I was planning to join a team
of four on a big list day today but an unscheduled change of vehicle meant that
it would be uncomfortable if I went. I
then received a tweet early morning to say that they had managed to get the
original vehicle and that I could join them if I so wished.
I agreed to check out Eye
Brook Reservoir before going to Rutland Water but there was very little of
note, although the Little Owl obliged an I did see a single Dunlin in flight
and there were at least nine Common Terns.
There was clearly more Swift and House Martin present as well but fewer
Swallow and I only saw a couple of Sand Martin.
At Rutland Water I decided to
go to the north arm first where again there were plenty of Swift and House
Martin again and I did find a single Little Ringed Plover and two Common Terns.
Tim then called and said that
the Great Northern Diver had been seen in the north arm and that they were
going to try and find it and then pick me up at the cottage. I did not see the diver but they had seen it
when they arrived and I possibly saw it after we had walked through the woods
near the cottage and they added Sparrowhawk to their total that was soaring
over Burley Wood. We moved onto lagoon
four on the reserve where we found a Grey Plover and Turnstone, which were both
additions to the list and there was at least four Sanderling and a Greenshank
as well as the more regular waders.
There were forty terns feeding over lagoon three and after a close
scrutiny we did find a single Arctic amongst the Common. There was also a third-year Yellow-legged
Gull amongst a party of Great Black-backed Gulls over towards the main
water. We then returned to the centre
for some lunch where I saw the orange-headed Ruff that has been present for a
while now.
On leaving the centre we
headed for Exton and passed through the village to Tunneley Wood and on to Fort
Henry ponds. We walked around Tunneley
Wood where we added Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch and saw a Tawny Owl.
Fort Henry was less productive
and produced nothing new but we did have nice views of a single Buzzard. We continued along the road to the A1 and
headed north coming off a Stretton and heading to Clipsham Park Wood.
Terry had seen a pair of
Crossbill here at the weekend but we couldn’t find them today in the now very
strong wind but we did have the first and only Marsh Tit of the day. We also called at some newly planted woodland
but saw very little and we moved on to a wood on the edge of the A1 where the
only known Nightingales in the counties were.
We walked the short distance to the site and were amazed that one was
singing, although we didn’t see it.
We continued down the A1
coming off near Stanford and heading for Ketton and parked overlooking the
cement works. As I got out of the vehicle
and raised my bins I saw a Peregrine come in from the left and fly towards a
large round building where it disappeared and was not seen again despite a
protracted wait. We did see a couple of
Ravens over the works and early they had seen several young as well as the
adult.
We now returned to Rutland
Water and checked a barn out where Lloyd indicated that a male Barn Owl roosts
on occasions. As he approached the nest
box not one but two flew out and caused him some concern as he didn’t want to
disturb a sitting bird. On checking the
nest it was good news as there were no eggs.
We continued back to the north arm where I had good views of the Great
Northern Diver and Tim found a drake Goldeneye.
Back on the reserve we went to the wet meadow where we added Snipe to
the list. Back at the centre there was
nothing new on the lagoon one but we did find a second Yellow-legged Gull. I now called it a day and left them to finish
off on lagoons three and four where they added two more species and finished
the day on 115, which was quite impressive considering the weather.
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