A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - April 28, 2015

I was at Rutland Water early today as over 200 Black-tailed Godwits had been reported yesterday evening and I was hoping they were still there.  As I was walking to Dunlin hide on lagoon four I met Tim coming back who informed me that they had gone but there was a pair of Red-crested Pochard to the left of the hide.  When I entered the hide I looked to the left for the Red-crested Pochard but there was no sign.  I scanned around the lagoon and found two Avocets and I could see that there were quite a few Ringed Plover and Dunlin scattered around but they were quite mobile and difficult to count, particularly as the light wasn’t brilliant either.  Steve then came in to the hide and he had counted over thirty Dunlin and fifteen Ringed Plovers from plover hide and after a joint but unsuccessful effort to find the pair of Red-crested Pochard he departed to the north arm and I went to plover hide.  The view was clearly better from here and I managed to find twenty-nine Dunlin and twelve Ringed Plovers.  There were also at least two Little Ringed Plover and two Redshanks but there was still no sign of the pair of Red-crested Pochard.

I had a quick look from both Bittern and Shoveler hides on lagoon three but other than a couple of Shelduck saw nothing else.  A quick check from sandpiper hide on lagoon four also failed to produce the Red-crested Pochard and I decided to go to the southern lagoons.

The westerly wind was quite fresh making it feel pretty cold and it was also rather quiet, although by the time I had reached the far end of lagoon one I had seen or heard Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler.  I continued heading towards the 360° hide on lagoon five and heard and saw another Lesser Whitethroat as I was approaching the hide and there was a Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Garden Warbler heard as I approached Shelduck hide.  I checked out lagoon seven first where I found an Oystercatcher, two Little Ringed Plover, a Ringed Plover, two Greenshanks and two Redshanks as well as eight more Common Terns.  I had brief views of a Whitethroat and heard another Willow Warbler and Sedge Warbler nearby and from the 360° I saw four Oystercatchers, two of which were on nests, and two more Redshank.

I continued towards Pintail hide and visited that and tern hide on lagoon six where there were another four Oystercatcher, with two again on nests.  A nice surprise was to see a Lapwing with four chicks on one of the islands.

The wind had now freshened and birds were singing much less and it was pretty quiet as I walked to harrier hide on lagoon one.  I scanned the Wet Meadow first and found a Greenshank standing on top of one of the islands, which was presumably one of the two I had seen earlier.  Lagoon one appeared to be particularly quiet and so I continued on to Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow.  There was a pair of Shelduck and a pair of Pintail on the flash but little else.  Pintail numbers on the reserve have been quite good this winter with more birds than usual staying into the second winter period and these two appear to be the final remaining birds and have been so for about ten days now.  Although they have never bred in the counties, could this be the year?  However before I left the hide one of the two Shelduck gave them grief on a couple of occasions and they eventually flew off towards Fieldfare hide in South Arm Three.

As I walked back towards the centre I had some nice views of an obliging Chiffchaff just before the path enters the more wooded area.

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

I went into Mallard hide on lagoon one where initially appeared rather quiet but a pair of Moorhen and Coot providing some entertainment in a territorial dispute and the larger Coot didn’t get it all his own way.

Moorhen and Coot in territorial dispute

To the right of the hide I saw another Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a Sedge Warbler and an Osprey hovered quite close to the hide, obviously looking for a meal, before it headed off to the south.

Osprey over lagoon one

I went into the centre but nothing of note had been reported and I went back to the car for some lunch.

As there was no news from Steve who had gone with Terry on their normal circuit of the reservoir I set off back towards the northern lagoons.

I initially went to Shelduck hide on lagoon three where there were now plenty of terns feeding over the lagoon.  I counted forty-three at one point but they were all Common Terns and with little sign of anything else, other than three Ospreys over Burley Wood I moved off to sandpiper hide on lagoon four.

Common Tern over lagoon three

There was still no sign of the pair of Red-crested Pochard and the Ringed Plovers and Dunlin seemed to be scattered far and wide over the lagoon.  Steve and Terry then joined me in the hide and shortly afterwards I found a Turnstone on island five, which we hadn’t seen this morning and presumably it was a new arrival.  Steve and Terry eventually moved off to lagoon three and I was then joined by Pat.  As we continued to scan the lagoon I found a Whimbrel, which was bathing just behind one of the islands.  Steve then called to say he and Terry had found the Great Northern Diver in South Arm Three from Lapwing hide but that it was very distant.  I informed Steve about the Whimbrel but decided to stay put on lagoon three and I then picked up a nice Yellow Wagtail at the back of the lagoon.  The Whimbrel had moved on to the west bank of the lagoon to feed and Steve returned just in time to see it fly out of sight somewhere behind Dunlin hide.  With little else happening I finally decided that I would depart and call at Eyebrook Reservoir on route home.

I drove around the reservoir from Stoke Dry to the northern coral to view the reservoir, as it would be out of the wind.  As I entered the coral there was some disturbance and I then noticed an Osprey dropping into the stream to bathe.  Initially due to the disturbance there was very little but I then found three Little Ringed Plovers and eleven Dunlin.  When I looked over to the stream the Osprey had disappeared but then I saw it land a little further out into the reservoir but it was shallow enough to allow it to bathe.  When it eventually departed I was able to get some photos as it flew around before heading off to the north.  There were three Common Terns around the platforms and there were numerous hirundines over the water, mainly Sand Martin but also good numbers of Swallow with fewer House Martins.  I also saw four Yellow Wagtails, one on the mud by the inlet and three in flight over a field on the Rutland side.  As I scanned further down the reservoir I found a couple of Red Kites and a Buzzard and then two Swifts high over the distant plantation.

Osprey

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - April 25, 2015

I was out early today and I went straight to Rutland Water and was in Dunlin hide on lagoon four by about 06:20 in the hope that the Bar-tailed Godwits and Curlew Sandpiper might still be present.  However all I found of note was an Avocet, six Little Ringed Plovers, a couple of Ringed Plovers, five Dunlin and two Redshank.  As I was walking the short distance to sandpiper hide to get a different view I saw three female Blackcaps and a Willow Warbler but found nothing else from sandpiper, except for a few Common Terns on island ten spit.  A Cetti’s Warbler was heard on a couple of occasions as I walked to Shoveler hide on lagoon three but there was still no sign of yesterday’s Garganey and just few Common Terns feeding over the water.

With very little at the northern end I decided to go and check out the southern lagoons.  I heard and saw a quite a few warblers on route that included Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler; Blackcap; Garden Warbler; Lesser Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler.  When I reached lagoons seven I saw a Red Kite just to the west of the lagoon, which could have been the one I saw earlier just after I had passed over Manton Bridge.  As I scanned the lagoon I found several waders the best being a nice Wood Sandpiper but there were also two Little Ringed Plovers, a Ringed Plover, a Greenshank and a Redshank.  From Shelduck hide on lagoon six there were two Oystercatchers that appeared to be sitting on nests and at least four Redshanks.

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

I went to Pintail hide on lagoon six next, seeing two Lesser Whitethroats on route.  All I found from Pintail hide was a couple of Oystercatchers with one sitting and there were two more visible from tern hide with one sitting just in front of the hide.

Oystercatcher on lagoon six

After leaving the hide I saw a Whitethroat in the recently cleared area and on continuing to Fieldfare hide I heard another and several Sedge Warbler and a Garden Warbler but there was very little from Fieldfare hide, just a Shelduck and a Buzzard.

Harrier hide produced very little with just two Shelduck on the Wet Meadow and very little on Lagoon one.  From Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow there was just two more Shelduck and very little else.

As I started to make my way back to the centre Malcolm caught me up and we went back to sandpiper hide on lagoon four but there was nothing new and even the Avocet had disappeared.  It was also much the same from Shoveler hide on lagoon three, although there were a few more Common Terns and a Reed Warbler was heard.  As we walked to Bittern hide we saw a Red Kite to the north and two Dunlin flew over lagoon three bund and appeared to drop on to lagoon four.  In Bittern hide we could hear at least one Reed Warbler singing and we had a couple of sightings of Osprey and seven more Dunlin flew over and headed towards lagoon four.  We decided to check out lagoon four again from plover hide and found eleven Dunlin and clearly those we had seen in flight were new arrivals.  We eventually decided to go back to the car park for lunch with the intention of coming back this afternoon hoping for further arrivals.

Little Ringed Plover displaying over lagoon four

Just as we were getting ready to go back Erik arrived and we went into the centre to check out lagoon one.  It was pretty quiet but just after we were joined by Chris Park, Erik found a rather nice summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit on the meadow.

With little else we all set off towards lagoon four but as we approached the area Graham told us he had been having some nice views of two Hobbies over lagoon three and so we headed for Shoveler.  We soon found the two Hobbies hawking over the woods and they put on an excellent show and we also saw a Sparrowhawk.  Satisfied with the views of the Hobbies we went to sandpiper on lagoon four and as we approached the hide three birders leaving the hide said they had seen a Sanderling and Curlew Sandpiper.  There were clearly more Dunlin present and we eventually managed to find thirty but we couldn’t find either the Sanderling or Curlew Sandpiper.  There was a wader amongst a group of Dunlin that was certainly slightly larger and longer billed, which was still clearly moulting but eventually we all agreed it was just another Dunlin.  Chris then heard a Whimbrel call and we watched as five dropped in but landed behind one of the islands and out of sight.  They did eventually appear to the right of the island just as Tim arrived with a group of new trust members.  The hide was now rather packed and as another group was waiting to get in we moved on to Dunlin hide.  As we scanned the lagoon the Whimbrel suddenly called and took to flight and headed off to the west and we watched as they disappeared over Oakham.  As Chris turned and looked out onto the lagoon there were five more Whimbrel a little closer, which were certainly another group of five, as the other couldn’t have got back from Oakham so quickly.  Whilst in the hide we also saw a Little Egret, two Oystercatchers, six Little Ringed Plovers, eight Ringed Plovers, a Curlew, two Common Sandpiper, a couple of Redshank and a Yellow Wagtail.  An Osprey passed low over the lagoon and there was others seen over Burley as well as Red Kites, Buzzards and a Raven.

Whimbrel

Osprey over lagoon four

Osprey over lagoon four

Osprey over lagoon four

Osprey over lagoon four

Osprey over lagoon four

Osprey over lagoon four

Malcolm and I decided to call it a day but to call briefly at Eyebrook Reservoir before heading off home.  On arrival at Eyebrook Reservoir we parked overlooking the inlet where there were another sixteen Dunlin and clearly there had been a significant movement today.  There were also three Little Ringed Plovers and four Snipe at the inlet and plenty of hirundines over the water that were mainly Swallow but with a reasonable number of Sand Martins as well and a Yellow Wagtail was observed on the shore.  As I left the reservoir there was a single Little Owl sitting in the old oak but I saw nothing else of note on route home.

An afternoon at Rutland Water, Rutland - April 24, 2015

With news of a Garganey, two Black Terns and a Turnstone at Rutland Water David and I decided to go for an afternoon visit.  When we arrived we went straight to Shoveler hide on lagoon three, which is where the Garganey and two Black Terns were.  When we arrived there was no sign of the Black Terns or the Garganey and we found out that the Garganey had only been seen by one person, who had managed to photograph it.  There were up to thirty Common Terns feeding over the lagoon and we also saw a Sparrowhawk and Buzzard over the wood to the north and an Osprey fishing over South Arm Three.  Steve had joined us in the hide but all he had seen was the Turnstone on lagoon four and so we decided to go and at least try and find that.

From sandpiper hide we soon found the Turnstone along with three Ringed Plovers, four Sanderling, ten Dunlin, two Ruff and four Redshank.  Whilst in the hide Steve called to say that there was a Little Gull on lagoon three, so back we went to Shoveler.  We found the adult flying some distance away but eventually it came much closer.  It was an adult but surprisingly it didn’t have a complete black hood.

We called at the centre before we left but could only find a single Oystercatcher.

Not a very successful afternoon and my third Black Tern dip in a week and to make matters worse Steve and Erik had three Bar-tailed Godwits and a Curlew Sandpiper on lagoon four after we had left.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - April 23, 2015

David and I set off for Eyebrook Reservoir this morning but saw very little on route.

We arrived at Eyebrook Reservoir at the southern end and stopped briefly near the old feeding station where we had a Swift and a couple of Tree Sparrows.  Moving around to the island coral we found what initially I thought was a Grey Plover.  It was moulting into summer plumage and the back certainly had some yellowish spangling, which lead us into thinking it was probably a Golden Plover.  Other birders watching it later in the day were considering American or Pacific Golden Plover but one of then saw it raise its wings revealing the black axillaries confirming my initial identification was correct.  There was also a Dunlin on the island and a Snipe dropped in.  We continued to the northern coral from where we saw a Little Ringed Plover, two Ringed Plovers, another Snipe and two Greenshanks.  We checked out the old oak but there was no sign of any Little Owls and we returned to overlook the inlet from the Rutland bank.  Andy Mackay was also on site but had seen what we had seen at the inlet but as we were talking he picked up a wader coming in that turned out to be a Black-tailed Godwit.  On the water there were several Shelduck, a female Pintail, a female Pochard and a male Goldeneye and there were several hirundines, which were mainly Swallow but also Sand Martin and House Martin but there were just four Common Terns.  As we were leaving two Green Woodpeckers got up and flew alongside the car for a short distance and we had also heard Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and Whitethroat as we had driven around the reservoir.

It had been pretty good at Eyebrook Reservoir and as we drove to Rutland Water we were optimistic of seeing more good birds.  We initially went to the north arm but it was fairly quiet but we did find a Greenshank and six Shelduck with ten Common Terns over the water and a pair of Egyptian Geese with four downy young.

With little else we drove to the Egleton Reserve and set off to the southern lagoons.  As we walked to Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow we saw a single Blackcap and heard several more as well as hearing Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler and Sedge Warbler.  From the hide there were four Shelduck, a Little Egret, three Oystercatchers and a nice male Sparrowhawk perched on a fence post.

We moved on to try and get a look onto lagoon seven hearing a Lesser Whitethroat before reaching the 360° hide and a Cuckoo and Raven flying over as we approached Shelduck hide.  On Lagoon Seven we found six Shelduck, two Oystercatchers, two Avocets, two Little Ringed Plovers, a Ringed Plover, a Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank and two Redshanks.

Avocets

Feeling pretty good with the selection on Lagoon Seven we went into Shelduck hide to view Lagoon Five.  We hadn’t been in many minutes when David said what’s this wader on the bund, which turned out to be a Wood Sandpiper but then he found a second on the island closer to us.  I called Tim and Andy to make them aware and Tim joined us when both of the Wood Sandpipers were together on a different island but shortly afterwards they took to flight gaining height rapidly and heading off north.  The Greenland White-fronted Goose was also on the lagoon as were five Oystercatchers, a Ruff and a Redshank.

We visited both Pintail and tern hides on lagoon six but other than a couple of Oystercatchers on nests there was little else, although we did flush a couple of Red-legged Partridge as we approached tern hide.

As we walking towards harrier hide we could hear Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler singing and as we were looking for them a text arrived, apparently there were two Hobbies over lagoon two.  We moved swiftly on to harrier hide where we had a pretty good, if distant view, of lagoon two but there was no sign of the Hobbies.  As we walked back towards Snipe hide we had good but brief views of a singing Sedge Warbler but saw little else before we eventually got back to the car park for lunch.

As we started walking towards the northern lagoons there was a message indicating that there were two Little Terns on lagoon three.  When we arrived in the hide Lloyd and Tim were having their lunch but informed us that one of the terns had flown off towards lagoon four but that one was still feeding over the lagoon.  We scanned the area and soon found the Little Tern amongst the more numerous Common Terns.  We stayed in the hide for some time hoping that the Hobbies might appear over the wood and although we didn’t see them we did have a couple of Sparrowhawks and the second Little Tern returned.

We eventually moved off to sandpiper hide on lagoon four were found a Little Egret, two Oystercatchers, four Little Ringed Plovers, three Ringed Plovers, two Sanderling, six Dunlin, three Ruff and five Redshank.  There were also twelve Common Terns resting on a spit off island ten, which were joined by both Little Terns.  Scanning Burley we had two Red Kites, four Buzzards, an Osprey and two Ravens.  As I was scanning through some Black-headed Gulls I found a nice second-summer Mediterranean Gull.

Second-summer Mediterranean Gull

On our way back to the centre we called at Redshank hide on lagoon two hoping that the Hobbies might yet appear but we had no joy, although David did pick up a female-type Marsh Harrier over the Wet Meadow.  As we got back to the centre there was news of three Black Terns but there was no sign from the centre and with a report of twenty-one Little Gulls at Eyebrook Reservoir we decided to go back to Eyebrook Reservoir.

When we arrived at Eyebrook Reservoir there was no sign of the Little Gulls and they had obviously moved on and the only bird we added for the day was a Yellow Wagtail.  We also received a message from Erik saying that the Black Terns were on island ten spit on lagoon four.

Osprey over Eyebrook Reservoir

It had been an excellent day and I recorded 102 species, which, with the exception of bird race days, was my highest single days total in the counties.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - April 21, 2015

I was out early today as I was helping with a summer wildfowl count at Rutland Water and wanted to visit Eyebrook Reservoir before going to there.  A Green Woodpecker flew over the road as I approached Blaston and there was a Buzzard perched in a roadside tree on the far side of the village.  I arrived at the southern end of Eyebrook Reservoir just after 06:30 and found a Dunlin and a Whimbrel on the island.  I then drove slowly towards the northern end and heard a Lesser Whitethroat sing.  I parked and walked back along the road hearing the Lesser Whitethroat sing on several occasions and I saw it rather poorly as it moved on the far side of the hedge but it then flew some way down the road.  I returned to the car and drove to the northern coral seeing an Osprey flying off to the north as I pulled up.  The exposed mud was almost bird less with just a few Teal in evidence and so I checked the old oak for Little Owls but they were not showing and I then went and parked facing the inlet on the Rutland bank.  I did see a couple of Little Ringed Plovers flying around but other than half a dozen Shelduck there was nothing else and so I went on to Rutland Water.

I went to the fishponds hoping to catch Steve to see what areas he would like me to count.  He was already there and we agreed that I would count South Arm Three, the Wet Meadow and the new lagoons.

I drove to the Old Hall to count South Arm Three and there were quite a few Tufted Duck just off shore and I found a female Scaup as I went through and counted them.  There were quite a few birds on the water but most were Tufted Duck and Coot, although I also had Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, two Shelduck, Gadwall, Teal and Mallard but surprisingly no Goldeneye.

When I had finished in the south arm I went to the Egleton car park and walked to the Wet Meadow.  As I walked round to Snipe hide I saw a couple of Chiffchaffs and two Blackcaps as well as hearing several more Chiffchaff and Blackcaps as well as a Willow Warbler.  There were four Shelduck and a pair of Pintail as well as Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and Shoveler on the Wet Meadow.  I continued on to tern hide on Lagoon Six seeing Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler on route.  There was an Oystercatcher sitting on a nest just in front of the hide and another standing on a nearby island.  Other wildfowl included Mute Swan, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Egyptian Geese, Wigeon, Gadwall and Coot.

Chiffchaff

Oystercatcher

Lapwing

Lapwing

From Pintail hide that also overlooks Lagoon Six there was another pair of Oystercatcher with again one sitting.

I walked on and counted lagoon eight from the path where there were quite a few Greylag Geese, a couple of Shelduck and a single Oystercatcher.  I retraced my steps and went on to Lagoon Seven, which does not have public access and can only be viewed from the entrance of Shelduck hide.  However as I was doing the count I was authorised to view it from inside the perimeter but keeping mainly hidden behind the bank.  I went to the far end and looked back up the lagoon and one of the first birds I saw was an Avocet, which was quickly followed by a Greenshank.  I called Steve as I suspected he needed Greenshank for his county year list.  As we were talking a godwit suddenly appeared and then disappeared just a quickly.  He had almost finished his count and said he would join me and then finish lagoon one from harrier hide.  Whilst I was waiting I walked around a little further to get of view of the godwit and was able to confirm that it was a Black-tailed.  Steve arrived and viewed the lagoon from the sluice gate and quickly found the Avocet and Greenshank but not the godwit and so he joined me and then godwit obligingly appeared.  There were also Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and Tufted Duck on the lagoon and a Red Kite was seen just off to the west.

I now had just lagoon five to count and I was finished Steve joined me in Shelduck hide in the hope that the Greenland White-fronted Goose would be present.  Whilst we were searching for the goose we found a two Oystercatcher, a Little Ringed Plover and two Redshank but we could only see Greylag Geese.  A goose then called, which sounded a bit like a Pink-footed Goose, and we saw the Greenland White-fronted Goose drop in.  Steve went off to harrier hide and after few more minutes completing the count from Shelduck I went into the 360° hide to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

With the count complete I went back to the car for lunch before handing in the figures and heading off to lagoon three.

Steve had counted lagoon three this morning and hadn’t seen anything special but as I walked along the winter trail another birder informed that there were eleven Little Gulls and two Arctic Terns over the lagoon.  As I approached the path to Shoveler hide a heard a gull call I wasn’t particularly familiar with and when I looked up I found a superb summer adult Little Gull.  Whilst I was watching, it continued to call but it was the only one I could see.  On reaching the hide I found another two adults and two first-summer birds feeding low over the water.  I called to Steve to let him about the gulls and he was up at the dam seeing very little and said he would come straight back.  As I looked over the water I couldn’t find any Little Gulls but did find a female-type Marsh Harrier at the far end of the reedbed.  I called Steve to make him aware that the gulls had disappeared but that I now had a Marsh Harrier.  When he arrived in the hide I hadn’t seen the gulls again and the harrier had also disappeared.  He wasn’t sure as to whether to go to sandpiper to see if the Little Gulls were on lagoon four or stick it out in Shoveler in the hope they would reappear.  Whilst scanning he found the two Arctic Terns amongst the Common Terns and he then picked up a Little Gull.  More Little Gulls then appeared and we could see that there were two first-summers, a second summer and at least two summer adults.  They suddenly began to climb higher and eventually we could see that there were twelve, nine of which were summer adults.  As we watched them they seemed to move off to the east but also seemed to drop low over South Arm Three.  As I scanned the sky to try and find them again I noticed that the Marsh Harrier was back over the reedbed and we were able to determine that it was probably an immature as there was no yellow on the forewing but this also gained height and appeared to depart.

Steve went back to the centre to hand in his count figures and went to sandpiper hide on lagoon four.  I found a couple of Oystercatchers, a Little Ringed Plover, a Ringed Plover, a Ruff and a couple of Redshank and more Common Terns resting on one of the spits.  Finally I went to both Bittern and plover hides but other than two more Little Ringed Plovers from plover hide there was nothing new.  I walked back to the centre but other than a few more Common Terns found nothing else of note on lagoon one.

As it was such a cracking afternoon I decided to call at Eyebrook Reservoir again on my way home.  I drove around to the northern coral and found three Little Ringed Plovers at the inlet, which were displaying flying around and calling for quite some time.  There was also a single Oystercatcher on the Rutland bank and there were now ten terns present.  Two were sat on one of the raft, which were clearly Common Terns as were another two but the other six that were a little further away were Arctic Terns.  There were also more hirundines present with most being Swallows but there was also a few Sand Martins amongst them as they fed over the water.  I then noticed some higher and initially picked out a couple of House Martins but eventually had as many as six and whilst scanning these found two Swifts, which were my first of the year.

An excellent day with five year ticks and ninety-one species recorded.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland -April 18, 2015

I was out with David today and we initially drove to the southern end of Eyebrook Reservoir and made our way around the Leicestershire shore calling at both corals.  It felt rather cold in the brisk northerly wind and there was little song.  We heard a Whitethroat singing but were unable to see it as it seemed determined to remain hidden in the now leafed hawthorn hedge.  A Chiffchaff was more obliging and appeared briefly in a roadside tree.  We continued along the northern access road to check out the old oak for Little Owls but there was no sign and we returned to the Rutland shore.  We stopped briefly at the bridge where we heard both Willow Warbler and Blackcap before parking facing the inlet.  Whilst the area looks quite suitable for waders we could only find a few Lapwings.  The gull numbers have also reduced significantly with just a few Black-headed Gulls and a single Common Gull being present.  There were still quite a few Teal but other wildfowl were only present in small numbers but did include eight Shelduck and three Goldeneye.  As we continued to scan the shore we found a single Yellow Wagtail and a White Wagtail but there was little else.  An Osprey was observed and there were two Red Kites on the Leicestershire side with one on over the Rutland fields and we also found a Buzzard perched on the Leicestershire side and three others were observed sarong above Park Wood.

Osprey

Male Yellowhammer

Male Yellowhammer

We eventually moved off to the north arm at Rutland Water and parked at the end of the cottage road.  It was still pretty cold in the northerly wind and there was very little on the water or the edges and we mainly concentrated on Burley Wood.  There were quite a few Sand Martins over the wood and we also saw two Red Kites, two Sparrowhawks and at least six Buzzards and a Blackcap was heard singing close by and four Common Terns were observed over the water.

We moved on to the Egleton Reserve and on entering the centre found that a Black Tern had been seen on lagoon one and two more on lagoon three earlier today.  The light was pretty awful over the lagoon from the centre but we did find a Dunlin and a Ruff.  As I was watching the Ruff it suddenly became alert and it and all gulls took off from the islands.  David then said he had the Black Tern in front of the poplars as I scanned there were plenty of Black-headed Gulls in flight and I did pick up the Ruff but couldn’t locate the tern.  He then said he had lost it but found it briefly again before it was gone again and never did get on it.  When the birds settled down again the Ruff returned and there were a few Common Terns on the posts at the back of the lagoon but there was no sign of the Black Tern.

Eventually we decided to go to Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow, hearing Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Sedge Warbler on route and actually observing a couple of Chiffchaffs.  There were two pairs of Pintail on the flash and six Shelduck on the Wet Meadow and three Ospreys were observed to the north but with little else we moved on to the 360° hide on lagoon five.  There was a group of volunteers painting the hide when we arrived but we were able to gain access and we found the Greenland White-fronted Goose, four Shelduck, two Oystercatcher, two Ringed Plovers and two Redshanks.

Drake Pintail on the Wet Meadow

As we walked back to the centre we had further views of a Chiffchaff at the end of the path behind lagoon one but saw nothing else of note.

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

After lunch we headed for Shoveler hide on lagoon three where hopefully we would have better luck with the Black Terns.  There were sixteen Common Terns feeding over the lagoon but there was no sign of any Black Terns and presumably they had all left.  There were also two Shelduck and a Little Egret but very little else was observed.

Drake Shelduck on lagoon three

Drake Shoveler on lagoon three

Female Shoveler on lagoon three

We called at sandpiper hide on lagoon four were there were fifteen Shelduck, two Oystercatchers, two Little Ringed Plovers, two Ringed Plovers, four Dunlin, a Redshank and another twelve Common Terns.

On returning to the centre there were three Curlew but very little else except two Ospreys gliding into the wind, which initially gave the impression of skuas or gulls.

With news of two Black Terns, a Whimbrel and a Greenshank at Eyebrook Reservoir we decided to go back there in the hope they would all still be there.  Unfortunately the Black Terns hadn’t stayed too long and the Whimbrel and Greenshank had flown up the reservoir.  As we stood in the northern coral there were several Common Terns and David felt one might be an Arctic.  We watched the individual for some time but it was quite distant but I agreed that it was probably an Arctic Tern.  We drove further up the reservoir and found that they were two Arctic with Andy Mackay indicating he was pretty sure he had seen three.  There were also four Little Ringed Plovers at the inlet and the Greenshank was also seen a little further south on the shore.  So there were no Black Terns but at least the Arctic Terns were a year tick.  With a report of at least two Black Terns at Rutland Water we thought that we might have to return but a call to Erik enabled us to understand that it was actually a report covering the earlier birds.  We did try a see or hear a Grasshopper Warbler on the Rutland side, which David did hear but I didn’t and it wasn’t seen before we headed off home.