I set off for Eyebrook
Reservoir seeing a Sparrowhawk just after leaving Blaston and then a Red Kite
as I neared the turning to Great Easton with another just before turning left
to Eyebrook Reservoir.
There were three Little Egrets
in the south west bay but other than a few Red-legged Partridges I saw very
little else before continuing on beyond the reservoir to check out the old
oak. As I came back towards the reservoir
one of the Little Owls was visible in the oak and I saw a Green Woodpecker and
a Jay close to the road bridge and another Red Kite was circling over the field
to the east. After parking so as to look
over the inlet I found another Little Egret and eight Dunlin but there was very
little else. A quick stop at the Stoke
Dry feeding station produced the Nuthatch and a variety of commoner species.
Nuthatch at the Stoke Dry feeding station
As it was now quite windy I
decided to head for the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water and after parking
headed for the centre. I stopped at the
feeding station where there appeared to more activity than of later with plenty
of birds visiting the feeders but a couple of Reed Buntings were the most
unusual.
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Reed Bunting
Chaffinch
Chaffinch
After checking the book I set
off to Snipe hide on the wet meadow and on arrival found fifteen Shelduck on
the flash and another two on the wet meadow and a drake Pintail dropped on to
the flash. There was also Greylag Goose,
Canada Goose, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and Shoveler feeding in the area
and the higher water levels were clearly to the liking of many of the
birds. A distant Red Kite was observed
over Burley Wood and two Oystercatchers were on lagoon one.
I moved on to harrier hide but
other than a single Snipe there was nothing else of note, except for a Buzzard
that I watched drift over from the north arm.
I called at Pintail hide on lagoon six but a single Shelduck was the
highlight there but there were more birds on lagoon eight than of late but
nothing of note. From the 360°
hide on lagoon five there was a pair of Pintail feeding on the
lagoon, a Little Egret on the bund and a single Dunlin amongst a small party of
Lapwings roosting on one of the islands.
I called at Mallard hide on my
way back to the centre and with the water level now quite high there were quite
a few birds feeding close by, including a single Redshank. I could see several Curlew feeding in the
meadows and eventually counted twelve and the Great White Egret flew in and
began feeding quite close to the hide, providing some excellent photo
opportunities.
Canada Goose on lagoon one
Immature Mute Swan on lagoon one
Drake Wigeon on lagoon one
Female Wigeon on lagoon one
Curlew over lagoon one
Curlew over lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Great White Egret on lagoon one
Robin from Mallard hide
Robin from Mallard hide
Robin from Mallard hide
As I watched and photographed the Great White Egret several of the Curlew flew off towards the centre, three Dunlin flew over and then after a preen the Great White Egret also flew closer to the centre. When I got back to the centre a Stoat was seen between the centre and the water and I was able to get a few shots as it came closer before disappearing round the side of the building.
Stoat from the centre
Stoat from the centre
Stoat from the centre
Stoat from the centre
After some lunch I set off to
Shoveler hide on lagoon three but other than another pair of Shelduck and three
Snipe it was rather quiet and so I continued on to Lapwing hide. Again other than a large raft of Coot and a
few Tufted Duck and Goldeneye it was rather quiet and it looks as though some
of the wildfowl may have departed early.
Great Crested Grebe on lagoon three
Moorhen on lagoon three
I went into sandpiper hide to
check out lagoon four where there were at least six Pintail and a Ringed
Plover. Steve and Terry then joined me
just as I picked up a red-headed Smew and Steve soon found a male. More Ringed Plovers were found with six in
total being seen and Terry located three Dunlin with some of the Ringed Plovers
and two Oystercatchers to the left.
Several Red Kites and Buzzards were seen soaring to the north and after
Steve and Terry had departed I found two red-headed Smew. Despite looking for some time for the male I
was unable to relocate it and I suspected that there may well have been three
red-heads.
A quick check at the centre
before heading off to Eyebrook Reservoir again produced a female Goosander.
I was going back to Eyebrook
Reservoir in the hope of finding a Stonechat that had been seen earlier. As it was still quite windy I went to the
Leicestershire bank and took some shelter in the corral, where I could scan the
Rutland bank in some comfort. Needless
to say there was no sign of the Stonechat but I did see a male and two
red-headed Smew. There were also quite a
few gulls coming and going, mainly Black-headed and Common Gulls but also
Lesser Black-backed, Herring and Great Black-backed but there was nothing
unusual whilst I was there, although I did count twenty-two Lesser Black-backed
at one point.
No comments:
Post a Comment