Weekend stroll - Stoke Lake (Part 1)

The past week or so has been very topsy turvy at work so on Saturday we decided to take a stroll at Stoke Lake. We headed for the River Wey which was fairly busy with barges moving up and down plus canoeists and other walkers.

Very little wildlife on the water except lots and lots of Water Boatmen.

We scanned the wet pastures (now extremely dry) on the opposite side of the river but the only signs of life were a group of horses including this youngster closely chaperoned by a parent.

A few moments later a 'pterodactyl' flypast from the local Cormorants.

We followed the short boardwalk through a small area of damp woodland with the twittering calls of Blue Tits in the overhead canopy, a single Chiffchaff calling plus the warning sounds from a Wren. We then entered an open grassy area only to be surprised to find a group of cows quietly grazing. This youngster gave us a quick look before continuing to munch away at the grass.

Leaving the cows behind we headed to the lake. As you can see, not a lot of apparent activity. The 'tern' raft now abandoned by the Common Terns that visit each year is now seriously overgrown with weeds.

The only obvious inhabitants were Coot and Moorhens. For the next half an hour or so I watched Dragonflies and Darters urgently flitting back and forth along the reed fringed waters edge but never settling anywhere for a portrait photo! Part 2 will follow soon and include some of the other water users. FAB