I was out on my own today and
called at Eye Brook Reservoir first seeing a Red Kite close to Blaston. The water here is still very high and with
the exception of two parties of Fieldfare passing over there was else of note.
I moved off to Rutland Water
and walked to Lax Hill calling at snipe, harrier and fieldfare hides on
route.
As I approached snipe hide on
the wet meadow there were quite a few birds feeding in the hedgerow and I found
a single Redwing and three Lesser Redpolls.
The pool on the wet meadow was pretty full and with the exception of
Wigeon and Teal there was little else and no sign of the reported male
Stonechat, although it was seen later. I
continued to harrier and there was virtually nothing in front of the hide but I
did see seventeen Golden Plover flying over the lagoon.
There were quite a few birds
in the hedges leading to fieldfare hide but most went unidentified but I did
see a single Chiffchaff and another Lesser Redpoll.
Lesser Redpoll
There was little from
fieldfare except a few Goldeneye.
I continued to Goldeneye hide
on Lax Hill where there were quite a few wildfowl including two Egyptian Goose
and two Goldeneye. There was a good area
of mud as the water was now dropping and a single Redshank was found.
I checked out the feeding station
from robin hide on Lax Hill and was rewarded with two Nuthatches and a Marsh
Tit coming to feed at regular intervals.
Nuthatch on Lax Hill
I continued around the top of
Lax Hill and as I came out of the gate at the top of the hill I suddenly found
myself sitting on my backside. I had
stood on a cow pat on a slope and it was just like trying to stand on ice. The worst was that I had also sat in it. After cleaning myself off as best
as I could I started to walk back to the 360° hide
when the phone went with a message that there was a male Ring-necked Duck close
to tufted duck hide on the Lyndon Reserve.
I walked straight back to the
car park and drove around to the Lyndon Centre where Tim, the Reserve Manager,
gave me a lift along the top track. We
arrived to find Steve Lister watching the bird and we were soon able to get
reasonable views as it drifted about in a clearing in the hedgerow. It was a sleep for most of the time but it did
raise its head on a number of occasions showing its distinctive bill pattern.
I returned with Tim to the car
park and then drove to the north arm where I had some lunch and found a female
Scaup and the Black-necked Grebe.
I returned to the centre and
after a quick look on lagoon one where I saw a single Goosander I walked to
shoveler hide on lagoon three. As I
walked towards redshank hide there we quite a few birds feeding in the trees
and hedgerow close to the large meadow and I found another Lesser Redpoll and
three Siskin.
As I entered shoveler hide
other birders informed me that a Jack Snipe was showing and it performed rather
well over the next hour or so. There had
also been a Little Gull briefly close to the hide. I started to scan the distant wildfowl and
picked up the first-winter Little Gull feeding at the back of the lagoon and
also found the female Red-crested Pochard.
There were at least four Snipe and two Green Sandpipers and three
Redshanks close to the hide. Steve and
Dave had come into the hide and whilst Steve saw the Jack Snipe straight away
Dave had to wait quite a while before it showed rather well again. A Water Rail also showed rather well.
Dave and I eventually joined
Steve in dunlin hide on lagoon four for the gulls but after about thirty
minutes we had only been able to find two Yellow-legged Gulls. Matthew then came into the hide and picked up
a second-winter Caspian and first-winter Mediterranean Gull immediately. We eventually found three second-winter, a
third –winter and two adult Caspian Gulls.
As I walked back to the car
park Dave picked up a Barn Owl, which was a fitting end to a superb day’s
birding with eight-two species recorded.
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