Rod's Birding: A day in Leicestershire & Rutland

I was out a little later today due to granddaughter duties and initially called at Eyebrook Reservoir, seeing very little on route. The Little Owl was sat in the old oak today as I approached the reservoir and there was a single Shelduck and four Pintail around the inlet. A single Little Egret was observed roosting in the tree close to the bridge and there was a Dunlin, three Ruff and three Snipe at the inlet. There were three different Red Kites and a single Buzzard observed around the fields and there was still plenty of Red-legged Partridge just west of the reservoir.

I called Steve as I was driving to Rutland Water but all he had seen was the Ring-necked Duck in Dickinson’s Bay and so I decided to go into the north arm and look for a Little Stint that has been present for a few days. There was a Greenshank and five Ringed Plovers on the end of the spit and a more careful look produced the juvenile Little Stint and a Wheatear. I called Steve to let him know that it was still present as he hadn’t seen it earlier. A Yellow-legged Gull resting on one the buoys flew off when it was harassed by a Great Black-backed Gull and I did find a single Ruff on the north shore. Steve eventually joined me but the stint had disappeared but we soon found it again as it had just moved to another spit. Whilst we were watching the Little Sting Steve heard a Rock Pipit call that then flew over heading south.

We were joined by another a birder and whilst we stood taking I saw a group of Tufted Duck coming into the fishponds and alerted the others and Steve picked up the Ring-necked Duck amongst the flock, which I just got onto as it disappeared behind the trees. It had clearly landed in the fishponds but despite a search we couldn’t locate it. I and Steve had lunch before we joined Craig near the stone trough to get a different view of the fishponds. They hadn’t seen it when I arrived and as I scanned I picked up what I thought might be it but it was asleep with its head on its back. The head shape appeared right and there didn’t appear to be a tuft and as I compared it to a Tufted Duck alongside I could see that the spur went further onto the back than the Tufted. I alerted Steve and Craig to what I thought was the bird and whilst trying to get them on it, it lifted its head and showed the diagnostic bill pattern. It is an eclipse male and is surprisingly difficult to find amongst the several thousand Tufted Duck that frequent the fishponds.

Feeling pretty pleased in finding it I moved onto the Egleton Reserve and initially went to the Bird Watching Centre to view lagoon one. There were six Curlew, five beyond the long island and another on the island, and there were two Snipe in front of the island. One of the Greta White Egret then appeared at the back of the lagoon but again there was no sign of the second and there is now some doubt if the second is still here.

I eventually moved on to Shoveler hide on lagoon three seeing a Jay on route. There were far fewer birds today although there was a single Black-tailed Godwit to the left of the hide and two Hobbies were also observed. Steve then arrived and almost immediately picked up a couple of Goldeneye but there was very little else. I moved onto crake and Lapwing hides but other than a Little Egret from crake and three Goldeneye from Lapwing there was little else. I walked around to Dunlin hide on lagoon four to checks out the gulls and all five of the common gulls were present and also a few Yellow-legged. There were also twenty-five Golden Plovers and five Ringed Plovers on one of the islands that may well have been the five seen earlier in the north arm as there had also been a Little Stint earlier, which had now disappeared. As I continued to scan I saw a single Ruff and two Dunlin but other than a Barnacle Goose amongst the Greylag and Egyptian Geese there was little else.