David, Roger and I set off for
Eyebrook Reservoir this morning in were quite murky conditions that didn’t get
a great deal better during the day. We
arrived at Eyebrook Reservoir from the northern end and saw both Little Owls as
we approached the reservoir. A stop at
the bridge produced just a few common species and we could see three Shelduck
and three Little Egrets towards the reservoir.
We continued round the eastern edge but a Snipe and few Lapwings were
the only waders. A Kingfisher was
observed on one of the old branches in the stream and remained for quite some
time. There was also a fourth Shelduck
and a male Stonechat but with very little else we moved off to the Lyndon
Reserve at Rutland Water.
We drove down the track to the
visitors centre and went to view the feeding station. There were a few Blue and Great Tits,
Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Goldfinch and a single Coal Tit made several visits
with up to six Tree Sparrows were also visiting. A male and female Kestrel were observed at
the nest box and three Redwing flew over.
The only other bird of note was a Redshank that was observed in flight
and on the shore.
We went to the north arm next,
when we were joined by Ken, and we found a party of passerines that included
Blue, Great, Coal, Marsh and Long-tailed Tits.
We continued on towards the end of the spit where we counted fourteen
Little Egrets near the bund and there was also a male and two female Goosander
close by. As we scanned the far shore Roger
noticed some Dunlin of which there were ten along with two Redshanks. There were fifteen Pintail on the north shore
and David then found a party of Red-crested Pochard, seven males and two
females and one of the Great White Egret in the southern corner. David then found the Slavonian Grebe that was
feeding just beyond a group of Coot. I
realised that I had left my camera on view in the car and so went back to get
it. As I walked back the second Great
White Egret was in the fishponds and I found the party of passerines and added
Goldcrest to the mix. There was also a
Great Spotted Woodpecker on the old dead tree.
When I got back they had found the two Black-necked Grebes near
Dickinson’s Bay and when I saw them they had moved further down the north shore
and were now much closer. Whilst we were
in the north arm we had brief views of a Sparrowhawk as it flashed across the
path and behind the wood. As we walked
back to the car we had further views of the Great White Egret in the fishponds
but there was nothing else.
On reaching the car park we
took an early lunch before David and Roger set off to harrier hide to hopefully
see a Green Sandpiper, whilst Ken and I went into the centre. As I scanned a party Lapwing at the back of
the lagoon I found the Green Sandpiper amongst them. I called Roger to let them now and after an
unsuccessful attempt from Mallard hide they returned to the centre. Fortunately the Green Sandpiper was still on
view but other than twenty-four Pintail and a Redshank there was little else.
Roger had a problem with his
tripod and took back to the car and with David and Ken already on route to
Shoveler hide on lagoon three I set off after them. As I walked through the meadows I saw at
least fourteen Redwings and when I caught up with David and Ken they were scoping
some Goldfinches through the trees. I
went back to Redshank hide area to try and see them and established that they
were all Goldfinch and the flock didn’t contain either Siskin of Redpoll. A quick look from Redshank hid produced more
Pintail but nothing else. When I
returned to the footpath David and Ken had disappeared and there was no sign of
Roger. I continued on to Shoveler hide,
which was rather full and Rick told me they had gone to Buzzard hide when I got
there it was also full. They had seen
the Red-necked Grebe but it was not visible now from Buzzard and so I returned
to Shoveler hide. At least I was able to
get a seat in Shoveler and after a few minutes scanning I found the Red-necked
Grebe. There were four more Pintail on
the lagoon but when I returned to Buzzard hide to rejoin the others Ken
informed me that they had gone to Lapwing hide.
I went to Smew hide where I counted twenty-four Pintail on lagoon two
and then went to Bittern hide in the hope of seeing the Red-necked Grebe. I found it sleeping some distance off before
it began to move back towards Buzzard hide and I also saw a Little Egret and a
Redshank.
We called at plover hide on
lagoon four where we saw two more Little Egrets and two Shelduck but we
couldn’t find anything unusual amongst the rather small concentration of gulls.
We went back to the centre
where there was a male and two female Goosander and two Curlew. The centre closed at 16:00 and we had to
leave but not before we found a couple of Buzzards perched in the poplars.
A Barn Owl had been seen
recently in the car park but despite us staying until dark there was no sign
but we did hear a Little Owl before setting off for home.
No comments:
Post a Comment