Ivy Lake

Considering that it is practically on the doorstep and features so regularly on the birding circuit, I thought it about time that I gave Ivy Lake a try-out and it certainly did not disappoint.

With a thick layer of snow still on the ground and most of the lake frozen over, most of the water birds were concentrated around the few areas clear of ice. Huge numbers of Coots dominated the scene, with Herring Gulls, Great Black-Backed Gulls, Mute Swans, Cormorants, Gadwall, Tufted Ducks, Shovellers and Pochard also on view.

Thanks to a very generous birder who let me look through his Swarovski scope, I also managed to see the Red-Crested Pochard in the reeds on the far side of the lake (which had been reported on the SOS recent sightings board) and also a fantastic view of a Water Rail which was again on the water's edge among the reeds. There's always debate about whether Red-Crested Pochards are escapees or wild - the concensus, considering the weather, seems that this one is wild - unlike these which I snapped on a pond in Sandwich in 2007.

Away from the water, two male Bullfinches were busy among the willows, along with various tits - Blue, Great, Long-Tailed and Coal.