I called at Eyebrook Reservoir
briefly on route to Rutland Water seeing a Red Kite as I approached the
reservoir and saw a male and female Blackcap near the bridge. I then found sixteen Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin
and perhaps more surprisingly a Common Sandpiper at the inlet.
Red-legged Partridge
On arrival at Rutland Water I
walked to Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow but there was very little with five
Little Egrets, four of them flying over being the best. I then went to Shelduck hide on lagoon five
seeing a couple of Redshank on lagoon eight on route. I viewed lagoon seven before entering the
hide and there were at least thirteen Common Terns that appeared to be sitting
on nests on two of the islands but there was very little else except for a pair
of Egyptian Goose with a well grown brood of seven and six Shelduck. On lagoon five there had been two
Oystercatchers sitting on nests for some time now but I couldn’t find any of
them or young on the any of the islands from Shelduck hide. I did however see another pair of Egyptian
Goose with a brood of ten well grown young.
I called at the 360° hide to get a
different view of the lagoon and found two Oystercatcher, one of which was
feeding a single young bird. There was
also a couple of Redshank on the lagoon that were quite vocal and flighty.
Redshank
With two more pairs of
Oystercatcher had been sitting on lagoon six so I called at Pintail hide and
immediately found a pair feeding three young but there was no sign of the other
pair either from Pintail or tern hides.
Again there were two Redshanks on the lagoon and a couple of European
Hares.
European Hare
It was disappointing that out
of six pairs of Oystercatcher that I could only find two with young and one
with only one. I called at harrier hide next and found that the Avocets David
had seen yesterday were still present and it looked as if one was possibly sitting
on a nest, which was surprising as they apparently only arrived yesterday. I called at Snipe hide again on the way back
to the centre and had some nice, if brief views, of a Stoat on a couple of
occasions and distant views of both Osprey and Hobby. There is an area quite close to Snipe hide
that can be good for insects, which was sheltered from the wind and pleasantly
warm. There was an Orange-tip, an Azure
Damselfly and a Four-spotted Chaser. A
visit to Mallard hide on lagoon one produced nothing of note and after calling
at the centre I went for my lunch.
Orange-tip
Male Pheasant from Snipe hide
Jackdaw from Mallard hide
Erik had joined me as I walked
back to the centre and just as I finished my lunch Steve returned from the
northern lagoons indicating he had seen very little. However Erik and I decided we would go and
take a look. There was very little
visible from Shoveler hide on lagoon three, although five male and two female Pochard
was perhaps a little unusual, although they have bred very occasionally in the
past. We then called at Bittern hide
where we saw a Buzzard and another Osprey and brief views of a Sedge
Warbler. A Wren had also built a nest in
the hide and we were able to determine that there were several young but we
didn’t see an adult whilst we were in the hide.
Mute Swan with five cygnets on lagoon three
A visit to plover hide on
lagoon four produced a Little Ringed Plover and a couple of Ringed Plovers and
there was a pair of Oystercatcher feeding along the bund just in front of the
hide and we eventually managed to see a young bird with them. As we were thinking of moving Erik found a
Sanderling that was now with one of the Ringed Plovers and we suspected that it
had just dropped in. A visit to sandpiper
hide, also on lagoon four, enabled us to establish that there were at least
four Little Ringed Plovers, five Ringed Plovers, a Curlew and a Redshank on the
lagoon, although we were unable to find the Sanderling again. We also found another pair of Oystercatchers
on the western bund but we couldn’t see any young with them, although it
wouldn’t be too difficult for any to hidden within the vegetation. Erik departed and I stayed a little longer
but other than a third Osprey sighting and another Hobby over Burley Wood I
found nothing else. A made fairly quick
visit to Osprey hide on lagoon two where I heard a Cetti’s Warbler on several
occasions and once very sounding extremely close but failed to see it.
During the day I had seen or
heard Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Sedge
Warbler and Reed Warbler and recorded seventy-four species at Rutland Water
with eight-two in total during the day.
Not bad for what appeared a pretty quiet day.
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