Treecreeper, Kingfisher, etc

This morning Zoe and I were up at the Reading University lakes at just after 8am.  There were quite a few other people about but they were mostly out jogging or dog-walking, or both.  While we were feeding the ducks and geese by the island on the big lake we caught sight of a kingfisher flying low to the island.  We didn't recognise it at first because it was silhouetted against a bright water surface but its irridescent blue colour became apparent when it flew in front of the shadow of the wooded island.

A few seconds later we saw a small bird that I recognised as a treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) running up the trunk of one of the trees on the island.  It was greyish-brown on top and lighter underneath.  As it was running up the trunk it moved around to the other side, away from us, rather like squirrels do.  Both Zoe and I have seen a treecreeper before. It must have been five years ago or so, because I remember Zoe being fairly small at the time.  I think I was doing the ironing or else putting away some clothes at the time and looked up to see the treecreeper on one of the chestnut trees just outside our bedroom window.  I called Zoe in from another room and she was just in time to see it.  Over the years, we have also seen a nuthatch and a greater spotted woodpecker through the same window.

Getting back to this morning, we also saw the usuals: Egyptian geese, the snow goose/muscovy duck, a cormorant, a heron, lots of mallards, mandarins and wood ducks, coots, moorhens, etc.  The shovellers were still there, mostly just sitting around resting under overhanging branches near the shore, though a few did go out into the middle of the lake and form a feeding whirlpool while we were there.