The forecast today might have
suggested that it would be good for terns and perhaps waders and so I initially
headed for Eyebrook Reservoir. It was
quite misty when I left home but as I drove over to Eyebrook Reservoir the
misty got thicker and was quite slow to clear.
It was difficult seeing as far as the dam at the reservoir but I was
certain there were no terns present and even more concerning no hirundine. There was a single Little Egret on the island
but nothing else of note was in evidence.
I stopped at the fenced area at the northern end and found six Common
Terns and could see a few hirundine in the distance but wasn’t able to identify
them. A Sedge Warbler singing nearby was
heard and eventually seen but I then received a text indicating that there were
two Sandwich Terns at the inlet. I
hadn’t seen these or any other birder so I drove around to the Rutland bank to
find Andy Mackay, who indicated that the terns were perched on the posts. I had looked at these earlier and there had
been nothing, so they either just arrived or were flying around in the
mist. They had a couple of short flights
around the posts but soon settled back on them.
On the third occasion they gained more height and flew towards us
passing over and were heading off west when they appeared to change their minds
and came back towards us briefly before turning again and heading of northeast
into the mist. With a tweet announcing
Grey Plover and Arctic Tern at Rutland Water I decided to move off.
On arriving at Rutland Water I
went straight to shoveler hide on lagoon three where I hoped to see the Arctic
Terns. There were a number of terns
feeding over the lagoon and fortunately the three Arctic were still present as
Andy sent me a text message indicating seven had dropped in at Eyebrook Reservoir
that built up to nineteen. Having
succeeded with the terns I moved onto Bittern hide where the Sedge Warbler was
still singing and I eventually heard a Reed Warbler but it remained hidden in
the reeds. With little else in evidence
I moved to plover hide on lagoon four where there were three Oystercatcher, a
single Little Ringed Plover and ten Dunlin.
I returned to the car park and after some lunch walked to snipe hide on
the wet meadow, where there were a couple of Avocet, a Little Egret and a
couple of Shelduck. I decided to go back
to the northern end of the reserve, which was a mistake as apparently the Grey
Plover was on lagoon seven.
Little Grebe on lagoon one
Female Tufted Duck on lagoon one
Male Reed Warbler near snipe hide
On approaching shoveler hide
on lagoon three another birder indicated that there was a Marsh Harrier over
lagoon three. There was no sign of the
harrier and I assumed that it had probably gone down in the reeds and I moved
on to lapwing hide and hopefully the Great Northern Diver. The Great Northern Diver was observed between
the hide and the Old Hall and was close enough for the summer plumage to be
seen, although it looked identical to when it was seen on the 16th. I returned to shoveler hide on lagoon three
but on informing Steve of the diver he said the harrier had flown off towards
Hambleton and had probably gone. I
stayed in shoveler for a while, seeing very little, when Steve and Terry
arrived, saying that there was a second-year Yellow-legged Gull on lagoon
four. I went straight to sandpiper hide
on lagoon four but the gull had gone, although I did see fourteen Dunlin and
two Curlews.
Little Egret over lagoon three
I returned to the car park and
after a coffee set off home.
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