Rare Spoonbill seen at Stocker's Lake

A rare and spectacular bird, the aptly named Spoonbill, was seen at Stocker’s Lake on Friday July 1st. There have only ever been fewer than 20 records of Spoonbills across Herts as a whole. We think this is the first ever record for Stocker’s Lake.

The bird was first seen from Tern Hide in the early evening and was later spotted in a slightly different position before it flew off in the direction of Inns and Springwell Lakes at around 9.10pm. Hopefully it will return over the following days allowing others the chance to see it.

Spoonbills are large wading birds, close to herons in size, with an unmistakable spatula-shaped bill which, when feeding, they sweep from side to side in shallow water to capture insect lavae, small fish etc. Spoonbills are rare across the whole of the UK although in recent years a breeding population has established itself in Norfolk and this is leading to them becoming seen a little more frequently in neighbouring areas.

The images in the gallery below were taken at around 9pm on July 1st from the path along the River Colne. The bird was on a small island part way across the lake towards Tern Hide.

To keep abreast of all interesting sightings at the lake please regularly visit our Sightings page.