Tring Reservoir Trip

After Several Days of Rain, the morning was true to the forecast – frosty and bright, and this corresponded to my waking after four hours of sleep and finding that try as I might I was unable to get back and sleep a further few hours, so I was obviously destined for this trip to the reservoirs.

I did not leave particularly early, but after gathering my gear, I was out, by half past seven, but there was still the frost to clear from the car windows, so it was mint chocolate square before I arrived and parked the car close by Tringford, and took the path between Marsworth and Startops reservoirs. After passing through the gateI spotted a pair of robins flitting from bush to bush and singing brightly, so turned around and gathered a jar of seeds I had in the car, and this time started laying a few on each fence post that was either in the sun, or about to be. This turned out to be fruitless, so I got shots of one of them in the high branches trilling melodiously instead.

I had hoped that the swans might be as restless as on my last visit, but the only pair in flight took off from Startops and flew diagonally beyond the trees, till the corner before landing once more on Marsworth, all too far away even for 400mm! I never saw them in flight again this time.

I chose to walk along the path towards Bulbourne in the vain hope of catching sight of kingfishers, but that was not to be either, despite patiently waiting some two hours. However whilst there I was visited by a very friendly, though somewhat nervous young Robin who did finally take some seeds from my hand, but he was always far too close for me to get any shots, so it was that as I traced my steps, I was greeted by yet another cheerful robin, this time in the branches at an acceptable distance.

I returned to where the car was parked and crossed the main road to walk along the far side of Tringford, but although there was a young family of cygnets with their parents, there was nothing beyond coots and Canada geese. So I returned to the car and journeyed to Wilstone where the only slightly less common Pochard were, and after a couple of dives they paddled away from the shore, beyond my reach and also into the sun!

It was not the most productive of visits, but it had become warmer, so a welcome change from grey skies and near constant rain.