After emptying the moth trap
and having breakfast I set of Eyebrook Reservoir and approached the reservoir
from the northern end but again there was no sign of the Little Owls. A Blackcap and Garden Warbler were heard from
the bridge and the Garden Warbler was eventually observed briefly. There were two Little Egrets feeding at the
inlet and another eight were observed resting on the Leicestershire bank. There were two Dunlin amongst the Lapwings
and a Curlew on the dried mud flew off north shortly after I had seen it. Ten Common Terns, including both adults and
juveniles were flying around the rafts but no young were visible on the raft,
indicating that they had fledged. Five
Banded Demoiselles, a Green-veined White and a Ringlet were also observed at
the bridge.
When I arrived at Egleton I
set off for Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow but there was very little and I
continued on towards harrier hide but decided to go on to Fieldfare hide where
I found seven Little Egrets, an Oystercatcher, three Curlew and a couple of
Green Sandpiper. I had intended to call
at harrier hide on my way back but Malcolm called to say the Great White Egret
was showing really well in Heron Bay and so I set off for there.
Four-spotted Chaser
When I arrived in the hide at
Heron Bay, Malcolm was still present but indicated that the egret had just
flown and dropped behind some bushes and was now out of sight. However it wasn’t too long before reappeared
and I was able to get reasonable views, although it was now more distant. An adult and three young Ospreys could be
seen at the Manton Bay nest and a Buzzard and a couple of Little Egrets flew
over but other than a Little Grebe there was little else and we set off back to
the centre.
Great White Egret
Little Egret over Heron Bay
Little Egret over Heron Bay
We called at the 360 hide on
lagoon six but other than a pair of Little Grebes attempting to build a nest
and three Common Terns there was little else.
As we approached the turning to the Centre a Hobby flew over. The weather had now become more overcast and
there were fewer butterflies on the wing but I had seen Large White, Small
Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Large
Skipper and also Banded Demoiselle, Red-eyed Damselfly, Southern Hawker, Brown
Hawker, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer and Common Darter.
Erik arrived whilst Malcolm
and I were having lunch and afterwards we went to the Centre to view lagoon
one. Erik picked up a juvenile Scaup and
whilst I was trying to get on it I found a second and then noticed a single
Dunlin nearby. Malcolm then went to the
northern lagoons, whilst Erik and I stayed in the centre where we found a third
juvenile Scaup. Rick came into the
viewing area indicating that he had seen very little on the northern lagoons
and informed us that Malcolm had now gone to the north arm. Erik and I decided that our best options was
to go to the north arm but as we were approaching the end of Church Road,
Malcolm called to say don’t bother as there is nothing here. However as we were so close we decided to
carry on and after a brief chat with Malcolm we went through the gate to view
the area. We hadn’t been there a minute
when Erik found not one but three Common Sandpipers on the bud and as I called
Malcolm to make him aware he then found eleven Little Ringed Plovers on the
north shore. As I was trying to locate
the plovers Erik then found a drake Common Scoter, which was a county year
tick. Malcolm then returned and couldn’t
believe what was there but he then admitted that he hadn’t really looked but
took the word of another birder. Malcolm
and I never managed to see all eleven Little Ringed Plovers but I did manage to
locate seven and three Curlew. A quick
visit to the south arm produced a Goldeneye and two Yellow-legged Gulls but
little else and after dropping Erik off I went back to Eyebrook Reservoir.
When I arrived Malcolm was
present but he hadn't found the reported Little Gull but there were two Little
Ringed Plovers on the Rutland bank. We
both continued to scan the reservoir but there was no sign of the Little Gull
and so we went to the island coral to view the southern end of the reservoir
but had the same result. Malcolm left
and I headed back to the southern coral but as there was still no sign of the
Little Gull and I eventually called it a day and headed off home.
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