Very rare visitor

Red-crested Pochards in Hertfordshire are increasing naturalised residents and winter visitors. Nationally the increase is thought to originate from escapes from wildfowl collections together with an increase of birds from the continent in recent years. Since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries they have expanded their range across Europe and are now found from the Netherlands and Denmark south to Spain.

Two records from Fairlands Valley Lakes: two drakes on 24 April 2013 and a female from 4 to 12 January 2026, when it was seen with a second female.

Fairlands Valley Lakes 12 January 2026