserve. I helped to point out a few of the birds that were present in one of the hides, which I thought might show that I didn't mind the 'intrusion', but was still given an apology by the teacher/helper with the group for "having my day disturbed" when they left (there was no need - the more children are involved with wildlife, the more likely they are to want to protect it in the future!).

Most of the birds present on the reserve today were the sort of thing that can be found in any similar habitat in the area, but Pochards, Common Terns, Great-crested Grebes, and Cormorants were more than enough to keep the school groups happy - especially when they could identify them themselves using the pictures they had been given.

A Male Pochard that came close to one of the hides.

Birds that the school groups probably overlooked included Reed & Sedge Warblers, Chiffchaff, and Hobby.

I didn't manage to find much use for my macro lens on this reserve, although there were quite a few damselflies visible around the pond dipping pools, and a Hairy Dragonfly was hawking along one of the paths, but this thistle looked like it would be a good picture:

I didn't go as far as the Kingfisher Hide (where the first Kingfisher had apparently fledged) - no need to tempt fate, there was sure to be a Kingfisher motionless on the nearest perch if I visited without a telephoto lens!

Slightly futher north, at Amwell Quarry Nature Reserve, damselflies were very easy to find, and this time I was able to get close enough for some photos.

Blue-tailed Damselflies, Common Blue Damselflies, and Azure Damselflies were the most numerous, with many maturing individuals found along the fence line and in vegetation a short distance from water.

Female Blue-tailed Damselfly

Immature male Common Blue Damselfly

Mature male Azure Damselfly

A fair few Large Red Damselflies were also to be found, mainly mature males holding territories at the waters edge, and there were a few Red-eyed Damselflies on water lily leaves in one of the pits. At least two Hairy Dragonflies were also around.

Male Large Red Damselfly

Common Buzzard, Little Egret, Hobby, and a pair of Oystercatchers with three part grown young were the highlights among the birds present, and other wildlife included a Red-headed Cardinal Beetle.