A brief visit to Newton Harcourt, Leicestershire and then a visit to Rutland Water, Rutland -September 22, 2013

I planned to make more normal Tuesday visit to Rutland Water today but initially called at Dave’s who had put his moth trap out last night.

There were eight-three months in the trap but only eighty species were represented.  Four were new for the year but there were no new species.

The following were trapped: Plutella porecctella [1]; Garden Rose Tortrix [1]; Common Marbled Carpet [1]; Brimstone Moth [2]; Canary-shouldered Thorn [1]; Dusky Thorn [1]; Large Yellow Underwing [18]; Lesser Yellow Underwing [14]; Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing [2]; Setaceous Hebrew Character [6]; Common Wainscot [2]; Black Rustic [3]; Beaded Chestnut [5]; Lunar Underwing [16]; Copper Underwing [1]; Angle Shades [4]; Pale Mottled Willow [1]; Silver Y [2]; Straw Dot [1] and Snout [1].

Canary-shouldered Thorn

Dusky Thorn

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Black Rustic

Beaded Chestnut

Lunar Underwing

Lunar Underwing

Pale Mottled Willow

I left Dave’s and headed for Rutland Water, seeing a Green Woodpecker on route close to Kibworth.

On arriving in the Egleton car park I decided to head off towards lagoon three and four.  I continued beyond the lagoon and called in crake hide where there were six Little Egrets and a Snipe but little else except Teal and Moorhens.  Lapwing fared little better, although there were plenty of birds but mainly Wigeon and Tufted Ducks.

As I walked back I called in buzzard hide on lagoon three and found a Black-necked Grebe close to the hide, which present a good photo opportunity despite the mist and poor light.  There was also a Common Tern over the lagoon and two eclipse drake Pintail were feeding nearby.

Little Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

Eclipse drake Pintail

Female Teal

From buzzard hide I walked the short distance to shoveler hide also on lagoon three.  A single Little Egret was all that I saw initially but then a juvenile Hobby flew over as did four Ringed Plovers and a Ruff and two Greenshanks made a brief visit.  I was then joined by Ken with Bob falling shortly afterwards, we had further views of the Black-necked Grebe and I also found and additional two Pintail.  Bob then said that he had a duck behind the masses of Tufted Duck that had a white face.  Ken and I were soon on it and agreed with bird that it was a Ruddy Duck and probably and eclipse male.  This was only my second of the year and the first in the counties since last October.  A Sparrowhawk then flew low over the lagoon.

Drake Gadwall

Steve called Bob to inform him that he and Terry had found a drake Scaup, a Spotted Flycatcher and two Rock Pipits at the dam.  Ken and I decided we would go and take a look and when we arrived at the southern end we soon found several Meadow Pipits amongst a party of Linnets and we were optimistic in finding the Rock Pipits.  As we walked towards Sykes Lane we found the rather drab looking Scaup and a Common Tern but on reaching the far side of the dam we had not found the Rock Pipits and there was no sign of the Spotted Flycatcher either.  A Green Woodpecker was are only consolation.  As we walked back across the dam we continued looking for the Rock Pipits with the same results and the Meadow Pipits we had seen on arrival had also disappeared and we assumed they had all moved on.  A Red Kite was observed soaring over the southern edge of the dam.

After some lunch we went to the north arm where we found four male and a female Red-crested Pochard but other than the ten Barnacle Geese there was little else.

We returned to the Egleton Reserve and shoveler hide where we saw a Green Sandpiper and female Scaup.  From the Bird Watching Centre we found two Black-tailed Godwits on lagoon one and six Curlew at the base of Lax Hill and a Hobby was observed hawing around Brown’s Island.

It had not been a bad day with several new arrivals, although was disappointing to have missed the Rock Pipits.

A morning at Rutland Water, Rutland - September 22, 2013

Dave and I had gone to Rutland Water today to help with the monthly wildfowl count as several of the regular counters were absent.  We carried out the count in the western end of the north arm and the fishponds.

There were plenty of wildfowl in the north arm, mainly Wigeon and Tufted Duck but there were also smaller numbers of Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Teal and Mallard.  There was also a single Pintail and the ten Barnacle Geese on the north shore.  As we approached the fishponds a large concentration of ducks, mainly Wigeon and Gadwall departed and so we had to estimate these.  There was still quite a few wildfowl present including Mute Swan; Canada Goose; Egyptian Goose; Teal; Mallard and Shoveler and there was also seventeen Pintail.  Three Little Egrets, a Green Sandpiper and Greenshank were also recorded and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was observed in the area of the fishponds.

Having completed the count we visited the Egleton Reserve and had four Little Egrets on lagoon one and a Hobby hawking over the lagoon.  A Black-necked Grebe was present on lagoon three and twelve Little Egrets were counted on lagoon two.  A Buzzard was also observed over lagoon three and a Green Woodpecker was heard calling nearby.  Lagoon four was very quiet with four Pintail being the best.

It would appear that most of the waders present recently had departed over the last few days.

A morning in Lincolnshire & Leicestershire - September 21, 2013

Roger and I had decided to visit Boultham Mere in Lincoln where there has been three juvenile Blue-winged Teal since the 21^st.  We had a pretty good run in getting to the area but then had problems parking, as one area threatened a hefty fine and the other by the old Super Bowl felt rather remote with three rather suspicious characters already parked there.  We eventually parked in Farmfoods car park after gaining permission to park there and then walked towards the mere along a dirt road.  We had gone about half a mile when I realised I had left my binoculars in the car. I returned to the car to get them and rejoined Roger near the footbridge over the drainage ditch.  We continued along the path on the other side and noticed a set of steps leading into the reserve and we presumed the hide and so we continued only to reach a dead end.  It wasn’t going to well at this stage and so we returned to the steps and walked past the hide to find the viewing point near the seat.  There were other birders present who informed us that the birds had been there but had disappeared down the right-hand side of the mere which is not visible from the viewing point.  There was then a message indicating that they were visible from the hide and  so we walked back but on entering the hide were told that only one had been seen and it had gone off to the right and was out of sight.  Eventually Roger saw a duck partially visible through the reeds and it turned out to be one of the Blue-winged Teals but it swam right and disappeared again.  A few minutes later all three appeared and although quite close the reeds made them difficult to photograph.

During the next hour we saw them on several more occasions but they were out of sight more often than not but I did eventually get some reasonable shots of at least one of them.  Two Bitterns also put on a superb show as they flew around for several minutes, with at least one frequently calling before dropping back into the reeds.

We eventually called it a day and headed off towards home.

Juvenile Blue-winged Teal

Juvenile Blue-winged Teal

Bittern over the mere

Bitterns over the Mere

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull

Roger needed to back by 13:00 but as we still had quite a bit of time we called at Cropston Reservoir.  As usual there was very little but we did fine a male and three female Mandarins on the far shore and there were several Swallow and a single Sand Martin over the water.

An afternoon at Rutland Water, Rutland - September 19, 2013

I was back at Rutland Water with Dave today as the Buff-breasted Sandpiper had been seen again on lagoon four.  When we arrived there was no sign and it transpired that John Wright had seen the bird again but only for about a minute.  It had dropped in, in front of sandpiper hide, ran around for a short time and then flew off.

There were three Ringed Plovers, a Little Stint, three Ruff, a Snipe and a Greenshank but after a good hour there was still no sign of the sandpiper.

Roger had joined us and we all decided to walk back to the carp park and check out the meadows but there was no sign.  When we reached the car park John, Colin and Chris where there and were discussing the best options.  We were about to go and look in the fields along Church Lane when Matthew, who we had seen earlier, called Roger and informed him that he had seen it on the island in south arm three.  We set off to Gadwall hide as whilst a little further away than the Old Hall the light would be much better.

When we reached the hide and began scanning there appeared to be no waders but the Roger and I saw a Dunlin on the right hand end and we assumed that other waders were probably on the other side of the island.  I then noticed a wader on the top of the island but it turned and was facing away.  The others got on it and it turned and walked right and was the Buff-breasted Sandpiper.  The problem with viewing waders on the island is that clear plumage details are not possible due to the distance.  However when standing erect it was clearly small headed and the neck longish and appearing quite attenuated.  It was clearly buffish around the head and breast but paler on the lower belly.  The crown was darker and the upperparts darker, appearing a little greyish at times, particularly in the bright sunlight.

The Pectoral Sandpiper, a Curlew Sandpiper and at least four Dunlin were also observed and my second Hobby, a juvenile, flew over.

Not ideal views of the sandpiper but at least I have now seen it and added another species to my county total, which now stands at 266.

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - September 18, 2013

I went with Dave to the Lyndon Reserve where we walked to shallow water hide that overlooks Manton Bay.  There were quite a few duck in the Bay including ten Pintail and six Garganey amongst the other dabbling duck.  As we scanned the shoreline we began to find several waders and eventually finished with three Little Ringed Plover, three Ringed Plover, a juvenile Knot, two juvenile Curlew Sandpipers two Dunlin, four Ruff, s Green Sandpiper and a Greenshank.  A forth-year Yellow-legged Gull also flew around for a few minutes before heading off down the south arm.  On the walk back we stopped at deep water hide where we found a single Black-necked Grebe and four Curlew were feeding along the shore below Lax Hill.  We had seen a few House Martins and Swallows during the walk and in Manton Bay but from the hide it was apparent that there was probably in access of a thousand birds in the south arm with by far the majority being House Martins and only a few Swallows.  At the feeding station there was a nice flock of Tree Sparrows and I counted twenty-nine, with many being juveniles, indicating that they had done well this year.

Forth-year Yellow-legged Gull

House Martin from deep water hide

We went to the Old Hall next where we had four Ringed Plovers and seven Dunlin on the island but there was no sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper, although it was seen later in the day from gadwall hide and was probably on the other side of the island all the time.

A Buzzard was observed the road to the north arm and the ten Barnacle Geese were still in the north arm.  There was also a single Green Sandpiper close to the bund but the best was a Wheatear, which was observed at close range as it sat on the exposed rocks.  It was considered to be a male in winter plumage as the facial pattern was quite strong with blackish lores and there was also some grey showing on the upperparts.

Wheatear

Wheatear

From the north arm we headed for the Egleton Reserve where we had an early lunch before going to Bird Watching Centre.  There was a single Ruff on the lagoon and a Hobby flew over but other than for Little Egrets there was little else of note.

We set off for sandpiper hide on lagoon four but it appeared quite quiet except for another Ruff and a Greenshank.  I then noticed a adult Peregrine sitting on island one, which took to flight before landing on the exposed area between islands one and two.  It then flew again and was harassed by a Carrion Crow but it then turned the tables and had a go at the crow on three separate occasions and on one occasion feathers were seen to fly.  After the final attack the crow made a hasty retreat into a tree and the Peregrine landed on five.  Three Ringed Plovers also dropped in front of us and another party of waders landed towards island seven.  On scanning there were seven Ringed Plover and a single juvenile Little Stint.  The Peregrine then seemed fairly settled and things quietened down and so we moved off to shoveler hide on lagoon three.

There were seven Black-tailed Godwits and a single Snipe to the left of the hide and masses of Tufted Duck out on the lagoon but we couldn’t find anything of real interest amongst them.  Two juvenile and an adult Common Tern were also observed feeding over the lagoon.

The conditions from crake hide were still looking good but there was no waders present just numerous Teal and Moorhen.

There were plenty of wildfowl visible from lapwing hide but as the sun came out it was difficult to see very much to the right of the hide.  Most of the wildfowl were either Wigeon or Tufted Duck, although we did find a single female-type Goldeneye.  A Buzzard was also observed on the ground on Brown’s Island and appeared to be interested in catching insects as it was seen to run to another point on several occasions.  Whilst we were in the hide many of the Tufted Duck that where on lagoon three began flying into the south arm and joining the existing flock of Tufted.  It was surprising to see that far the majority were males.  A Red Kite then flew over Brown’s Island and lagoons one and two causing panic amongst the wildfowl.

Eclipse dare Shoveler in south arm three

Tufted Duck over south arm three

Tufted Duck over south arm three

Four Black-tailed Godwits on lagoon one were almost certainly four of the seven we had seen on lagoon three as we had seen six of them fly in the direction of lagoon one.

With little else we called it a day and returned home and on reaching Dave’s a message came through on my phone.  It was John Wright informing us he had a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on lagoon four but his message finished with its flying off high to the north and there was no further news.  A disappointment as I had missed the previous County bird and it would have been a new County bird for me.

An afternoon at Eye Brook Reservoir, Leicestershire & Rutland - September 16, 2013

Dave and I went to Eye Brook Reservoir after lunch as there had been two Curlew Sandpipers reported.

On route just to the west of Cranoe we had two Red Kites and a Raven over the small hill as we approached Cranoe, which was the first time I had seen either species in this area.

As we approached Eye Brook Reservoir a Buzzard was observed and on reaching the corral we found several other birders present.  It didn’t take too long to find the Curlew Sandpipers in the presence of three Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin on the Rutland bank.  There was also four Ruff and a Snipe visible on the Leicestershire bank.  We eventually found the Wood Sandpiper feeding on the edge of the Rutland Bank an had seven Ruff in total.  A Raven was heard calling and we had three juts above our heads briefly before they moved away.  We also had a Red Kite and two more Buzzards between to Stoke Dry and Stoke Dry Wood.  Another good bird was an adult Yellow Wagtail, my first in twelve days and possibly the last of the year.

We moved up to the island and the other corral where we found a tern feeding distantly along the dam.  We suspected that it might be an Arctic and views through the scope also reinforced this but it suddenly flew rather fast, heading west along the north shore and we couldn't find it again and had to settle for it as unidentified.

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - September 14, 2013

I decided to pay another visit to Rutland Water today as if the weather forecast is correct it mat be the last decent day until the middle of next week.  I went straight to the Egleton Reserve and headed off towards Lax Hill.  As I approached mallard hide on lagoon one there was a party of birds feeding in the bushes and I saw a single Chiffchaff and Marsh Tit.  Three Little Egrets were the highlights from mallard hide and snipe hide on the wet meadow fared no better with just two Little Egrets and there was nothing of note from harrier hide.  On reaching gadwall I scanned the island in south arm three, seeing a couple of Ringed Plovers, several Dunlin and a singe Ruff but there was no sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper.  There must have been in excess of 500 House Martins low over the water in the south arm but I only saw a couple of Swallow and a single Sand Martin but I am sure that there were probably more.  There were three Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the Great Black-backed Gulls on the islands and two Chiffchaffs were observed just outside the hide.  As I walked towards Lax Hill I could see that there was little close to goldeneye hide and so gave it a miss but had as second Marsh Tit from robin hide.  I continued over the top of Lax Hill and dropped down to wigeon hide to overlook south arm two and Manton Bay.  I found two Ruff and three Pintail in Manton Bay and there was a single Little Egret on the bank of south arm two.  As I scanned the wigeon in south arm I came across several Little Grebes and then noticed a winter plumaged Black-necked Grebe amongst them, which was a good find.  I called at kingfisher hide on lagoon eight and found two Common Sandpipers just in front of the hide but there was very little else on the lagoon.  From the 360° overlooking lagoon five there were five more Little Egrets and as I walked to shelduck I found my third Marsh Tit of the morning.  Seeing one is usually a good bird for the day at the site.

After some lunch I went to the Old Hall as the Pectoral Sandpiper and two Little Stints had been visible from there.  Way I arrived I found Mick Kettley and two other birds present and they informed me that they had not seen either and were feeling there was little chance of doing so.  I scanned from the left hand side of the island and found the Pectoral Sandpiper almost immediately, initially suspecting it due to its more leisurely feeding action.  Further scans then produced at least one and possibly two Little Stints although the distance makes watching small waders almost a waste of time.

On returning to the reserve I walked to sandpiper hide on lagoon four where I had much better views of a nice juvenile Little Stint that was in company of nine Ringed Plovers and a single Dunlin.  There was also ten Pintail on the lagoon and three Red Kites and five Buzzards were observed towards Burley Wood.  There were four Black-tailed Godwits feeding on lagoon three but the only other wader was a single roosting Snipe.

Black-tailed Godwits feeding on lagoon three

At crake hide the long staying juvenile Sparrowhawk was still present and there were also five Snipe feeding in what appear to be ideal conditions, certainly Teal and Moorhen seem to lake the area.  I couldn't find the Black-necked Grebe reported earlier from lapwing hide as the light was now very poor, particularly looking to where it was earlier.

Juvenile Spotted Redshank from crake hide

Female Teal from crake hide

Moorhen from crake hide

Little Grebe from lapwing hide

Drake Wigeon from lapwing hide

I called at redshank hide on lagoon two on my way back to the centre where I saw a Hobby, three Green Sandpipers, a Greenshank and the only Common Tern of the day.  Two Hobbies were observed from the Bird Watching Centre and a Kingfisher provided some nice views as it sat and fished unsuccessfully from the wire fence.

Grey Heron on lagoon one

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - September 13, 2013

Roger and went to the Old Hall at Rutland Water as there had been a Pectoral Sandpiper present on the island in the south arm.  The island is quite distant and it can be quite difficult to in getting grips with waders on the island.  We did see some Ringed Plover and Dunlin initially and then three Ruff and the Ringed Plover and Dunlin flew on a couple of occasions but there was still no sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper.  We were scoping a group of Dunlin from the Old Hall when we were joined by another birder who said I presume that is it on the end of the island.  He meant the opposite end Roger and I were looking at and so we focussed our attention to where we had seen the three Ruff earlier.  Two Ruff were still visible and a smaller wader that looked promising and we agreed after a few minutes that it was the Pectoral Sandpiper and there were eventually four Ruff as well.  There was also a single Pintail near the island and two Common Terns that were flying over the south arm.

Having successfully seen the target bird we moved to the north arm where we found two Greenshanks but other than thirty plus Egyptian Geese and ten Barnacle Geese there was little else.

On reaching the Egleton Reserve we walked to snipe hide and then on to harrier hide as there had been a Bar-tailed Godwit reported yesterday.  There was a group of tits moving through the bushes near lagoon five and we found two Chiffchaff and a Blackcap amongst the flock.  Three Little Egrets were the only thing of note from snipe hide and there were another ten visible from harrier hide but little else.

After lunch we walked to shoveler hide on lagoon three were there were two Ruff, six Snipe and two Black-tailed Godwits.  I also found a roosting Pintail and a couple of Hobbies were observed over the wood.  Roger then said that he had a Bittern, which was perched on the edge of the reeds at the far end of the lagoon.  Distant but a nice view as it was almost doing the splits trying to balance on two reeds before it flew to the left and out of sight.

Hobby over lagoon three

Hobby over lagoon three

We moved on to crake hide where the conditions are obviously suiting a juvenile Spotted Redshank as it was still present along with another six Snipe.

There were hundreds of wildfowl from lapwing hide, which were mainly Wigeon and Tufted Duck but it was difficult to see most well due the hazy sunshine and we eventually gave up after only adding a third Common Tern.

As we approached sandpiper on lagoon four a Greenshank flew over and there were three on lagoon four and we presumed that they were the four we had seen on lagoon three earlier.  There were four Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin to the left of the hide and a fifth Ringed Plovers joined the others as a Red Kite flew over the lagoon. There were seventeen Pintail scattered around the lagoon with most congregated in front of the hide but some distance away.

Lapwing close to sandpiper hide

Lapwing close to sandpiper hide

We called at redshank hide on lagoon two on route to the centre where we found a couple of Ruff and had further views of a Hobby and well as a Buzzard.  There were plenty of duck on lagoon one, including over a hundred Shoveler but we couldn’t find a single wader.

A brief stop at Manton Bridge as we were leaving produced four Garganey, four Ruff, a Curlew and another Greenshank.

As we arrived at Eye Brook Reservoir it was starting to rain but we did manage a few minutes were we found a couple of Little Egret, three Ringed Plovers, two Dunlin, four Ruff and two Wood Sandpiper.  Like at Rutland Water the wildfowl had increased and I found a single Pintail amongst them.

A day in West Norfolk - September 11, 2013

Dave, Roger and I set of Cley in  Norfolk hoping for some movement on the sea.  When we arrived it looked quite quiet but two Arctic Skua flew close to the shore as we were putting on coats and our hopes were raised.  It did turn out to be relatively quiet, particularly as the wind dropped mid-morning.  We did see a number of Gannets, three Fulmar, eight Arctic Skuas and twenty Great Skuas.  There was also a steady movement of waders that included Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Knot, Sanderling and Dunlin and there were three parties of Common Scoter moved west.  There had been both Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and a Sabine’s Gull earlier but we had arrived just a little too late.  A surprise was a pair of Swallow still feeding young in the shelter.

We decided to cut our losses and move off Titchwell were we thought we would a least see plenty of birds.  We were not disappointed with good number of waders on the Freshmarsh and Volunteer Marsh.  The best were two juvenile Little Stints and four Curlew Sandpipers that were with two groups of Dunlin.  There was also a single Spotted Redshank and Greenshank on Volunteer Marsh as we walked out to the sea.

The sea was pretty quiet with just two Gannets, a party of Common Scoter moving west and two Eiders just off shore.  There were a few waders on the beach but as the tide began to fall their numbers increased with plenty of Oystercatcher, Knot, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwit and Redshank, with a few Curlew and Turnstone.

Curlew on Volunteer Marsh

Curlew on Volunteer Marsh

As we walked back a number of waders provided some good opportunities for photos and a got a number of nice shots of the two Little Stints.

Black-tailed Godwit on Volunteer Marsh

Black-tailed Godwit on Volunteer Marsh

Juvenile Little Stint on the Fresh Marsh

Juvenile Little Stint on the Fresh Marsh

Juvenile Little Stint on the Fresh Marsh

Juvenile Little Stint on the Fresh Marsh

Juvenile Little Stint on the Fresh Marsh

First-winter Dulin on the Fresh Marsh

First-winter Dulin on the Fresh Marsh

We couldn’t find the reported Little Gull and there was no sign of any Bearded Tits, although Dave did hear one and him and Roger also heard a Cetti’s Warbler.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - September 10, 2013

I went to Eye Brook Reservoir first this morning in the hope of seeing two Wood Sandpipers that had been present fro a few days.  I had a Red Kite close to Blaston on route but otherwise the journey was quite uneventful. 

I arrived at Eye Brook Reservoir to find the road bridge closed and so I went to the corral, which had been improved since my last visits by the introduction of some gravel and it was easier to see over the fences.

I scanned the far shore and found one of the Wood Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper but the Wood Sandpiper flew just after I had got the scope on it.  I re-found it closer to the road bridge where the second was also present with a Ruff and a Snipe.  With the viewing restricted I called it a day and went to south arm three at Rutland Water.

There were two Pintail, three Ringed Plover and six Dunlin on the island and two Common Terns were feeding over the south arm but there was little else of note.

I moved off to the north arm where there were ten Barnacle Geese, which were obviously the regular wintering party from who knows where.  There was also a single Bar-tailed Godwit on the north shore, which is a good bird here and particularly so in the autumn.  I also found a single Common Sandpiper and another Common Tern over the water.  On the reserve I walked to goldeneye hide on Lax Hill, calling at snipe, harrier, fieldfare and gadwall hides on route but saw very little with a Snipe on the wet meadow being the highlight.  After some lunch I walked to lapwing hide where there were masses of duck, the best being a Pintail in flight.  The Spotted Redshank was still present at crake hide and there was also five Snipe and loads of Teal.  A Sparrowhawk also put in an appearance, setting on bush before being harassed by a Common Tern.

I found a Garganey on lagoon three but there were no waders today and grass cutting on lagoon four ensured there were hardly any birds at all.  Finally I called at redshank hide on lagoon two were there were another seven Snipe and six Green Sandpipers just in front of the hide.  There was also a Ruff and a Greenshank to the right and two Hobbies flew over.

Little Egrets on lagoon one

Marsh Tit at the Egleton feeding station