An afternoon at Rutland Water, Rutland - February 3, 2015

There was a thin layer of snow this morning and apparently there had been about two centimetres in Rutland and so I felt it wasn’t worth going over to Rutland Water as I wouldn’t have been able to get most area.  I spoke to Steve at about 11:00 who informed me that the snow was disappearing rapidly and so I decided to go over the afternoon.

The roads were clear as I went over and I saw a couple of Red Kites and a Buzzard.  I arrived in the Egleton car park at about 12:00 and after a bite to eat went to the centre to view lagoon one.  I checked the feeding station but there was nothing unusual, with two Reed Buntings being the best.  From the centre I counted forty Pintail and there were three Curlews feeding to the right.

Robin in the car park

Dunnock at the feeding station

Blackbird at the feeding station

Reed Bunting at the feeding station

Chaffinchat the feeding station

Having exhausted lagoon one I set off for Shoveler hide on lagoon three, calling at grebe hide on route but saw very little except for a Sparrowhawk that soared over the meadow before heading off over lagoon four.  As I approached Shoveler hide there was a working party clearing the scrub and cropping the trees and bushes on the path.  Steve and Terry were walking back indicating they had seen very little except for two red-headed Smew from Lapwing hide.  I therefore went straight to Lapwing hide and soon found one of the two Smew but couldn’t locate the second.  I continued scanning the raft of duck and coot and was about to leave when I found the second Smew not too far away with a small group of Tufted Ducks.  I went into Buzzard hide on the way back seeing very little before calling at Shoveler hide where I did see four Snipe and a Red Kite over the far corner.

Red-headed Smew from Lapwing hide

I could see that the Hambleton road looked clear and decided that I should try and get to the end of the peninsula.  I checked out lagoon four before walking back to the car park and found ten Shelduck, twenty-two Pintail and Red Kite to the west of the lagoon.

I got as far as the village before I met any snow but then found that there was a section of about 200 meters that had impacted snow, which I negotiated with care and was then able to get right to the end of the peninsula without any further problems.  After parking I walked along the track towards the north arm and as I dropped down the slope to the first bay found there was quite a few Greylag Geese on the water and bank.  I scanned through the birds and found the two European White-fronted Geese and the Greenland White-fronted Goose and there was also a Redshank feeding along the shore.  I continued along the path until I was able to see into the north arm but there appeared to be very little.  I walked down the slope towards the trees, which were now very close to the water, indicating that the reservoir was close to being full and explained why the lagoons were now also full.  I eventually found the Red-necked Grebe quite some distance off towards Armley Wood but was unable to find a Great Northern Diver.  All the geese were on the bank when I returned and I suspected that they would flush but fortunately they just walked further away and continued feeding.

I stopped at the fisherman’s car park on the way back as Steve had seen both Black-necked Grebes just off Dickinson’s Bay but despite a lengthy search they remained elusive but I did see a Raven.  I also viewed the north arm from the end of the cottage lane but only found a couple of Barnacle Geese.  A Barn Owl had been seen yesterday evening near the centre and there was also a flock of Golden Plovers feeding in a field alongside Church Road.  I stopped to look for the Golden Plovers but only found a single bird amongst the more numerous Fieldfare and Redwings.

On reaching the Egleton car park I walked back to the centre to see if the Barn Owl might oblige.  However the centre was now closed and I walked to the left to view the area from the gate.  I didn’t have wait too long before the Barn Owl appeared in the field and actually perched on a fence post before fling onto lagoon one and then heading off out of sight over lagoon two.  A further scan of lagoon one produced a pair of Goosander, which was a nice close to the afternoon.