Friday 30 August 2013

An afternoon in Leicestershire & Rutland - August 28, 2013

With reports of three Spotted Redshanks at Eye Brook Reservoir Dave and I decided to go over and have a look.

On arrival all we could find were two juvenile Redshanks and despite an extensive search we couldn’t find any Spotted Redshanks.  We did also find three Ruff, five Snipe, a Common Sandpiper and three Green Sandpipers.  There were also five Little Egrets a single Pintail and a single adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Satisfied we had explored Eye Brook Reservoir enough we moved off to the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water.  On checking the book we found that there was a Spotted Redshank on lagoon four so we set off to sandpiper hide.  On reaching the hide we found a Little Ringed Plover, four Ruff and three Greenshanks but the Spotted Redshank was eluding us.  Dave suddenly spotted the Spotted Redshank quite close to the hide but we only saw it fairly briefly before it disappeared behind island ten, which is where it must have been feeding all along.  There were also seven Little Egrets and three Pintail on the lagoon.  There were five Buzzard soaring to the left of Burley House and we saw a couple of Osprey over the north arm,


There were seven Snipe, three Black-tailed Godwits and four Redshanks close to shoveler hide and two Black Terns were observed amongst the Common Terns feeding over the water.  We had a quick look on lagoon one where we located a couple of Snipe and three Green Sandpipers and another seven Little Egrets.

An early morning at Newton Harcourt, Leicestershire - August 29, 2013

Dave had put his month trap out last night and so it was an early start to empty it.  Perhaps surprisingly we trapped 112 moths of twenty-two species one Feathered Gothic being a new species for us.

The following were recorded were trapped: Diamond-back Moth [1]; Garden Rose Tortrix [1]; Agriphila geniculea [7]; Eudonia angustea [1]; Mother of Pearl [2]; Lime-speck Pug [2]; Brimstone Moth [14]; Willow Beauty [1]; Flame Shoulder [1]; Large Yellow Underwing [16]; Lesser Yellow Underwing [4]; Lesser Broad-bodied Yellow Underwing [2]; Setaceous Hebrew Character [15]; Square-spot Rustic [22]; Cabbage Moth [1]l Feathered Gothic [2]; Centre-barred Sallow [11]; Copper Underwing [1]; Dark Arches [1]; Flounced Rustic [1]; Burnished Brass [1] and Silvery Y [5].


Agriphila geniculea


Cabbage Moth


Feathered Gothic


Feathered Gothic


Centre-barred Sallow


A morning at Little Stretton, Leicestershire - August 28, 2013

There had been a report of three Whinchats and a Redstart yesterday and so Dave and I went to see if they were still there today.

This was only my second visit to this site, which can be quite productive, being a footpath that follows the valley north.  There are plenty of excellent habitats including a pool and a stream that runs through the valley with a band of un-farmed land.

Dave and I walked the path, which initially appeared to be quite quiet.  However on reaching the second hedge running into the farmland there was obviously quite a few birds.  There were plenty of Yellowhammers in the hedge and six Skylarks on one of the fields.  We suddenly had a brief view of a Redstart disappearing into the hedge and after a patient wait obtained good views. We walked further along the valley seeing at least two Buzzard and a single Willow Tit, which is now quite a rare bird in Leicestershire & Rutland.  We walked back to the car and as we had not seen the Whinchat we went to Stoughton Airfield where three had also been reported yesterday.  We looked from the gateway onto the airfield but there was no sign and so we returned to the footpath at Little Stretton.


We met Colin Towe there who had seen them yesterday and so we walked back into the valley with Colin.  We reached the same hedgerow we had seen the Redstart and a single Whinchat flew and perched on top of a hawthorn bush.  We saw it a couple more times but there was no sign of the Redstart.  Colin and I continued further to check out a flock of Lesser Black-backed Gulls that were on a recently ploughed field.  As we approached the field we had five Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk soaring overhead and on then looking to see the gulls we were surprised to find they had all flown.


Juvenile Common Buzzard


Small Copper

A day in Leicestershire and Rutland - August 27, 2013

I wasn’t out too early today as it was rather misty first thing and I intended staying out later as my wife was out this evening.

I called at Eye Brook Reservoir on route to Rutland Water as there had been a Spotted Redshank there yesterday.  It appeared fairly quiet, although it is not easy to view the area as it used to be due the high hedges and emergent vegetation.  I did eventually find a single Ruff and a couple of Snipe and there was still a single juvenile Shelduck and seven Little Egrets were observed.  An Osprey was also observed towards the dam and then again as it was circling high to the south.


At Rutland Water I initially went the Old Hall in the south arm where I managed to identify a single Sanderling and three Dunlin on the island and a Common Sandpiper flew by.  Perhaps the most remarkable sighting was up to sixty Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, which is a sight I haven’t seen for many years.  There was also a single Painted Lady and a few Small Whites and a Red Admiral in Hambleton.  There were masses of wildfowl in the south arm, which were mainly Tufted Duck and Coot but with a few Wigeon, Gadwall and Mallard.  There were six Egyptian Geese on the spit and at least two Little Egrets.


Swallow at the Old Hall

The north arm was also quiet with just a single Ruff and twenty-four Egyptian Geese but again there was a notable increase in wildfowl but again mainly Tufted Duck but I did find a single Pochard.

On the Egleton Reserve I initially went towards the 360° hide on lagoon five.  As I was approaching the hide Tim rang to say that Nigel had, had an orange billed tern in Heron Bay, although it had flown off.  Not being too far away from heron hide and Heron Bay I decided to go although I was rather sceptical as any orange-billed tern would be a meger.  I saw an Osprey over Lax Hill that was carrying a fish.  When I arrived Nigel was still there but had not seen the bird again.  Apparently it had been perched on the man-made osprey platform but facing away but he had seen the bill when the bird turned its head.  He was not certain what he had seen but felt the bill was long and orange but the bird was not near the size of a Caspian.  After discussing the situation with him I think he had see a Common Tern and the sun and angle had played tricks on the size and colouration of the bill.

There were three Green Sandpipers and three Snipe to the right of the hide and two Greenshanks flew over heading for Manton Bay.

I called at 360° hide and snipe hide on the way back to the centre and found eight Little Egrets, a Green Sandpiper and two Greenshanks on lagoon five.  There were two Green Sandpipers and a Little Egret on the wet meadow flash and a juvenile Peregrine flew low over the flash causing some panic amongst the feeding birds.  There was a distant Osprey towards Burley Wood and I wondered how many were actually still at Rutland Water or had most started their migration to Africa.
Whilst having lunch Ken arrived and after I had finished my lunch we walked to shoveler hide on lagoon three.  The water level had risen slightly but there were six Ruff, three Snipe and a Green Sandpiper feeding to the left of the hide.  A rather large female Sparrowhawk causing some panic over the lagoon but when things settled down again I found four Black-tailed Godwits resting and preening on a small island.  I counted twenty-nine Common Terns over the lagoon and there were also two juvenile Black Terns as well.  A juvenile Black-necked Grebe was then located amongst a flock of Tufted Duck and Pochard.  It was rather distant but appeared less black and white as the birds I had seen last week.  A second Sparrowhawk and two Buzzard were observed over the wood to the north of the lagoon and three Pintail flew over.
I went to sandpiper hide on lagoon four with Ken where we found a single Barnacle Goose, a Greenshank and several Ruff, which probably included at least some of those that were on lagoon three.  There were ten Little Egrets also on various islands.

Ken now departed and went to crake and lapwing hides.  I called at shoveler and buzzard hides on route and despite hearing a Redshank several times whilst in shoveler I was unable to locate it.  Four Greenshanks, three together, flew over lagoon three whilst I was in buzzard hide but there was nothing else of note.  There was very little from crake hide and all I could find of interest from lapwing was a single female-type Goldeneye.

I returned to lagoon four but this time walked on to dunlin hide to get closer to the gulls.  By the time I departed there numerous Black-headed Gulls and fair number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls present but other than three Yellow-legged Gulls there was nothing else of note.  I did see five distant Little Ringed Plovers on one of the islands and a duck that I though looked unusual flew in, which turned out to be a female Mandarin.  I finally called it a day after what had been a very pleasant day in some late summer weather.

A day at Spurn, East Yorkshire - August 26, 2013

Dave, Roger, Ken and I were thinking of going to Norfolk as there was a good selection of scare migrants scattered around.  However we decided to go to Spurn as there was also a good selection of migrants there to and despite it being further we felt we had a better chance of connecting with more there.

Dave drove and we arrived just be 09:00 and on turning the corner by the Crown and Anchor at Kilnsea there was a small crowd gathered at a gateway.  We stopped and walked over to find they were watching a Wryneck and a Redstart.  What a good start and we also found at that there was a Subalpine Warbler at Sammy’s Point.  We drove the short distance to the car park at Sammy’s Point and then walked towards the scrub on the point.  There were at least five Whinchat and two Wheatears in the horse paddocks on route and we also had a Whimbrel on the estuary.

When we arrived there were quite a few birders but they were clearly not watching the bird.  We walked back along the top scanning the bushes seeing at least two Pied and two Spotted Flycatchers as well as several Whitethroats and Willow Warblers.  Dave then saw the Subalpine on the top of bush but flew and disappeared before anyone else got on it.  They birders on the other side of the bushes then appeared to have something but the excitement was short lived, although it was the bird.  News of a Red-backed Shrike back near the car park induced to go back to try and see it and whilst it was not showing when we got back it soon reappeared and we got good scope views of it.  We decided to go back to the Subalpine site and this time went to the other side of the bushes.  It had been seen again but again only briefly and not by everyone that was there.  We had further views of Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, several Whitethroats and single Blackcap and Garden Warbler.  Roger then found the bird near the top of a an elder bush but only very briefly and the rest of us failed to connect.  We eventually gave up and went back towards Spurn.


Again as we turned the corner at the pub there was a gathering again and this time there was a Wryneck feeding on the opposite of the road providing excellent views and photo opportunity.  It eventually flew off and we decided to go tot he canal as there had been a Common Rosefinch reported.  When we arrived nobody seemed to know much about it but then a couple said they had seen it in the phragmites near the canal.  When we arrived two other birders sad they had not seen it but then Roger said he had it in the reeds.  We had brief but good views of it before it flew into the bushes on the other bank where it performed for a short while before flying off.  Whilst we were waiting hopefully for it to return we learnt of an Icterine Warbler close to where the second Wryneck had been.  We decided to give the Rosefinch a little longer until a CB announced that the Icterine was showing really well.











Wryneck

On arrival there were quite a few birders around but they appeared disinterested as if the bird had gone.  I asked a birder with a camera where it had been seen and he replied it is in these bushes but that they couldn’t see it at present but almost immediately he said there it is and it was just a few feet away.  We watched and photographed the bird for quite some time before moving off to the observatory and paying to drive to the point as there was a Red-breasted Flycatcher close to post 61.


Icterine Warbler

We got parked and walked a short distance back to the gain access to the area.  It had been lost when we arrived but we soon found it again and had some nice, if distant, views of a nice juvenile.  There was also Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and a Redstart and Whinchat close by.  As Dave and I returned to the car another birder waved at us to stop and we had a third Wryneck of the day perched on a fence before it dropped out of sight onto the ground.


Red-breasted Flycatcher

We had our lunch overlooking the sea but there was nothing except for a few Herring Gulls and a single Sparrowhawk that drifted out to sea before returning back over the point.  There were a few waders on the Humber and we found several Sanderling and a single Bar-tailed Godwit as well as a couple of Little Terns.
Ken wanted to try for the Common Rosefinch again at the canal but there was no sign but as we got to the end of the road several were watching it feeding from a wire fence.  There were also at least three Whinchats and two Redstarts to end the day.

It had been an excellent day’s birding despite missing the Subalpine Warbler, with five good scarce migrants and a number of more common ones.


Wheatear at the observatory

Saturday 24 August 2013

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - August 24, 2013

Dave, Roger and I set off for Eye Brook Reservoir but on arrival the heavens opened, the rain was very heavy.  We decided to continue to go the Bird Watching Centre at Rutland Water as at least we could remain dry there.

As we arrived in the car park the rain eased and we were able to get to the centre relatively dry. There were twelve Little Egrets on the lagoon and we did find two Snipe and a Green Sandpiper and a Kingfisher appeared briefly but there was little else of note.  As the rain eased we set off to sandpiper hide on lagoon four.  There were a few birds around the badger hide area and we managed to find a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a female-type Blackcap and a Marsh Tit.  I heard a Ringed Plover calling and just afterwards seventeen flew over us and appeared to head off west and we also saw a Willow Warbler and Goldcrest.

There appeared to be very little on lagoon four at first other than seven Little Egrets but patience paid off as a Hobby passed over and we found two Little Ringed Plovers, eleven Ringed Plovers, two Dunlin and a Greenshank.

On lagoon three from shoveler hide there was a Black-necked Grebe close to the hide that was difficult to see.  There was a single Dunlin, five Ruff, six Snipe, three Black-tailed Godwit and a Green Sandpiper flew in.  Lagoon three is usually good for terns and today was no exception, amongst the thirty plus Common Terns were four Black Terns and a single juvenile Arctic Tern, which Dave picked out.  Are only two Buzzards of the day were observed over the wood on the northern edge of the lagoon.

I called at crake hide as we headed to lapwing hide where there was a couple of Green Sandpipers and a Greenshank.  The terns on lagoon three then rose high and became very vocal and the three Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff flew over and just afterwards a Sparrowhawk circled above.

We did locate a single Goldeneye from lapwing hide and Roger found another Pintail but there was no sign of the female-type Common Scoter present on the previous two visits.  Ken had called whilst we were in lapwing hide and we met him as we walked back to the car park for lunch.

We decided we would visit the north arm before finishing the day on the Lyndon Reserve.  The north produced three Oystercatchers, which have normally all gone by this time of the year, and a single Greenshank.

On arriving at Lyndon there were plenty of birds on the feeders, including eighteen Tree Sparrows, when a Sparrowhawk arrived and crashed into the small bush close to the feeders in pursuit of the passerines.  It didn’t come out but we catch another glimpse of it after all of the passerines dispersed but were unsure if its attack had been successful.  We walked to shallow water hide where a single juvenile Osprey and the two adults were still present and there were two Garganey quite close to the hide.  Three Greenshanks were observed and a Spotted Flycatcher came and sat on the wire fence close to the hide for several minutes.  We then found a second on the far side of the reservoir just before we walked back to the centre.


It had been another good days birding, perhaps not quite as exciting as the last visit, but still very enjoyable.

Friday 23 August 2013

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - August 22, 2013

Dave, Ken, Roger and I had planned to go to Oxfordshire today for butterflies but as the forecast wasn't too good we decided to go local.

Dave, Roger and I set off for Eye Brook Reservoir first, which was fairly quiet but we did find a single Little Ringed Plover, five Snipe, a Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper and there were also nine Little Egrets and three Common Terns.  An adult Yellow-legged Gull arrived during our stay as did a single Common Gull, which was are only one of the day.

Having exhausted Eye Brook Reservoir we moved off to the north arm at Rutland Water.  There were a few passerines calling near where we park but they were difficult to see in the dense foliage.  We spent a short while trying to see them and did locate a single Blackcap and two Mistle Thrushes.  We eventually walked down the path to the spit overlooking the north arm but it appeared rather quiet.  There was a single Oystercatcher on the north shore and a Common Sandpiper close to the bund and four Greenshanks on the south shore.  Eleven Common Terns were observed towards Dickinson’s Bay and I counted twenty-eight Egyptian Geese.  A single Yellow-legged Gull was observed and there were five Little Egrets feeding close together on the north shore and another three between them and Dickinson’s Bay.  A Buzzard was also seen briefly and a party of at least twenty-five Blue Tits contained a single Great Tit and two Blackcaps.

We moved off to the Old Hall as there had been two Turnstone reported yesterday on the island.  As we arrived there was clearly quite a few hirundine, which was mainly House Martins with a few Swallow and two Tree Sparrows were observed perched on an overhead cable.  There must have been at least eighty House Martin, which is a good number this year and at one point they were all trying to settle on the new mansion with many clinging to the walls.  There was no sign of the Turnstone but we did find two Little Ringed Plovers, four Dunlin and two Common Sandpipers and there was another six Little Egrets.  The wildfowl appeared to be still increasing but most were some distance away and we were unable to locate anything unusual amongst the masses of Tufted Duck.

Feeling we had seen all there was to see, we moved on to the Egleton Reserve and after checking out lagoon one form the centre, where there was two Ruff, at least three Green Sandpiper and more Little Egrets we moved off to sandpiper hide on lagoon four.


The first bird I noticed was a juvenile Black Tern amongst several Common Terns on one the islands on lagoon four.  We counted thirteen Ringed Plovers and found two Ruff and two Greenshank on the lagoon.  The female Pintail was found in its usual feeding area and there were eight Yellow-legged Gulls roosting on one of exposed areas.  From sandpiper we moved off towards lapwing hide and called at crake hide on route.  There were quite a few Teal feeding to the right of the hide and a roosting Greenshank and a Green Sandpiper dropped in, whilst a Cetti’s Warbler was heard close by.  Whilst searching unsuccessfully for the Cetti’s we did find a couple of Sedge Warbler.


Painted Lady near sandpiper hide


Painted Lady near sandpiper hide


Small Copper near lagoon four


Small Tortoiseshell near lagoon four

Some of the duck were much closer to lapwing hide than they had been from the Old Hall and we soon found a couple of Goldeneye and then Dave found a female Common Scoter.

Ken joined us in shoveler hide on lagoon three where there was another two Little Ringed Plovers, a single Dunlin, five Ruff and seven Snipe.  Roger then thought he had seen the Black-necked Grebe in the same area as I had seen it on Tuesday but it had disappeared behind the reeds.  It then came out again and Ken, who was scoping the bird, felt that there might be a second and Roger who had also seen the second bird agreed it might be but neither of them could rule out Little Grebe.  We decided to go to buzzard hide where we hoped we might get a better view.  I soon found one of the birds, which was soon joined by a second, confirming there were at two and we all agreed that they were both juveniles despite one being slightly larger than the other.  Whilst we were in the hide we saw two Water Rails and another Sedge Warbler and a Reed Warbler.  I had telephoned Tim to make him aware that there were two Black-necked Grebes and he asked whether or not we would like to go on to lagoon one and count the butterflies feeding on the mint.  I said we would have our lunch and then make a decision.

We returned to the car park and had lunch when it went more overcast and we even had a little rain.  The consensus was that we should not count the butterflies due to the weather and go to the Lyndon Reserve for the afternoon.  I suggested that we should at least wait for Tim to return from lunch and inform him of our decision.


Common Darter on the summer trail

I went to have a look at the feeding station whilst the others went into the centre and to viewing area.  When I joined then Roger had found a Clouded Yellow butterfly that was feeding on the mint in front of the centre.  This was a new for me a Rutland Water and I called Tim to let him know.  He was in Oakham and said he would soon be back.  It was still there when he returned and as we discussed the find his phone rang.  It was John Wright who informed him he was watching a Black Stork over the north arm.  We all soon vacated the centre and stood in front where Joe the assistant reserve manger had picked it up as it was soaring around.  I picked up through the bins almost immediately and soon had it in the scope.  I could see that it was clearly a stork that was blackish above with a blackish neck and underwing with white lower breast, belly and vent.  The wings were held straight out with the neck and head stretched out in front and the legs behind.  The reddish bill was visible even at the range we were looking and the legs also appeared reddish.  It eventually drifted off to the west and was lost from sight.  This was only the second record for the Leicestershire & Rutland and the first for Rutland the first being of two birds in the Husbands Bosworth area on July 18th, 1991, which were only observed by one lucky observer.  It was therefore a County tick for Dave, Roger and thank goodness for the poor weather forecast.  We were also extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time at Rutland Water as we could so easily have missed it.

Having been allowed outside to see the stork we pushed our luck and asked if we could see if we could photo the Clouded Yellow.  No problem and we walked the few yards to where the butterfly was last seen and fond resting quite close to the path.  After taking a few photos we returned to the centre and the viewing area.


Clouded Yellow near the Bird Watching Centre
An Osprey was observed in flight at the back of the lagoon and then another was noticed on the manmade nest in front of the poplars and five Green Sandpipers were eventually found.  A Hobby then provided nice views towards the 360° hide and was seen even closer at little later.  As it appeared to be feeding in front of mallard hide we decided to walk the short distance to the hide for hopefully a better look.  The bird was still hawking when we arrived and could be seen taking numerous butterflies as they were feeding on the mint.  It also provided some excellent photo opportunities.  A summer plumage Golden Plover was also found amongst the Lapwing.











Hobby hawking close to mallard hide

It had been a great day out with an unexpected first for the Counties, plus a first for Rutland Water in terms of the Clouded Yellow.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

A morning walk in Great Glen and Newton Harcourt, Leicestershire - August 21, 2013

I went out for a walk along the footpath to the south of Greta Glen then west along the Grand Union Canal towpath from Newton Harcourt.

The walk from Great Gland produced nice views of a Sparrowhawk, a Green Woodpecker flying low over a field, a single Swallow, a Chiffchaff, a female Blackcap and a Whitethroat.  There was also two adult and an immature Grey Wagtail on the filter beds at the sewage works.

The walk along the canal is slightly longer and I found at two adult Spotted Flycatchers feeding a young and another adult at a second location.  Five Raven also flew over the canal as I reached the turning point of the walk, which was the first time I had seen them in the area.  Nine Swallow were observed as I started the walk and a I saw a single male Blackcap and a Treecreeper, where I was certain I could hear more Spotted Flycatchers but couldn’t locate them in the small copse.


Insects were not prolific but I did see several species of butterfly, dragonflies and moths.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - August 20, 2013

Dave had put his month trap out last night and so I started in Newton Harcourt emptying the trap.  There were sixty-six moths in the trap comprising of twenty species as follows: Garden Rose Tortrix [4]; Celypha striana [1]; Agriphila geniculea [4]; Catoptria falsella [1]; Pleurophya ruralis [1]; Acrobasis advenella [2]; Common Carpet [1]; Double-striped Pug [1]; Brimstone Moth [1]; Dingy Footman [2]; Falme Shoulder [1]; Large Yellow Underwing [7]; Lesser Yellow Underwing [10]; Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing [6]; Square-spot Rustic [3]; Marbled Beauty [2]; Mouse Moth [1]; Common Rustic species [1]; Flounced Rustic [5] and Silver Y [12].

None of these were new but the Mouse Moth was the first for the year.


Whilst emptying the trap a Green Woodpecker and Coal Tit were heard calling and two Swallow and at least ten House Martin were observed.


Double-striped Pug


Square-spot Rustic


Square-spot Rustic


Square-spot Rustic


Common Rustic type


Flounced Rustic

Dave was busy this morning and so I set off for Eye Brook Reservoir on my own seeing very little on route with a Jay as I approached the reservoir being the best.

I tuned off the Uppingham road onto the narrow road leading to the reservoir and had a brief view of a Wheatear as it was perched on a compost heap.

There were four Little Egrets roosting in trees at the inlet and a fifth was located along the Leicestershire bank.  A single juvenile Shelduck and two Common Terns were also observed but otherwise it was rather quiet.  I noticed a large number of gulls in a distant field that was obviously being worked by the farmer and on closer inspection found four Red Kites in the field.  An Osprey was observed on a couple of occasions and on the second it landed in a tree on the Leicestershire side, where I have seen it regularly over the last month.

At Rutland Water I decided to walk around to Lax Hill as a Black-necked Grebe had been reported off fieldfare hide on Sunday.  I called at snipe hide first where there were four Green Sandpipers and a Ruff on the wet meadow flash as well as a single Little Egret.

Harrier hide produced very little with just five Little Egrets and a single Green Sandpiper.  There was no sign of the Black-necked Grebe from fieldfare hide and so I walked on to goldeneye hide.  Whilst the reservoir edges look excellent for waders there appeared to be very few present and nothing from goldeneye.  I did have a nice few minutes as I left the hide seeing a couple of Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, two Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Goldcrest and a Treecreeper with both the Goldcrest and Treecreeper looking rather tatty.


Brown Hawker close to fieldfare hide


Brimstone near harrier hide


Male Blackcap near goldeneye hide

I continued on to Heron Bay where there was another Little Egret and a Green Sandpiper as well as three Little Grebes and two Common Terns and I did see another Lesser Whitethroat in a bush on the far shore.  Lagoon eight had very quiet and lagoon five from the 360° hide produced just two more Little Egrets.

I continued back to the car park where I had lunch before going to the centre and checking out lagoon one.  The five Little Egrets were still present and two Snipe and seven Green Sandpipers were observed and there appeared to be more Shoveler than of late and a single Wigeon was observed.  With little else of note I set of the lagoons at the northern edge of the reserve and specifically to shoveler hide on lagoon three, which has been the best area for waders recently.


Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar close to the 360°

As I opened the flaps in the hide there were clearly a few waders present.  There was a Dunlin, six Ruff, twenty-three Snipe, two Black-tailed Godwit and two Green Sandpipers.  As I was scanning though the duck I saw what I thought was a Black-necked Grebe but it dived and disappeared behind a bank of reeds.  I moved to buzzard hide hoping it would be visible from there and after a few minutes I relocated again and confirmed that it was a Black-necked Grebe.  I informed Steve and Tim of its presence and after a while joined Steve in shoveler hide.  The grebe was now visible again from shoveler and two Greenshanks flew in and landed out of sight in front of the hide.  A Little Ringed Plover also made a brief visit and we found at least four Red Kites, two Buzzard and a Hobby distantly over Burley Wood and a Water Rail was heard.


Migrant Hawker from buzzard hide


Migrant Hawker from shoveler hide

Steve decided to go to lapwing hide and just as I was leaving the hide he called to say he had found a couple of Goldeneye in south arm three.  I walked the short distance to the hide where he pointed out the Goldeneye amongst the fast raft of Tufted Duck and I found a third individual even closer.
I started to make my way to sandpiper hide on lagoon dour when Steve called again as he had found a Common Scoter.  As I was only a few yards from the hide I returned and scoped the bird, which was a female-type and a good county bird for August.
I called at sandpiper hide on lagoon four where there were six Little Egrets, a Little Ringed Plover, sixteen Ringed Plovers, a Ruff and a Greenshank.  The female Pintail, that appears to have over summered was also observed and there were seven Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the Lesser and Great Black-backed Gulls.
It had been a rather pleasant day with several good birds observed.

Sunday 18 August 2013

A morning at Rutland Water, Rutland - August 15, 2013

I was out at Rutland Water today as there was a meeting at lunch regarding the management of the lecture theatres at the Birdfair, which starts tomorrow.

I went to lagoon four first as there had been a Sanderling present yesterday but all I could find was an Oystercatcher, four Little Ringed Plovers, eighteen Ringed Plovers, four Dunlin, a Greenshank and a Redshank.  There was also a juvenile Shelduck, a Pintail and two Little Egrets.

From shoveler hide there was another five Dunlin, a single Ruff, nine Snipe, five Green Sandpipers and a Greenshank.  There were fewer wildfowl on the lagoon toady and nothing unusual other there was another Little Egret.


Dunlin on lagoon three

Crake hide produced two more Little Egrets, five Snipe and two Green Sandpipers and a Kingfisher and from lapwing hide two Green Sandpiper flew by with a third on Brown’s Island with five Curlew.  There was a lot of wildfowl but most were some distant away and other than another five Little Egrets nothing of note could be found.


Teal from crake hide


Green Sandpiper from crake hide


Green Sandpiper from crake hide


Snipe from crake hide


Juvenile Pied Wagtail from crake hide

From the Bird Watching Centre it looked as though there had been some disturbance on lagoon one as most of the wildfowl were right at the back of the lagoon with nothing on the closer islands.  Birds did start to return to the islands and I eventually fund another Green Sandpiper and seven Little Egrets.

During the morning I had three sightings of Osprey with singles over lagoon three on two occasions and three over south arm two/Manton Bay area and I also counted forty-seven Common Tern.  There were plenty of Sand Martin over lagoons one and three and two Swift over lagoon three.


A Weasel ran across the road between Great Glen and Kings Norton.