Further afield

On an extremely cold and blustery afternoon I ventured to Amwell Nature Reserve, near Ware. Snow and hail squalls meant several trips to the hide for shelter. As can be seen from the photos, taken 4 minutes apart, the light was changing rapidly. The highlight was finding a little ringed plover, viewed from the vantage point. My first of the year, recently arrived from sub saharan Africa. Also there were small numbers of wigeon, tufted duck, a few pochard and 5 great crested grebe. A solitary grey heron hunched itself against the cold blast as cormorants fed. A water rail squealed from the reed beds, where reed buntings perched. Robins and wrens sang and blue, great and long tailed tits availed themselves of the food in the feeders.

The third photo, taken from the James hide, depicts a flyover cormorant, There are many of these birds using the tern platforms and a weeping willow tree on the island in front of the vantage point. Much development going on here at present, with 2 new hides and a wooden walkway to areas not previously open to the public.