Stockers Lake Rickmansworth - Great Crested Grebe and Kingfisher

A dull morning yesterday at Stockers Lake, but the Great Crested Grebes were lively.

 

This one running swiftly across the surface with the help of wings...

 

....whilst this pair were demonstrating part of their courtship dance (I have only seen this in the Spring before, but was reliably informed that last year eggs were hatched in the Winter)

 

A Great Crested Grebe having a salad with its fish breakfast....

 

....whilst this grebe popped up surprising me and a pair of  Shoveller ducks.

A Kingfisher sat obligingly close as well.



RSPB Rye Meads - Kingfisher

A return visit in better light than my previous visit last week, principally to photograph the male Kingfisher that is still frequenting the pool adjacent to the artificial breeding bank where he helped raise two broods this summer.  In particular I was hoping to get a decent shot of the bird in flight.

 

Looking for a fish....

...and spotted...



....and diving off its perch.  (The best shot in flight I managed, but not really worth publishing on its own.  I will have to keep on trying)



 

Another frustrating shot, as whilst the Kingfisher was close, it was partially obscured by vegetation.



 

Tring Reservoirs - Wilstone Kingfisher Pt 2

More of the Kingfisher, sitting on a stick dealing with a small fish....

.....and flying across the water.



Photos not as clear as I would have wanted, but at a distance in dull light.

Tring Reservoirs - Wilstone Kingfisher Pt 1

Every year I see kingfishers, occasionally static on a branch overlooking water, but too far away to have a decent shot, or as a fleeting image as it shoots past me over the water, its short call often giving me warning that it is passing.  A difficult bird to photograph.

 

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours in the hide at Wilstone Reservoir.  Nothing much happening, but enjoying the Lapwings squabbles, Teal, Common Terns and a couple of juvenile Little Ringed Plover.

 

Then a very keen young birder, showed me a kingfisher sitting on a stick in the water about 25m away.  Over half an hour I managed to get these images of this beautifully marked bird, which I think is a juvenile, as its bill appears to have a white tip, although this may be a trick reflection. Otherwise it was a male with a black bill.

 

I will definitely be back again, but later in the day when the sun will have moved so that the side of the bird facing me will not be in shadow.  These photos are a little grainy for me.