CROYDON RSPB MEMBERS' GROUP - TRIP REPORT

Venturing north of the Thames for the first time this year, we spent the whole day birding the River Lee* Country Park, on the borders of Hertfordshire and Essex, to the north of Waltham Abbey. Gravel deposits laid down in the valley of the River Lea* at the end of the last Ice Age have been exploited extensively since the 1920s and abandoned workings near Fisher's Green and elsewhere have been allowed to regenerate naturally, creating irregular-shaped lakes with scattered islands - habitat that is both attractive for birds and interesting to explore.

Our morning was taken up by a circular walk south from the car park at Fisher's Green, following first a path between Seventy Acres Lake and the Old River Lea. Almost at once, we came in sight of the communal winter roost recently established in bushes on islands in the lake by long-eared owls. We were able to pick out six individual owls here, four on one island and two on another. Sheltered from the wind, several of these birds were sitting almost fully in the open, allowing us detailed scope views. Good numbers of pochard, tufted duck and shoveler, a few gadwall and two female goldeneye were present on the lake itself, while a stunning male goldeneye on the river a dozen yards to our rear was diving so frequently as to almost escape our notice. Moving on and scanning Friday Lake, we found a group of six 'redhead' (ie female) smew near the further bank and then, turning around to check across Hall Marsh, we located three snipe feeding on a reedy island in the scrape, with wigeon and teal nearby. Meanwhile, the only brambling of the day made a fleeting appearance, although it was seen only by a lucky few. On the return leg of our walk, partly following the towpath of the canalised River Lee Navigation, we added green and great spotted woodpeckers and a reasonable selection of small passerines, including goldfinch and bullfinch, to our day's list.

After lunch, we spent half an hour in the Bittern Viewpoint hide, but any bitterns present remained hidden, probably hunkered down in the thickest part of the reedbed, out of the blustery wind. A circular walk to the north followed, with Grebe Hide the main destination, overlooking the large Holyfield Lake. Although we found only the commoner species of grebe (great crested and little), there was plenty more of interest here, with a range of ducks, including more goldeneye and three pairs of goosander. A water rail also showed unusually well, flying to an island in front of the hide and then remaining in the open for several minutes, until it found the windy conditions just too troublesome and retired into thick undergrowth. Up to this time, we had seen a total of nine female smew, but had failed to find a male. It was therefore rather a relief when a male smew did at last appear, sailing out into view from behind islands, but merging readily into the background of ripples on the choppy water, in spite of its smart black-trimmed white plumage. Pleased to have found one of the target birds of any winter visit to a wetland site, we returned to reach the cars in gathering gloom, as gulls, crows and flocks of chattering fieldfares passed over on their way to roost.

(*Note : The spellings 'Lea' and 'Lee' appear to be used interchangeably on signs, in park leaflets, etc. We therefore follow this established practice.)