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

I have visited Lee Valley Regional Park on several occasions over recent winters, principally to watch and photograph the wintering Bittern.

Lee Valley Regional Park is a site that is relatively easy for me to visit by public transport: bus to Basildon, train to West Ham, DLR to Stratford and 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.

This winter, there have been reports of a Bittern again returning to this area although on my last visit on 15th November 2023, I was unsuccessful in seeing any birds.

However, I visited Lee Valley Regional Park again today in the hope of adding Bittern and a recently reported male Smew to my 2024 UK year list.

The focus of my visit was again 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.

Unfortunately, as on my last visit on 15th November 2023, despite a patient and very long wait, I did not see a Bittern.

Therefore, I missed the amazing sighting that I had on my last successful visit on 27th January 2023 ....

Photo: Bittern

The nearest I got to seeing and photographing a Bittern was the display in the Wildlife Discovery Centre!

I was also disappointed not to locate the male Smew on Seventy Acres Lake which had evidently moved on.

Instead, the main highlight from my visit was the frequent sightings of several different individual Water Rails as the birds ran across a gaps between one section of the reedbed to another. There must have been at least 3 birds in this small area and I do not recall ever having so many sightings in one small location.

Despite failing to see either of my 2 target species, Water Rail, Ring-necked Parakeet and Lesser Black-backed Gull were all additions to my 2024 UK year list, taking the total to date to 111 species.

The most notable sightings from my visit were as follows:

En-route to the Wildlife Discovery Centre via the River Lee Navigation Canal and Seventy Acres Lake: Mallard (c.20), Coot (c.15), Moorhen (c.10), Great Crested Grebe (1), Mute Swan (2), Little Egret (1), Grey Heron (7), Cormorant (2), Ring-necked Parakeet (1 heard calling), Grey Squirrel (1)

Wildlife Discovery Centre: Water Rail (at least 3), Shoveler (c.30), Tufted Duck (c.30), Mallard (c.10), Common Pochard (1 male), Gadwall (4), Great Crested Grebe (c.15 with some birds in near summer plumage and 1 pair beginning to display), Little Grebe (2), Coot (c.50), Moorhen (3), Grey Heron (2), Mute Swan (2), Canada Goose (2), Greylag Goose (1), Cormorant (1), Black-headed Gull (c.100), Common Gull (1), Lesser Black-backed Gull (1), Ring-necked Parakeet (at least 5), Brown Rat (1)