RSPB Rye Meads

It was a lovely sunny day at RSPB Rye Meads which is near the railway station at Hoddesdon.

It is a small reserve but it is a nice walk round and has 5 very good hides. After a short stroll I arrived at the first hide where I could see lots of Canada Geese and to my surprise there was also a Dabchick, which is a small grebe. Every time I focused on it with my camera it dived under the water but with a little of patience I did manage to get a good shot of it. I also saw a Snipe flying around to the right of me but it didn't settle and went off into the distance.

Another member of the public spotted a bird he wasn't sure about, it was a Teal Duck, a male and had a wonderful green head with a brown stripe along the centre of its head. There were also Gadwall and a Shoveller duck too. It is easy to distinguish the male ducks because of their colouring but when you see 4 different female ducks they are all brown and look really similar.

After walking around a few more hides where we saw a lot of similar birds, we arrived at my favourite hide, The Kingfisher Hide, I have been twice before and seen one but when I spoke to a couple of people in the hide they had not seen one today. So, I sat patiently in hope more than anything to see one. Then, a flash of aquamarine and to my left appeared a male Kingfisher sitting on a twig having  a look to see if any small fish were about. He then decided to go and hide in the willow tree but was still visible because of his colouring. Then, he decided to come and sit on a bush quite close to where to the Hide and have another look for fish and that is when I took the shots you can see below. He was a beautiful bird and I was so lucky to see him.

If you love birds and a good walk around where you might see birds you have never seen before then please go along to the RSPB reserve at Rye Meads and you too might see a Kingfisher.

Dab Chick
Gadwall
Lapwing or Pee Wit
Male Teal


Male Shoveller Duck
Kingfisher
Shy Kingfisher
Looking for Lunch
I can see Little Fish



























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