SS15 wildlife watching: Trip away from SS15 - Lee Valley Country Park, Hertfordshire

Friday 27 January 2023

Trip away from SS15 - Lee Valley Country Park, Hertfordshire - 27th January 2023

I had my first visit to Lee Valley Regional Park for many years today, taking advantage of an Abellio Greater Anglia ticket sale which offered me a day return from Billericay to Cheshunt for a mere £10.

It is a site that is relatively easy for me to visit by public transport: bus to Billericay, train to London Liverpool Street followed by another train to Cheshunt and then a short walk to the site entrance.

Lee Valley Regional Park is a 10,000-acre and 26 miles long linear park. It is Greater London's largest park (more than 4 times the size of Richmond Park) and extends beyond Greater London's borders into the neighbouring counties of Hertfordshire and Essex.

Lee Valley Regional Park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfordshire through Essex and the north east of Greater London, through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to East India Docks Basin on the River Thames. It is managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and is made up of a diverse mix of countryside areas, urban green spaces, heritage sites, country parks, nature reserves, lakes and riverside trails as well as leading sports centres.

The focus of my visit was the Wildlife Discovery Centre in Fishers Green, on the Hertfordshire and Essex border. The centre offers 360 degree views of the area from a 5 metre viewing tower overlooking Seventy Acres Lake and adjacent reedbed, wetland and grassland habitats plus a two-tier viewing hide.

My main target species were Bittern (this is one of the best sites in the UK for this species during the winter) plus a male Smew which had been reported on Seventy Acres Lake the previous day.

I successfully saw both these species plus a single Water Rail and a single calling but unseen Chiffchaff, all 4 being additions to my 2023 UK year list taking the year-to-date total to 83 species.

I saw the male Smew in the north west corner of Seventy Acres Lake whilst walking the 1.4 miles from Cheshunt train station to the Wildlife Discovery Centre.

The single Bittern that I saw was, as expected, seen from the hide at the Wildlife Discovery Centre. Views were initially obscured by the surrounding dense reeds but eventually I had excellent views as the bird crossed a channel from one section of the reedbed to another. I also saw a single Water Rail from the hide and was able to watch this bird for several minutes as it bathed although unfortunately it was also slightly obscured by reeds so I was unable to get any photos.

The most notable sightings from my visit were as follows: Bittern (1), Grey Heron (3), Water Rail (1), Kingfisher (1), Smew (1 male), Mallard (c.20), Tufted Duck (c.10), Common Pochard (2 females), Teal (male and female), Gadwall (male and female), Shoveler (3 males and 1 female), Mute Swan (6), Great Crested Grebe (4), Coot (c.25), Moorhen (c.10), Egyptian Goose (2), Canada Goose (c.20), Greylag Goose (2), Cormorant (11), Chiffchaff (1 heard calling), Great Spotted Woodpecker (1 heard calling), Ring-necked Parakeet (1)