A change today to Lea Valley Birding, with a trip to view the larger reservoirs of KG & Girling.
Blue sky's and a crisp nip in the early morning made for a perfect winters day.
Viewing Girling and one of four Black Necked Grebes was soon seen, showing off the classic large bum and thin neck with upturned bill; However numbers seem to be down on previous years, but the site still remains reliable for these lovely birds..












Small numbers of Golden-eye were also noted, but it was among the larger rafts of Tufted Duck that a pair of Scaup were distantly seen, with the drakes silver back gleaming in the sun.
Little else was noted, so a quick look at KG Res was in order.
It was here that an almost certain 2nd winter Caspian gull, with it's upstance structure, long legs and black beady eye, made an all too brief appearance before flying towards Girling.
Heading home and a large flock of Goldfinch delighted in feeding on the mass of thistle heads available in the horse fields, this was not shared with the horses which were matted in the stuff.
A nice brief trip, to increase the Lea Valley Year list.