Peter began his inspiring talk by describing the Forest which covers an area of 6,000 acres and is 12 miles north to south, 2.5 miles wide and represents the remains of an ancient royal hunting forest.

 He began with descriptions of water features. First up was Highams Park, accessed from a train line from Liverpool Street or parking on the road. The drain from the lake provided photo opportunities with lots of water birds: black headed gulls, moorhens, coots, cormorants and herons. Lots of colourful birds also; parakeets and green woodpeckers. There are even lots of rats living in the area.

 Then Connaught Water, on the River Ching. This area you have to drive to and it is very, very popular and there is a charge for car parking. Again, there are interesting birds - nuthatch, tree creeper, kingfishers (who fish the ditches), green and great spotted woodpeckers and grebes. In addition there are 5 pairs of breeding herons and, oddly, terrapins!

 The third pond was Wake Valley Pond. From the Wake Arms roundabout the Wake Valley car park in Lodge Road is accessible. Here Peter mentioned dragon flies, the Downy Emerald, emerging in May/June. These form food for ducklings and wagtails. Also in this area is a piece of heathland, a great backdrop for dawn landscapes, grass snakes, adders and lizards.

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