Before going to Rutland Water
we visited Lyndon where a Spotted Flycatcher had been reported yesterday but
there was no sign and there was little else, a single Swallow being the best.
Jackdaws removing hair from cow's back
Dave and I went to Rutland
Water to help carry out with a monthly wildfowl count. We were assigned responsibility for counting
lagoons, five to eight, which took a little over two hours. These four lagoons are the newest of the
lagoon and as yet have not reached maturity and as such tend to hold fewer
birds.
We started in the 360° hide on lagoon five where there were eight
Shelduck, four pairs with three showing an interest in the artificial nest
boxes. There were also three Redshanks
with one displaying and showing territorial behaviour to another of the
birds. From five we moved onto lagoon
seven that doesn't have a hide as yet and so we decided to peer over the top of
the bund in order to make the count and this, perhaps surprisingly, caused
little if any disturbance. There were
nine Shelduck on this lagoon and eight appeared to be paired, with at least one
pair showing interest in one of the artificial nest boxes. There was also twenty-one Common Terns on the
island directly in front where hopefully some at least will breed. There was a single Ringed Plover and a Little
Ringed Plover had flown over as we came out of Shelduck hide on lagoon
five. There was also a single
Oystercatcher and a Redshank present.
From lagoon seven we walked to kingfisher hide on lagoon eight where we
found three Oystercatcher and four Little Ringed Plovers and on lagoon six we
found two more Oystercatcher, two Little Ringed Plovers and a single
Redshank. We had also seen a Buzzard
from the 360° and two from both lagoon seven and
eight which we assumed would be the same birds and the Osprey in Manton
Bay. We called at the wet meadow on
route back to the centre where had a single Little Egret and a Common Sandpiper
on lagoon one.
Lapwing displaying over lagoon six
Great Crested Grebe on lagoon five
Great Crested Grebe on lagoon five
Buzzard over lagoon eight
Oystercatcher on lagoon eight
Female Shelduck on lagoon six
Shelduck in territorial dispute on lagoon six
Male Shelduck on lagoon six
After handing in or counts at
the centre and viewing lagoon one, seven Dunlin in flight being the highlight,
during the first of the afternoon showers we had lunch before setting of for
lagoon three.
We went to shoveler hide on
lagoon three and Dave found a male Scaup right at the back of the lagoon and
there was also nineteen Common Terns feeding over the water. Ken then picked up a female-type Marsh
Harrier over the bund before it flew across the front of the hide to the
reedbed and dropping out of sight. After
a while it got up again and provided some excellent views for some fifteen
minutes or more as it quartered the reedbed.
A Sparrowhawk and two Buzzards were also observed over the trees on the
northern edge of the lagoon.
We moved to sandpiper on
lagoon four where we found an Avocet, a Little Ringed Plover, twenty-four
Ringed Plovers, four Sanderling, forty-five Dunlin and a Curlew and a
third-year Yellow-legged Gull was also observed.
The weather was now turning
worse and we took our opportunity to get back to the centre as the rain
eased. There was clearly far more Swift
and a few Swallows present today and there were plenty of Sand Martins but I
only saw a single House Martin. We had
also recorded all of the commoner warblers and heard Cetti’s on several
occasions.
On route we called at Eye
Brook Reservoir where we found four Ringed Plovers but little else and a Red
Kite was observed near Blaston as we travelled home.
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