Stockers Lake is an old flooded gravel pit of approx 90 acres (37.5ha) at Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire within the Colne Valley Regional Park which is designated as a Local Nature Reserve

Local Nature Reserve

Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...

The lake is owned by the Three Valleys Water

Three Valleys Water

Veolia Water Central is a privately owned company supplying water to Hertfordshire and parts of Surrey, North London and Bedfordshire, in England....

 Company and managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is a registered charity located in St Albans and is one of the 47 local Wildlife Trusts spread across the whole of the UK....

 assisted by the Friends of Stockers Lake voluntary group.

Environment

The lake has anumber of small islands and is surrounded by mixed woodland, alder

Alder

Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

 carr

Carr

Carr is a common surname in northern England, deriving from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning a swamp. Kerr is a Scottish variant. Carr is also a common surname in Ireland, where it often derives from the nickname, gearr, meaning short...

 and willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

 scrub. It is almost adjacent to Springwell Lake reedbeds.

Wildlife

Situated on the North-South flyway of the Colne Valley

River Colne, Hertfordshire

The Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. It flows mainly through Hertfordshire and forms the boundary between the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon...

, the reserve is especially attractive to birds both in Spring, when many migratory passerines pass through, and in Winter, when the lake is full of waterfowl

Waterfowl

Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....

. Common Tern

Common Tern

The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...

s nest on specially constructed rafts moored on the lake, and the Heronry

Heronry

A heronry is a breeding ground for herons, sometimes called a heron rookery.- Asia :* Kaggaladu Heronry is in Karnataka state of India...

is the largest in Hertfordshire. Over 60 species of birds are recorded to breed.

Access

The Reserve is accessible at all times. Map reference TQ 042933.
Entrance to the Reserve is via Bury Aquadrome, where there is car parking. Alternative parking is possible along Springwell Lane.