Thanks to active member Phil, we have a Flickr group which is populated with loads of fantastic pictures of the insect and bird life that eager photographers have catalogued on their visits to the site, including Firecrests and Lesser redpoll. It’s setup as an open group so you can contribute your own pictures and videos to share with everybody. Please do! You’ll find a permanent link in the sidebar to the right.

Big garden birdwatch!

Little egret and water rail seen behind the ageing willow.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s the water rail at least ….

An elusive creature, more easily spotted in winter.

This is the first time I’ve managed to get a shot of one.

(and not with a telephone!)

A kindly male kingfisher was in the mood for posing and I got possibly the best shots I ever have done. He spent a while over the pool in the middle of the site but then moved to the river at the back where he fished for a while and I got these pictures.

Interestingly he caught a fish then somehow attached it to the branch he was perching on. Perhaps it was tucked in a crook or impaled on a twig, and I really can’t be sure whether he meant it or not. He left it there.

The pictures have come out with a slightly other-worldly almost flash-lit look to them as he was perched in a shaft of sunlight above the shady river. Also I messed up a bit with the camera and had to rescue it in post-production, which contributes to the look in a funny sort of way!

First sight of the moorhen and a single chick.

With a bit of luck the offspring will stay hidden in the reed and evade the attention of predators!

Early morning hoarfrost after a very cold night!

and one of our volunteers, wildlife photographer Luke Massey,  has included this photo of a heron on our site in his calendar for 2013 ….

For  more information and to see more of his excellent photographs, go to Luke’s website:            www.lmasseyimages.com

Just a few days after our AGM talk by Peter Antram , leader of the St Albans RSPB , Mamta from Luton reported a productive visit with her RSPB group …

Blackbird, blue tit, carrion crow, chaffinch, coot, dunnock, great spotted woodpecker, great tit, green woodpecker, jackdaw, jay, kingfisher, lesser redpoll, long tail tit, magpie, mallard, moorhen, ring-neck parakeet, robin, siskin, song thrush, wood pigeon, and wren

and all before 10.00 am  …. learner birders take note, make an early start!

19.01.2012

9 ring necked parakeets on site today.

They’re always there and few native species seems to worry them.

Until a sparrowhawk flew over that is, then they went into an extreme panic.

Not quite as dominant as we thought they were then. . . .

some fly-bys:

Thursday November 17th

and the marsh marigold is in flower.

Normally the first sign of spring, the continuing mild weather is responsible for the appearance of these yellow flowers in the mere.

and a recent contribution from Derrick Davies …..

‘you can’t blame it on the wasps’

these colourful and noisy creatures are becoming regular visitors. Love ’em or loath ’em…?

Here is a Grey wagtail picking through the mud on the edge of the spit when the water level was very low ten days ago (it’s since shot back up). It’s the first time I’ve seen one on the reserve. Not to be confused with the Yellow wagtail, which is much yellower than this!