Rod's Birding: A day at Rutland Water, Rutland

The Temminck’s Stint Roger and I had been looking for yesterday had been found late in the day on lagoon four and so I went early in the hope of seeing it.

Dave had was already there when I arrived but had still not seen the bird as I walked into sandpiper hide but as I began to set up my scope he announced he thought he had got it. I was soon on the bird and agreed it was in fact the Temminck's Stint. It then flew to another island and Malcolm then arrived and was able to se the bird. I rang Roger who was on his way but shortly afterwards we lost the bird and it was a good half hour before we located it again but only very briefly. Roger then arrived and decided to go with Dave to plover hide in the hope they would see it on the back of island four, which is where we thought it had gone. Just after they left the hide I saw it fly again heading towards island one but Malcolm and I couldn’t find it. Malcolm had to leave due to flooding at the premises he looked after and I decided to join Dave and Roger in plover hide. They had still not found the stint but I did find an eclipse drake Scaup roosting on island three with a few Tufted Duck. Dave eventually had to leave but I found the stint again just after he had left the hide and Roger was then able to see the bird before we lost it again. We had also seen four Oystercatcher, at least three Little Ringed Plovers, six Ringed Plovers, ten Dunlin, two Greenshanks, two Common Sandpipers and two Green Sandpipers as we searched for the stint and three and then two Redshanks arrived. As we scoped for the stint again I noticed what I thought might be it on island four and got Roger and another birder onto the bird. There was also another bird stood just behind a Ringed Plover, which we identified as a summer plumage Sanderling. The Sanderling then began to move on the island and the smaller bird followed it but as it got closer it suddenly didn’t appear quite as small and it was a second Sanderling.

Roger and I returned to sandpiper hide where I picked up three Black-tailed Godwits dropping in but as there was little else and the hide being pretty full I decided to move onto shoveler hide on lagoon three.

Roger joined me in the hide but there was very little just two Little Egrets and a few Common Terns. I then waded through the flooded path to lapwing hide and Roger went back to plover hide. There was very little on the main water or from crake hide but I did have three Curlew fly over lagoon two heading for lagoon four.

I returned to the car park for lunch where I saw Roger again who informed me he had seen the stint again.

Great Crested Grebes at nest on lagoon three

Great Crested Grebe at nest on lagoon three

Grey Heron from crake hide

Female Tufted Duck with brood on lagoon four

Second-summer Great Black-backed Gull over lagoon three

Common Tern over lagoon three

After lunch the weather began to improve with some sunny periods that increased for a while during the afternoon before cloud increased yet again.

I walked back to plover hide on lagoon three but there appeared to be fewer waders although the five Redshanks were still present and also Little Ringed Plovers and Ringed Plovers. I did locate a single Greenshank and Green Sandpiper and eventually two Common Sandpipers and the three Curlews were amongst a party of roosting gulls. I then located the Temminck’s Stint on a distant island but soon disappeared only to reappear some time late on the other end of the island. Those in the hide were able to watch it as it continued to feed. An Osprey then came over the lagoon much to annoyance of the gulls with some mobbing it along with several Lapwing. The Temminck’s initially just crouched on the island but the three Curlews eventually flew over before the Osprey came down to bathe quite close to the island the Temminck’s was on and it too had disappeared once again. Rick then found the Temminck’s again on island but we soon lost it as it went out of sight behind the vegetation. Ken then entered the hide but it was quite some time before I picked it up again and Ken was able to get some reasonable if distant views.

We decided to call at shoveler hide before returning to the centre where we found a Turnstone perched on one of the tern rafts. There was little on lagoon one although we did get further views of an Osprey before we left.

It had been a pretty good day’s birding with fourteen species of wader seen.

I had also seen a Barn Owl near Billesdon, Leicestershire as I travelled to Rutland Water.