An afternoon at Rutland Water, Rutland - December 29, 2014

David and I went to Rutland Water this afternoon, which was my first time out birding since the 20^th.  On route we saw a Red Kite at the top of Wardley Hill and six Buzzards.  We went to the north arm where we hoped we would find yesterday’s Red-breasted Merganser but there was no sign but we did see one of the Great White Egrets and the Black-necked Grebe.  There was also a single female Goosander, a Little Egret, a Snipe and two Redshanks and the two Barnacle Geese were observed towards Dickinson’s Bay.

Teal feeding in the north arm

Drake Shoveler in the north arm

Great White Egret over the north arm

Great White Egret over the north arm

On reaching the Egleton Reserve we found lagoon one completely frozen and quickly set of to Shoveler hide on lagoon three.  We found a party of Goldfinch feeding in the alders on route and picked out a couple of Lesser Redpoll amongst them but a brief visit to grebe hide just confirmed that lagoon two was also frozen over.

On reaching Shoveler hide on lagoon three we were surprised to find most of the water was ice free and there were plenty of birds.  Amongst the more common wildfowl we counted twenty-two Pintail and found a couple of red-headed Smew and there was a Snipe, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Redshank feeding in the shallows.  A heard a Cetti’s Warbler calling to the left of the hide as was surprised to get some nice views before it flew in front of the hide and disappeared in the larger stand of reeds.

We continued on to Lapwing hide where there was some indication that water was being pumped into the reservoir as the exposed island in South Arm Three was beginning to become submerged.  There were two male and three female Goosander and we also found another couple of red-headed Smew just to the left of the hide.

With little else we moved onto sandpiper hide on lagoon four, which was also partially frozen over.  There were six Shelduck and another ten Pintail on the lagoon and male Sparrowhawk flew in and landed on the spit to the left of the hide for a few minutes and two Buzzards soared over the lagoon before drifting off.  There were fewer gulls in the pre-roost tonight, which were mainly Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls with a fewer Black-headed and Common Gulls but nothing unusual and so we eventually called it a day.

The light was fading quite fast but just after passing the turning to King’s Norton a Woodcock flew out of the wood on the left and proceeded to fly down the road in front of us before veering off to the right and disappearing.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland and Cambridgeshire - December 20, 2014

David and I had decided to go to a site near Guyhirn in the hope of seeing two Bean Geese that were reported yesterday from the A605.  Dawn was just breaking when I picked David up and we set off to Guyhirn.  We saw six Red Kites between Wardley Hill and the Northamptonshire boundary, which was a bit unusual as we would normally see one or two along this stretch of road at best.  Perhaps, even more surprising, was that we didn’t see any more between there and the Guyhirn site.  As we drove along the A605 towards Whittlesey we could see a concentration of swans in a field to the south and parked in a convenient lay-by that allowed access to view the swans, which is where we hoped the Bean Geese would be.  When we were parked we were able to see that there were three distinct groups of swans in three different fields and after kitting out we walked along a dyke to get a better view.  There were two other birders already viewing the swans and they had located some grey geese amongst the distant flock.  We scanned the area and we soon found some of the grey geese to the left of the flock and there were four Roe Deer close by.  The other birders indicated that they had seen six grey geese and were certain that they were either Pink-footed Geese or Bean Geese.  It was difficult getting good views as the birds as they were not always in view and the wind was constantly making it difficult to use the scope.  The good news was that there were five Pink-footed Geese and two Bean Geese yesterday and therefore we were hopefully that there being at least six the Beans would still be present.  However David and I could only ever find five birds which we felt were Pink-footed Geese.  The other birders eventually came to the same conclusion that there were only five and that they were Pink-footed Geese and that the Bean Geese were not there.  Most of the swans were Whooper Swans and but we did find several Bewick’s Swans and we estimated that there must have been close to 500 Whooper and circa twenty Bewick’s.  At least two Kestrels were also present and a single Buzzard was observed.

We eventually called time and headed off towards Whittlesey, turning right to Thorney and then heading west on the A46 before taking the A1 north to Stanford and finally heading west again to Rutland Water.  We saw two more Red Kites around the tip at Eye and then yet another from the A606 between the A1 and Empingham and two Jay flew over the road, one at Coates and the other at Thorney.

We arrived at the dam at Rutland Water where Frank and Stuart informed us they had seen a Great Northern Diver to the west of the tower.  We had parked the car facing the water and David picked up the diver as we sat talking to Frank and Stuart.  Young Erik then joined us who had also seen the diver but having seeing it from the car we were reluctant to go any further.  Frank and Stuart departed and we spent a while talking to Erik whilst he waited for his mother to pick him up, when we saw another Red Kite over Empingham and a Buzzard just south of the village.

When Erik’s mother arrived we drove to the north arm where Erik joined us again and then remained with us for the rest of the day.  We passed through the gate at the end of the road and walked out to the spit.  Frank and Stuart were scoping the north shore and Roger was down on the end of the spit.  The two Great White Egrets were on the northern end of the bund and there were five Little Egrets along the length of the bund.  As we scanned the far shore we found two Barnacle Geese and five Dunlin and there was a Redshank on the close shore.  We continued along the spit to join Roger who was looking unsuccessfully for the Black-necked Grebe but he had seen a single female Common Scoter.  It wasn’t too long before we had all seen the scoter but like Roger we couldn’t find the Black-necked Grebe.  Yet another Red Kite was then seen over the fishponds when it disturbed the Lapwing and Dunlin on the far shore and we realised there were more than five Dunlin and counted eleven.  The Red Kite then headed off over Burley Wood where it was joined by a second and we also found a single Buzzard.  Whilst scoping a party of Greylag Geese looking for the Greenland White-front we saw twelve Pintail in flight but there was no sign of the white-front.

We all then went to Egleton car park and whilst we were having lunch we saw another two Red Kites over lagoon one area and a Grey Wagtail in the area sluice.  From the Bird Watching Centre I counted fifty-three Pintail on lagoon one and eleven Curlew flew off the Wet Meadow and onto the meadow around lagoon one when they were disturbed by one of the Red Kites.  There were a couple of Shelduck on the lagoon and we found a single Dunlin amongst a party of Lapwing.

Having exhausted lagoon one we moved off towards lagoon three and found nine Redwings and two Song Thrushes amongst the more numerous Blackbirds feeding in the meadows.  We decided that we should visit Redshank hide on lagoon two as there had been a Ruff reported yesterday, although we were a little sceptical as the same observer had also seen a Merlin and a Common Sandpiper.  As we approached the hide Erik noticed a Marsh Tit and we all eventually got reasonable views.  From the hide we found a single Green Sandpiper but very little else and we moved on to grebe hide.  One of the Great White Egrets was on the lagoon as were four male and three female Goosanders and as I scanned I noticed a second egret briefly before it disappeared behind some vegetation.  I decided to move on to Osprey hide, leaving the other three in grebe hide, to check it out.  When I got into the hide there was no sign of the second egret but there was a Green Sandpiper, which may well have been the bird seen from Redshank hide.  I could still see the Great White Egret to the left and there was a Little Egret on the far shore, which I presumed may have been the egret I had seen from Redshank hide.  The birds on lagoon one were suddenly all in flight and on scanning a picked up a Sparrowhawk as it flew high over the lagoon and disappeared on Brown’s Island.  The others joined me in the hide and after a few minutes a Cetti’s Warbler called and Erik saw it briefly in some of the reeds.  He eventually got us all on the appropriate area and surprisingly it came out in full view for a few seconds before it flew to the right and disappeared into some more reeds and was not seen again.  The views whilst brief were rather nice as it is not often I have seen one quite so well, particularly at this site.

We eventually reached Shoveler hide on lagoon three where we found another nine Pintail, a red-headed Smew, five Snipe and three Redshanks.  We walked out to Lapwing hide but saw very little and returned to sandpiper hide on lagoon four.  The water level on lagoon four is still very high but a few gulls still use it as a pre-roost site but there were very few when we arrived.  Gulls gradually began to arrive, mainly Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls but also a few Black-headed and Common Gulls and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gull.  Dave then picked up a single very white headed bird amongst the long line of Herring and Great Black- backed Gulls at the back of the lagoon.  Our first impression was that it was probably an adult Caspian Gull.  Its head-shape was less angled and noticeable smaller than the nearby Herring Gulls and also appeared to be pure white with no noticeable streaking, whereas the Herring Gulls were either heavily streaked or were at least showing some streaking around the eye and on the hind neck.  The eye was small and dark, which contrasted strongly with the surrounding plumage and the bill, was long and slender, again noticeably when compared to the nearby Herring Gulls.  The upperparts colouration did not appear to be different from the nearby Herring Gulls.  As it was preening it raised its wings on several occasions when the long white tip to primary ten was clearly visible.  It eventually flew to island one and landed behind most of the gulls; however it was surprisingly easy to see whenever it raised its head due to the stunning white head, small eye and long and slender bill.  Other birds of note on the lagoon were two Shelduck and three Little Egrets.

With the light beginning to fail we walked back to the car park and after a coffee headed off home.

An afternoon at Eldernell, Cambridgeshire - December 17, 2014

David, Ken and I had arranged to go to Eldernell, Cambridgeshire this afternoon as there had been thirteen Short-eared Owls reported on Saturday.  We didn’t leave until around 12:00 and picked Ken up at Uppingham seeing a Red Kite just before we reached Uppingham.  We had a couple of flocks of Whooper Swans around the Dog and Doublet public house on our approach to Whittlesey.  We were hoping to find some Bewick’s Swans and drove beyond the Eldernell turning to view the fields from the A606.  We found two more parties of Whooper Swans but there were no Bewick’s but we did see a male Marsh Harrier and a Buzzard and several Kestrels from the road.  When we arrived in the car park at Eldernell around 14:15, we were surprised to find quite a few cars with most of the occupants being birders.  It was noticeably warmer than of late but was rather overcast and dull but we had our first Short-eared Owl as soon as we got out of the car.  We saw at least four before we had moved away from the car to the bridge to get a better view of the washes.  The four Short-eared Owls were initially flying around the fields quite close to the car park but eventually they began to disperse although two remained quite close for most of the afternoon and we eventually had a least six.  We found three female-type Marsh Harriers quite early and then later two were observed with a male. There were also four Whooper Swans to the east and we saw a large party of swans in flight that were also probably Whooper during the early evening.  David picked up fourteen Cranes coming in from the east and we watched them as they flew west for several minutes passing behind the old duck decoy and then dropping in and disappearing behind some reeds with two more coming in later and dropping in the same area.  A Barn Owl was claimed earlier but when we looked all we could see was a very pale Short-eared Owl but a little late a Barn Owl did perform well and a second was observed as the afternoon progressed.  A Kingfisher was then heard and was seen heading along the stream before it perched on the bushes where the stream bent to the left.  As we continued scanning we found two Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk perched on posts and there were at least three Kestrels.  David then had a male Hen Harrier but it dropped in before anyone else managed to get on it.  As we continued to scan the area we kept picking up Short-eared Owls but there was no sign of the harrier.  I then saw something that could have been it, a little further east but it dropped immediately and didn’t reappear.  I continued scanning the same area but after several minutes I hadn’t seen anything and wasn’t sure what I had seen.  I then noticed a couple birds just a little further to the right and on getting them in the scope Short-eared Owl and yes the male Hen Harrier.  I managed to get everyone, except Ken, looking in the right area and most picked it up fairly quickly before it started flying quite quickly to the east.  Ken did eventually get on it but not before it had gone some considerable distance but fortunately it turned and came back and eventually started quartering an area just west of the car park, which was probably the area it would go to roost.  We walked back to the car saying what a brilliant afternoon it had been when suddenly there was a cry what’s this and a Bittern flew west right in front of the car park and really put the icing on the cake on what had been a superb afternoon.

Short-eared Owls

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - December 16, 2014

I went straight to the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water today seeing a Red Kite near Slawston and a Buzzard flying over the road between Preston and the reservoir.

It was a bright and sunny, if cold, morning and after checking the log book at the centre I set off towards Lax Hill and called at Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow.  There was very little with a Little Egret being the best although I counted twenty-four Pintail and fifteen Goosanders on the lagoon before moving onto harrier hide.  A female Stonechat was observed briefly at the top of one of the hawthorn bushes before it dropped behind another and I didn’t see it again.  With little else I continued on to Fieldfare hide where I found another two Pintail and a Redshank.  There was large concentration of birds just to the right of the hide but they were mainly Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Coot.  There was also a few Goldeneye and Great Crested Grebes scattered over South Arm Three but nothing else of note was observed.  On reaching Gadwall hide I was a little disappointed as there were few birds, whilst on Saturday there had been masses.  As I scanned around I could see that there was a large concentration of birds near the Lyndon Centre, which appeared to mainly Coot and were probably the birds seen near Gadwall on Saturday.

I could see the shoreline in front of Goldeneye hide as I approached Lax Hill and there appeared to be very little and so I went straight to Robin hide.  On opening the flaps all of the feeders were empty but unlike last time there was food in the dustbin and so I filled the bucket and at least partially filled the feeders.  I went back into the hide and was surprised to see how quickly birds began to come to the feeders and with about fifteen minutes I had seen quite a few Blue and Great Tits, several Chaffinch, Robin and Dunnock as well as a Coal Tit and a Marsh Tit.  I continued round Lax Hill and on viewing South Arm Two and Heron Bay could see that there was very little and so went straight back towards the 360° hide on lagoon five.  As I walked alongside lagoon eight there were two Fieldfares in the bushes, which turned out to be my only sightings of the day.  On reaching the 360 hide there was very little on the lagoon with just a few Wigeon and there was no geese flock visible in the fields at the back.  There was some activity at the feeding station but I only saw Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinch and Dunnock, although a Great Spotted Woodpecker was observed in a tree on the edge of the small wood.  I called at Snipe hide again on my return where there were now seven Curlew but three of these flew off as a small aircraft went over.

Curlew on the wet meadow with one keeping an eye on the aircraft

I made my way back to the car park for some lunch before going into the centre to have a look over lagoon one.  Other then the Pintail I couldn’t find very much on lagoon one and set off towards lagoon three.

Long-tailed Tit near the centre

In the first few meadows there were a few thrushes feeding, mainly Blackbird but also a few Redwings and a couple of Song Thrushes.  I had heard a Water Rail calling close to the small stream that goes under the footpath near badger hide during my last couple of visits and today it showed briefly.  I checked the alders alongside the track for Siskin and Redpoll but there were very few birds seen, just more Blackbird, Robin and Chaffinches.

Redwing

On reaching Shoveler hide on lagoon three some other birders were clearly watching something, which turned out to be a female Marsh Harrier with two green wing-tags.  These birds apparently are from the Holkham area in Norfolk and it was first ever December sighting of Marsh Harrier in the counties.  Another Water Rail also provided some nice views alongside the reedbed to the right of the hide.  There were a couple of Redshank on the lagoon and I then found a couple of Dunlin on an island and two Snipe on another.  As I scanned the wildfowl I located a red-headed Smew just beyond the main raft of commoner species.  Ken had joined me in the hide after his short break in Tenerife and after a while he was feeling the cold, although it was less cold than it had been of late.  A Sparrowhawk flew over the lagoon but yet again there was no sign of the Bittern on what appeared to be a perfect afternoon for it to show on the edge of the reeds.

Steve and Terry had also joined us in the hide and Terry picked up two Ravens flying west over the north arm before Steve and Terry moved off to sandpiper hide.

It wasn’t too long afterwards when Ken and I gave up on the Bittern and I went to sandpiper hide on lagoon four whilst Ken went back to the centre to try and get warm.

When I entered sandpiper hide Steve and Terry were still there and informed me that they had seen a Yellow-legged Gull but that it had flown off to the right with Common Gulls.  Shortly afterwards Steve re-found it between island six and seven but a little further away than most of the gulls.  I soon found it but it spent most of its time facing away and in now what was pretty poor light.  Terry then departed whilst Steve and I continued to scan the gulls and I noticed a probable second-winter gull on the water that I considered might be a Caspian.  I informed Steve of the find for him to say it was the Yellow-legged Gull seen earlier but he obviously had continued to watch it has he suddenly said he wasn’t sure about it being a Yellow-legged Gull.  It had got out of the water and was now visible on the edge of island seven.  Apparently when he had first seen it he thought it might be a Caspian but had ruled it out on head-shape as head on it looked pretty broad.  However now it was out of the water it looked rather long-legged and the bill was right for Caspian but other features didn’t fit and we eventually decided it would be better left as undetermined and possibly a hybrid.  With the light fading I called a day and left Steve peering into the now quite poor light.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - December 13, 2014

I was out with Roger today and we initially drove to Eyebrook Reservoir but called at the field, along the Stockerston Road, where Dave and I had a lot of birds last weekend.  There were far fewer birds today but we did have eight Red-legged Partridges as we arrived and a Weasel provided a nice surprise and entertained for about five minutes quite close to the car.  Two Red Kites flew over as did a Fieldfare and there was a single Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer in the hedge but very little else.

We turned around and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir entering from the northern end where we saw one of the Little Owls in the old oak and another Red Kite perched in a tree alongside the stream.  We stopped at the bridge for a while searching for a Bittern that had been reported the last two days but there was no sign.  The water level was still quite low and there was a good expanse of mud, which must have been frozen but we did find a Golden Plover and nine Dunlin amongst the Lapwings.  Seven Snipe was also found on the edge of the stream but other than a drake Pintail and a distant Buzzard we couldn’t find anything else of interest and decided to go on to Rutland Water.

Another Red Kite was observed as we passed through Stoke Dry and the yet another just before we entered Uppingham.  Two Buzzards were then observed, one in Preston and the other as we approached the turn to Manton.  As we drove along Lyndon Road towards the turning to the resave a Jay flew across the road and another Buzzard was observed perched as we approached the turn.  After getting our gear on we walked the short distance to Teal hide to scan South Arm Three were we hoping to find the Long-tailed Duck.  There were plenty of Goldeneye and numerous commoner wildfowl and Coots but there was no sign of the Long-tailed Duck.  A quick look at the feeding station produced a Coal Tit, a Marsh Tit and a couple of Tree Sparrows as well as several Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinches and Goldfinches and two Reed Buntings were observed in a bush close by.

Having no luck with the Long-tailed we moved off to the Hambleton Peninsula hopping for better luck with the Red-necked Grebe.  After parking we walked along the footpath to the north shore and then dropped down towards the shore.  We had looked on the way down but could only see Great Crested Grebes but on my first scan I found the Red-necked Grebe close to a Great Crested and much closer than it had been on Tuesday.  It eventually came a little closer allowing me to get a few reasonable shots of it.

Red-necked Grebe

There was a party of Greylag Geese between where we were and Armley Wood and on scanning them Roger found a couple of Barnacle Geese and then a third.  He then said he thought he might have the juvenile Greenland White-fronted Goose but it was swimming away from us.  I soon found the bird and after a short while we were able to confirm that his initial identification was correct.  A Great Northern Diver had been reported of the dam and we decided to have a look and as I picked up a possible bird, Roger indicated he might have it.  We were looking at the same bird after a few minutes were both happy that it was in fact the Great Northern Diver.  We walked back around the bay and joined the footpath when I suggested that we should check out the fields on the south towards at the end of the peninsula as I had seen the two European White-fronted Geese with some Greylags on Tuesday.  As we approached the final field there were some geese and whilst most were Greylags I had noticed two smaller geese to the right of the flock.  I initially suspected that they would be the White-fronts but on closer inspection they turned out to be two Pink-foots and presumably the birds I had seen in Manton Bay on Tuesday.  As I continued to scan the geese I found the two White-fronts amongst the Greylags.

We stopped at the fishermen’s car park to view Dickinson’s Bay but there was no sign of the Great White Egrets or the Black-necked Grebes, although there was a Shelduck, five Pintail and a couple of Little Egrets.  We drove the short distance to the road leading to Tim’s cottage but on viewing the fishponds there was very little, surprising at there had been plenty on Tuesday.  As walked further on to view the north arm I found the two Great White Egrets on the bund and shortly afterwards Roger picked up a Black-necked Grebe.  Further scanning of the north shore produced eleven Pintail, nine Dunlin and a Redshank and another Little Egret was observed near the bund.

We drove around to the reserved where we had some lunch before going to the centre.  Lagoon one was practically frozen but there were three Pintail, a few Shoveler and three male and a female Goosander and I saw three Curlew drop on to the wet meadow.

Song Thrush in the Egleton Meadows

I started to walk to Shoveler hide on lagoon three, whilst Roger was seeing what progress had been made with his tripod at In Focus.  There were a few thrushes in the meadows, mainly Blackbird but also Fieldfare, Redwing and Song Thrush and three Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew over.  There was no sign of any birds feeding in alders and hence no Siskin or Redpoll.  Roger caught me up before I had reached the hide and on entering it another birder put us on to a red-headed Smew.  Scanning produced a single Black-tailed Godwit and a Redshank but there was no sign of the reported Green Sandpiper.  We continued to crake hide and almost the first bird I noticed was a Green Sandpiper.  When we reached Lapwing hide we had another scan for the Long-tailed Duck but were again unsuccessful, which is not totally surprising as it can be notoriously difficult to find.  There were plenty of birds most of which were rather distant but other than a few more Pintail there was nothing of note and we made our way back to Shoveler hide.  There were now two Green Sandpipers present and we had brief views of two Water Rails but the hopped for Bittern failed to materialise although close views of a Sparrowhawk that flushed fifteen Snipe where nice.

Cormorant from Lapwing hide

Cormorant from Lapwing hide

Drake Gadwall from Lapwing hide

Drake Mallard from Lapwing hide

Our final port of call was sandpiper hide on lagoon four, where we found four Shelduck, four more Pintail and a Little Egret.  With the light beginning to go and the temperature dropping we walked back to the car park where we had a coffee before setting off home.

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - December 9, 2014

I started off at the Lyndon Reserve with the intention of trying to find the two European and the single Greenland White-fronted Geese.  I took at look at the feeding station where there was a single Marsh Tit and Tree Sparrow but they quickly dispersed as a male Sparrowhawk appeared.  It was probably the same bird I had seen on Thursday but today it didn’t stop and perched and just make a couple of circuits of the feeders and the bush before moving off to the east.

I walked down the footpath to deep water hide where I could see a concentration of geese but all I could see were Greylags and Canada Geese with a white feral bird.  As I was scoping them some more came in and I noticed two as they landed where not Greylags and assumed they would be the two European White-fronts.  As I looked closer I could that they were not and I assumed they were Pink-footed Geese but they were too distant to be sure and so I continued on to Tufted Duck hide.  I was now much closer and was able to confirm that they were Pink-foots and I also found the juvenile Greenland White-front and a Barnacle Goose.  Wader Scrape hide is being rebuilt but I thought I would get a better view from the site but as I was about to walk down the path Steve called to say that he and Terry had found a Red-necked Grebe on the north shore of the Hambleton Peninsula.

I walked back to the car and drove around to the end of the peninsula and after parking walked down the old road to the end.  There were a party of Greylag Geese in the last field and on scanning I found the two European White-fronts with them.  I continued on to the end and walked around the shore to view the area between the peninsular and Whitwell.  There were few birds, a couple of Mute Swans, a few Mallard, a Goldeneye and several Great Crested Grebes but there was no sign of the Red-necked Grebe or the Common Scoter that Steve and Terry had seen at the same time.  I walked on the shore of the bay and then when further along the track to view the north arm.  The first thing I noticed was a fisherman and he was quite close to the area the birds had been and it was likely the grebe and the scoter had moved.  I scanned down the arm several times before finding the female-type Common Scoter but the only grebes I was seeing were Great Crested.  I had looked at a distant pair of grebes on several occasions but they were clearly Great Crested.  Feeling that I wasn’t going to catch up with the Red-necked I had one final scan and noticed that there were now three grebes together.  As I looked at them through the scope, one was clearly and Great Crested, but I was unsure about the other two as they were sitting with the head sunk into their shoulders.  I knew from previous views that one would be a Great Crested and sure enough the first to raise its head was.  The other continued to remain with its head sunk into its shoulders but after a few minutes it raised its head and I was able to confirm it was a Red-necked Grebe.  It was rather distant but I was pleased in finding again as it had gone some distance from where Steve and Terry had seen it.

White-fronted Geese

Cormorant off the peninsular

I made may way back along the peninsula and stopped to scan the north arm from the fisherman’s car park.  There were three more female-type Common Scoter towards Dickinson’s Bay and three Little Egrets in the bay but there was no sign of the Great White Egrets.  From the end of the road to Tim’s cottage the drake Smew was still in the fishponds and I found four Pintail in the north arm but again there was no sign of the Great White Egrets and I couldn’t find the Black-necked Grebes either.

After taking my lunch I went to the Egleton Reserve but there was very little on lagoon one, with fifteen Pintail being the best.  I walked to Shoveler hide on lagoon three seeing a few Redwings and a single Fieldfare on route.  There were quite a few duck on the lagoon, which were mainly Gadwall and Tufted Duck but there was also Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard, Goldeneye and a single drake Pintail and a Snipe flew over.

I checked crake hide on route to Lapwing hide but other than two male and a female Goosander there was very little.  There were plenty of birds visible from Lapwing hide, including four male and two female Goosanders and I also counted seventy-eight Pintail on the shore of Brown’s Island.  I caught up with Steve and Terry in Shoveler hide where a Peregrine provided some nice views as it flew around the lagoon for a few minutes before heading off to lagoon four.

We made a final check from sandpiper hide on lagoon four where Steve picked up the Peregrine on island seven.  It then took off and was seen flying around for quite some time and was often pursued by several Common Gulls.  It appeared to be enjoying the attention and it looked as if it was in a mind to do so could have taken any one of them at will but seemed content just playing with them.  Terry had already left when the Peregrine was putting on a superb display and I eventually left Steve who was planning to stay to the death, either watching the gulls or going back to lagoon three and hoping for the Bittern.

A morning at Rutland Water, Rutland - December 7, 2014

I was back at Rutland Water this morning to help with the wildfowl.  Whilst we were waiting for everyone to arrive I saw the drake Smew in the fishponds.  Erik and I then went to the Old Hall to count south arm three.  We were quite exposed on the north shore and it wasn’t easy counting and so we just counted the birds close to the  Old Hall and those on the far shore, which were mainly Coot.  As it was so windy we went around to Lapwing hide and completed the count in relative comfort.  Erik picked up the Long-tailed Duck quite some distance off, to the right of the island, and he also found a red-headed Smew near the shore on Brown’s Island.  I did locate a Green Sandpiper on the same shore and we had our only Little Egret from crake hide.

Chris Park had found a Great Northern Diver in Whitwell Creek and then it or another in the bay east of the Sailing Club and so Erik and I went to check out the one near the Sailing Club.  After parking up we walked along the footpath to view the bay and I found the bird, a juvenile, after just a few minutes, and it was still pretty close allowing good scope views.  Another nice find was a Grey Wagtail along the shore line.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - December 6, 2014

I was out with Dave today and we set off initially to Eyebrook Reservoir.  The only bird of note we had seen prior to reaching the Stockerston Road and turning to Eyebrook Reservoir was a single Buzzard near Great Glen.  We stopped along Stockerston Road to view a field that often proves interesting and we found a flock of Linnet that must have contained in excess of one hundred birds.  There was also good numbers of Yellowhammer and Fieldfare and we also found a single Skylark and a Reed Bunting.  We went back along the road to gain access to the reservoir from the northern end but the hopped for Little Owl didn’t oblige but there were two Red Kites.  When we reached the reservoir we found some clown inside the perimeter fence taking pictures of a tree at the inlet and consequently disturbing the birds.  Dave shouted out him to get out as it was private and in fairness he responded and climbed back over the fence.  I also spoke to him as he walked back to his car and he turned out to be a birder and should have really known better.  There were quite a few Lapwing on the exposed mud and I counted ten Dunlin amongst them and Dave found two Snipe closer to the bridge with eleven Golden Plover flying over but other than a couple of Shelduck there was little else.

We then drove across country to the dam at Rutland Water as we turned right at Edith Weston there were two Red Kites on the right but there was no sign of yesterdays reported Red-throated Diver.

Mute Swans fighting close to the dam

Malcolm was at the dam and he came to the Egleton Reserve with us and we walked along the cycle track before Dave and he went towards the 360°hide and I continued on the track.  We were trying to locate the two adult European White-fronted Geese and a juvenile Greenland White-fronted Goose but all I saw in the fields were fourteen Egyptian Geese.  I did see a Green Woodpecker at the back of lagoon seven and a few Greylag Geese near Heron Bay but there was no sign of the White-fronts.  I called Dave and he and Malcolm had fared no better but he informed me that Rick had seen a Stonechat from harrier hide.  I continued on to harrier hide where I was joined by Dave and Malcolm but there was no sign of the Stonechat.  We did see a few Pintail on the mainly frozen lagoon, a Buzzard flew over and nine Curlew dropped on to the wet meadow with a tenth coming down on the edge of lagoon one.  We walked back towards the centre with Malcolm taking the cycle track while Dave and I continued on to Mallard hide.  Almost the first bird I saw opening the flap was a male Stonechat and then a female and I also counted forty-two Pintail on lagoon one.  Dave and I then went back to the car park for some lunch and were joined by Erik who had also been looking for the geese without any luck.

Buzzard over lagoon one

After lunch we walked down to Shoveler hide where we found a couple of Snipe but very little else.  We moved on to Lapwing hide seeing a Green Sandpiper in flight close to crake hide and although there were plenty of Tufted Duck close to Lapwing hide there was little else.  Eric then picked up a red-headed Smew almost a far as the Old Hall and a Little Egret on the Lyndon Reserve shore.  I then found a Green Sandpiper on lagoon two, which was probably the one we had in flight near crake hide.  A second Little Egret then flew in and landed on the bund with four Grey Heron.

We walked back to Shoveler hide and spent more time looking for the Bittern but without any joy although we did find three Pintail and Little Egret flew in and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was observed over the wood.  Dave and I then called it a day whilst Erik went to sandpiper hide on lagoon four.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - December 4, 2014

I called at Newton Harcourt first this morning where I had a selection of common passerines that included both Nuthatch and Treecreeper.

A Buzzard was the only bird of note I saw on route to Eyebrook Reservoir but one of the Little Owls was seen briefly as I entered from the northern end.  There didn’t appear to be too much as most of the exposed mud was bird less.  As I scanned a large party of Lapwing and a few Golden Plover took to flight and I observed a Peregrine briefly as it chased a bird low over the water before disappearing.  As I continued to scan more and more Lapwing, some quite distant, became obvious, presumably as the Peregrine moved south.  As the Lapwing began to return I noticed seven Dunlin drop in but they like the Lapwing were extremely nervous and never really settled whilst I was there.  Three Shelduck and a drake Pintail were observed on the water and two Red Kites were observed over the field at the extreme northern end.  When I moved towards Stoke Dry I stopped and scanned the Greylag Geese flock and found a single Pink-footed Goose amongst them and a Little Egret flew over.

From Eyebrook Reservoir I drove across country to the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water seeing a couple of Red Kites as I approached Lyddington.  On arrival at the Lyndon Centre I went to view the feeding station but there were only Blue and Great Tits visiting regularly and a couple of Chaffinch.  As I watched the feeders the birds suddenly scattered and a male Sparrowhawk flew in and perched on the feeding station.  It stayed for several minutes flying low around the feeding station on a couple of occasions during its stay before it flew off towards Manton.  I had left the camera in the car as the light was pretty awful and I didn’t expect this to happen but it was an opportunity missed of probably getting some nice shots.  Obviously after the Sparrowhawk left there was very little on the feeders and so I went into Teal hide to scan south arm three.  There was a gathering of Cormorants on the exposed island and a few Goldeneye but very little else and I eventually returned to the feeders.  There were more birds visiting now, which included a Marsh Tit and a Tree Sparrow.

I eventually left for the north arm and found the drake Smew in the fishponds and a couple of Pintail and a single Little Egret in the north arm.  There was no sign of the Great White Egrets and so I drove to Dickinson’s Bay and found them both on the far shore and there were also five Pintail and two Little Egrets in the bay.  The two Black-necked Grebes were observed not too far out and the three Common Scoters were also closer then on Tuesday.

After some lunch in the Egleton car park I went into the centre and counted seventy-six Pintail and also found four Curlew.  Norman joined me but we couldn’t find the red-headed Smew he had seen earlier.  I eventually set off to Shoveler hide on lagoon three seeing a Tawny Owl in one the owl boxes on route.  It was rather quiet on the lagoon but a Water Rail performed nicely just in front of the hide for several minutes and a Little Egret flew in.  I moved on to crake hide where other than a couple more Little Egrets there was very little and so I continued on to Lapwing hide.  Most of the birds were more distant today but as I scanned the shore on Brown’s Island I found a red-headed Smew, presumably the bird seen earlier by Norman.  Looking on lagoon two I found a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, one of which was colour ringed, and they were obviously the same birds observed on lagoon three on Tuesday.  There was also a drake Pintail and a female Goosander.  I picked up six Dunlin flying low over south arm three before they gained height and headed off to the north arm.  I called at sandpiper hide on route back to the centre but other than two Shelduck there was little else.  A final call at the centre failed to produce anything new and with light and the visibility being rather poor I called it a day at 15:20.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - December 2, 2014

I visited Eyebrook Reservoir on route to Rutland Water seeing a couple of Red Kites near Blaston on route.  I arrived at the southern end of Eyebrook Reservoir and saw another Red Kite as I went down the hill to the reservoir.  As I drove along the southern shore and just before I reached the turning to the bridge a flock of circa thirty Fieldfare were observed but there was no sign of the Little Owls in the old oak.  I stopped on the north shore overlooking than now extensive area of mud and there were c.150 Golden Plover and four Dunlin and two Shelduck were feeding in the water.  There was clearly fewer gulls than on Saturday and also there appeared to small numbers of wildfowl, which included Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Wigeon, Gadwall; Teal; Mallard, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye.  There was also two more Red Kites over the fields to the west of the reservoir.

I went straight to the north arm at Rutland Water were it felt very raw in the brisk northerly wind.  There were five Little Egrets in the fishponds and another two in the north arm but there was no sign of the Great White Egrets or Black-necked Grebes but I did find a single Redshank on the south shore and seven Goosanders in the fishponds.  With no sign of the Great White Egret I decided to go to Dickinson’s Bay as they had been reported there recently.  After parking the car I walked down the lane and was joined by Steve and Terry as I began to scan the bay.  Steve indicated that Terry had seen one of the Great White Egrets from the main road as they drove by.  A scan in the far corner produced both birds along with another two Little Egrets.  Further scanning produced nine Pintail, a Green Sandpiper and five Redshanks and there were four Red Kites over Burley Wood.  Steve found the Black-necked Grebes some distance off but they gradually came closer and provided better views.  He also found three female Common Scoters a long way down the north arm towards the dam.  Steve and Terry had seen a red-headed Smew from Wigeon hide earlier and also two adult White-fronted Geese and the Greenland White-fronted Geese on the fields behind lagoon five but they had flown towards Manton Bay.

When I reached the reserve I checked lagoon one first and counted fifty-seven Pintail and also saw a single Curlew.  There was a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders as I started to walk out to Wigeon hide.  I stopped and had brief look from Snipe hide on the wet meadow seeing another Little Egret and then saw another Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders from 360°hide but there was no sign of any geese.

On reaching Wigeon hide there were plenty of Tufted Ducks and Wigeon in south arm two and fewer Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Goldeneye and Great Crested Grebes but I couldn’t find the red-headed Smew.  There was a female-type hybrid Scaup amongst the Tufted Duck but nothing else was observed.  There was a party of geese in the field on the opposite side of Heron Bay containing both Greylag and Canada Geese and also the two adult White-fronted Geese but the juvenile White-fronted Goose wasn’t with them.  Steve then rang to enquire why I hadn’t told them about the drake Smew in the fishponds, which was probably as I hadn’t seen it.  When I got back to the car park I went back to the north arm and found the drake Smew close to the bund, although it was rather elusive initially it did eventually give good views.  There were also now thirteen Goosanders present and I can only assume they and the Smew were perhaps close to the bank when I had looked earlier.

After some lunch I went to the reserve and walked to Shoveler hide on lagoon three in the hope of finding the first-winter Red-necked Grebe.  Steve and Terry joined me in the hide but we were unable to locate the grebe and presumably it may have gone as it had been totally loyal to this lagoon during its stay.  There was a male and three female Red-crested Pochard and two Black-tailed Godwits on the lagoon and plenty of common wildfowl, including Wigeon; Gadwall; Teal; Mallard; Shoveler, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye.  We called at Buzzard hide but there was still no sign of the grebe and so we continued onto Lapwing hide to overlook south arm three.  There were two male and three female Red-crested Pochard just to the left of the hide and a drake Goosander amongst the Tufted Duck and Coot close to the Green Bank.  Another party of Tufted Ducks close to Brown’s Island contained a female Scaup and Terry located two more Green Sandpipers.

I called at Shoveler and sandpiper hides on the way back to the centre but there was still no sign of the Red-necked Grebe and other than two Shelduck and several Shoveler there was very little on lagoon four.

I had another quick look from the centre before going back to the car park.  Whilst having a coffee before setting off home Terry came back and informed me he had had a male Hen Harrier fly over him when he was at the bottom of the ramp to sandpiper hide, which is an excellent bird for the counties.  Needless to say it appeared to just pass through.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland and Cambridgeshire - November 29, 2014

I went to Great Glen first this morning but found the view of the filter beds at the sewage works mainly obscured by some new tanks and a couple of portacabins.  There were also several workers on site making plenty of notice and I couldn't see a single bird within the compound and consequently saw very little during my brief visit.

I headed for Eyebrook Reservoir seeing a six Redwing near Slawston and a Red Kite as I approached the reservoir.  When I arrived there were masses of Common Gulls and possibly as many as a thousand with birds at both the inlet and further down towards the dam.  The water level had also been dropped and there was a good expanse of mud but all I could find were thirteen Snipe and a few Lapwings.  More Lapwings began arriving and twenty Golden Plover flew around for a while but didn’t land.  Malcolm had joined me as he had been looking for a red-headed Smew that had been present yesterday but had been unable to find it, although he had seen an Otter near the bridge when he first arrived.  We went and viewed from Stoke Dry as this was where the Smew had been but there was no sign.  I decided to walk through the plantation to see if the Smew had gone further up the reservoir and was tucked in close to the Rutland bank.  I walked as far as the end of the first area of trees so I had a good view of the reservoir but all I found were a few Pochard, Tufted Duck and Coot.  There was also very little in the plantation with Goldcrest, Treecreeper and a few Bullfinch being the best.  When I got back to the car park a further scan failed to produce the Smew but I did find the long staying Pink-footed Goose.

It was now about 11:30 and I decided to go to Eldernell in the hope of seeing some Bewick’s and Whooper Swans and also for the afternoon roost.  It was 13:30 when I arrived and the weather was beginning to improve being a little brighter and the cloud breaking.  There is no flood water at present and consequently it can appear very quiet but patience usually produces some good birds.  There were at least four Kestrel hunting over the fields and a female Marsh Harrier caused some disturbance revealing fast numbers of distant Lapwings and wildfowl and also about 150 Golden Plovers.  A ditch on the edge of the first field that had been dredged was providing an attraction to several Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits and there was c.200 Fieldfare flying around and feeding in the bushes along the main dyke.  A Sparrowhawk was then observed flying low over the ground and a Red Kite passed almost right overhead.  I then picked up two groups of swans, a four and a six, flying from the east and was able to identify them as Whooper Swans but they didn’t land and continued to fly west.  Another couple of birders then arrived and informed me that there was a Barn Owl roosting in a row of conifers on the other side of the bund.  I went to have a look and it was still there dozing right out in the open.  It had apparently been roosting there all week probably feeling quite safe now there was little disturbance from people walking along the top of the bund as the footpath is closed whilst work is carried out.  I joined the couple back on the bridge and continued scanning the wash.

As we continued scanning a Green Woodpecker provided some nice views and we found a male Marsh Harrier, another Sparrowhawk and eventually I picked up two distant Short-eared Owls.  Whilst rather distant they gave quite a good display as they climbed quite high and were flying around chasing one another with two Carrion Crows also becoming involved.  They eventually dropped lower and a third individual was seen and one of them then came much closer giving good views along the back of the first field.  The Barn Owl was now hunting in the field to the right and eventually was seen with a vole flying back towards the conifers.  A short while afterwards it was back of the field hunting again and a second was observed to the right.  Fifteen Whooper Swans flew in from the east and dropped out of sight behind the bund and had presumable come down in one of the fields.  A single Whooper Swan was then observed flying east and then I found twelve Cranes feeding over the far side of the wash.  The Cranes eventually took to flight and moved off further west and shortly afterwards I had a brief view of a male Hen Harrier as it came into roost.

After a poor start to the day at Great Glen and Eyebrook Reservoir, Eldernell had turned up trumps with a good selection of good birds