I set off to Eyebrook
Reservoir first this morning hoping for some good birds in the fresh easterly
wind. On route I saw a Green Woodpecker
near Slawston but nothing else of note was seen.
I went to the southern end of
the reservoir where it felt pretty raw in the fresh easterly wind. I had five Tree Sparrows near the old feeding
station before I continued on to the first coral where I found a couple of
Little Ringed Plovers but little else. I
moved down to the northern coral and on entering saw a couple of fire engines
on the Rutland bank and I then noticed a cow stranded in the water.
Cow in the water
The farmer was also present
managing the rest of the cows on the Rutland bank with the help of three
collies but the fire crews didn’t seem to be doing a great deal. A third fire engine then arrived and shortly
afterwards one departed. The third
vehicle obviously contained equipment that allowed some of the crew to get to
the cow.
The scene on the Rutland Bank
Gradually some of the fire
crew got into their wet suits and an inflatable dingy was eventually produced
and two of the crew paddled out to the cow.
Crew entering the water
Reaching the stranded cow
On reaching the cow they
initially tried poking it with a paddle, which did get a response but the cow was
firmly stuck and splashing it with water didn’t have any response and the cow
remained motionless. Having little
success they then fitted a harness on the cow and tied a rope to it before
heading off back to the shore.
Fitting the harness
Having got back to the shore
they tried pulling in the cow a shore and although the cow seemed to be able
free its legs from the mud as soon as it put his feet down again he remained
firmly stuck. They tried again and this
time the cow’s mouth and nostrils dipped into the water at which point they
seemed to give up in fear of perhaps drowning the cow. I was now feeling quite cold and as there
appeared to be no immediate solution I decided to move off to Rutland Water.
Getting ready to pull in th cow
Cow's initially reaction
The cow remained firmly stuck
Needless to say there was very
little birdlife due to the activity but there were five Little Ringed Plovers
on the mud at the inlet and an unusual visitor at this time of the year was a
Pink-footed Goose and I did find two Swifts amongst the numerous hirundines.
I went to the centre at
Rutland Water before heading off to Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow. As usual there were several Chiffchaff and
Blackcaps and a single Willow Warbler in the woodland and several Sedge Warbler
alongside the path to Snipe hide.
From Snipe hide there was only
a pair of Shelduck on the flash and a couple of Oystercatchers on the bank but
a Little Egret flew over and three Redshanks were displaying over the
meadow. As I scanned the far area of wet
meadow a drake Pintail appeared and then a female and it was pleasing to find
that they were both still present. A Fox
then appeared and caused some disturbance as it covered the meadow and even crossed
one of the shallow dykes; a Sparrowhawk was also observed.
Lapwing on the Wet Meadow
Lapwing on the Wet Meadow
Fox on the Wet Meadow
Fox on the Wet Meadow
Fox on the Wet Meadow
Rick had joined me in the hide
and then Malcolm arrived and shortly afterwards Malcolm and I decided to go and
check out lagoon five and seven. Just as
we were about to leave Roger called to say he had arrived and I agreed to meet
him in either the 360°
hide or Shelduck hide.
We could see just a couple of
Shelduck on lagoon seven and other than another pair on lagoon five as well as
two Oystercatchers sitting on nests and a single Redshank there wasn’t too much
on lagoon five either. Two other birders
arrived in the hide and told us that they had seen a Wheatear on lagoon eight
and that Roger was going back to look for us as we weren't in the 360°
hide. I called Roger who
them came back and met us at the gate overlooking lagoon eight where we saw the
female Wheatear. I then noticed that
there were quite a few terns in South Arm Two/Manton Bay area and so Roger and
I went to check them out but Malcolm had to go as he had made a commitment to
help his daughter this afternoon.
As we walked towards Wigeon
hide we had brief views of a Lesser Whitethroat and better views of the
Wheatear, which was now much closer. On
reaching Wigeon hide the terns still appeared to be some distance off but after
a few minutes we were both satisfied that they were all Common. The pair of Ospreys could be seen in Manton
Bay, one on the nest and the other on the T perch.
We made our way back to Snipe
hide to see if there was anything new but it was very quiet with only the pair
of Shelduck visible. As we walked back
towards the centre we had brief views of a Garden Warbler whilst it was singing
from a hedge before flying across the cycle track and out of sight.
After buying my annual permit
for the reserve, which is excellent value at £37.00 I went to the car park for
my lunch. Ken had now joined Roger and
we observed a Sparrowhawk that was perched in a tree close to the service
track. Once we had finished our lunch we
set off for Shoveler hide on lagoon three but all we had was a Shelduck,
eighteen Common Terns and a very brief few of a Reed Warbler.
With so little on lagoon three
we moved to sandpiper hide on lagoon four where we found two Oystercatchers,
two Little Ringed Plovers, six Ringed Plovers, ten Dunlin, a Common Sandpiper,
three Redshanks and a Yellow Wagtail. We
also saw a Red Kite, four Buzzards and an Osprey over Burley Wood and we had at
least four Swift between lagoon four and the centre.
With very little on lagoon one
I decided to head off home but call at Eyebrook Reservoir on route. When I arrived at Eyebrook Reservoir there
was no sign of the stranded cow but there was a Ringed Plover and four Dunlin
at the inlet but other than at least two Little Ringed Plovers there was little
else, except for a distant Red Kite and so I set off home. As I was leaving an Osprey flew over heading
south and was presumably going to fish at the reservoir.
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