Sunday 22 April 2012

A day’s birding at Rutland Water, Rutland - April 20, 2012


I went to the north arm at Rutland Water first as a Bar-tailed Godwit had been reported earlier.  A Little Egret was located and three Buzzards were observed over Burley Wood but the only waders present were four Oystercatcher.  Two House Martins were observed over the north arm and only three Goldeneye remained.
It all looked very quiet on lagoon one on the Egleton Reserved so after lunch I walked to snipe hide as a Whitethroat had been reported.  There was no sign of the Whitethroat but I did see a distant Red Kite over Burley Wood and circa thirty Sand Martin over lagoon two.  I walked back to the centre calling in mallard hide where there were twenty-four Black-tailed Godwits feeding to the right on the edge of the lagoon.  There were all ‘Islandica’ and in summer plumage and the winter plumage Bar-tailed Godwit was with them.
 Black-tailed Godwits on lagoon one
Black-tailed and single Bar-tailed Godwits over lagoon one
Having had some good views of the godwits and the rain easing I set off for lagoon three where I had two superb adult summer Little Gulls and two first-year birds.  I then moved to plover hide on lagoon four where I saw four Avocets, two Little Ringed Plovers, four Ringed Plover, a Green Sandpiper and four Redshanks.  As the next shower departed a set of back to the centre and heard a Grasshopper Warbler and saw it briefly just before the path to shoveler hide.
The number of Common Terns had increased and I counted thirty-five with birds in the north arm and lagoons one, three and four.
 Great Crested Grebe on lagoon four
 Pair of Gadwall alighting on lagoon three
 Male Sparrowhawk over lagoon four
Avocet on lagoon four


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