Roger and I arrived at the
southern end of Eyebrook Reservoir stopping as normal near the entrance to the
fishing lodge. It was pretty quiet today
with just a single distant Buzzard and a Chiffchaff in the bushes surrounding
the old feeding station. There was a
Little Egret in the bay near the old hide but we could see very little else and
so drove to the fence to view the inlet, seeing a Sparrowhawk as we did
so. There were two Ruddy Shelduck and a
single Ruff amongst some Black-headed Gulls and we also found five Ringed
Plovers on the Rutland bank. There was
also a six Ringed Plover type that we considered was a Little Ringed Plover but
the light was making it difficult to be certain and so we decided to go to the
Rutland side. When we arrived we
couldn’t see any of the plovers but eventually found all five Ringed Plovers
and also the sixth bird, which was then able to confirm was a Little Ringed
Plover. Whilst scanning two juvenile
Shelduck flew in and Roger found a Dunlin and a Yellow Wagtail amongst the more
numerous Pied Wagtails and there was also a couple of Meadow Pipits.
We eventually moved on to the
Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water and as we started to view the feeders at the
centre Roger realised that he had left his binoculars in the car and so went
get them, leaving me to view the feeders.
There were at plenty of birds visiting the feeders the best being a
Willow Tit and at least ten Tree Sparrows.
When Roger returned the Willow
Tit had disappeared and perhaps more surprisingly so had the Tree Sparrows and
there was now just a constant stream of Blue and Great Tits visiting along with
three Greenfinch. We set off down the
track towards Shallow Water Hide and Manton Bay and on reaching Deep Water Hide
we found a single Chiffchaff. Whilst we
were watching the Chiffchaff a party of birds flew over and appeared to land in
the tops of the trees but we couldn’t see them but as I moved my position they
flew again and landed at the top of another tree and some at least were now
visible and we were able to identify them as Siskin. They then flew off towards
the centre and we were able to see that there were seven. As we approached Tufted Duck Hide a
Sparrowhawk flew over the hide but there was little else. When we reached the area near Wader Scrape
Hide where I had seen all the birds on Thursday there was very little but just
after passing the path to the hide we heard a Raven call that then flew over us
and headed off towards Manton village.
We could see Norman a little ahead of us who was showing some interest
in something and we walked to join him a Red Kite flew over. When we got to Norman he indicated that there
was quite a bit of activity but that he had only seen Chiffchaffs. We stood and viewed the area for a while and
had at least one Chiffchaff and a couple of Blackcaps but we couldn’t find the
Treecreeper that was calling in the hedge alongside the path. We continued onto Shallow Water Hide and
found a juvenile Shelduck, nineteen Pintail, two Little Egrets, a Great White
Egret, three Ruff, two Curlew and a Green Sandpiper in Manton Bay. Norman also found a distant Hobby, which
eventually drifted off to the north and there was a single Buzzard to the north
west. As we started to walk back towards
the visitor’s centre a Sparrowhawk flew over being harassed by a couple of
crows. Roger and I made a brief stop at
Tufted Duck hide where we found a Chiffchaff just in front of the hide and a
Yellow-legged Gull on the bund. As we
approached Deep Water Hide we found Norman scanning the hedge and we stopped
and another couple of Chiffchaffs and there were two Tree Sparrows back at
feeders when we reached the centre.
Migrant Hawker from Tufted Duck Hide
We decided to make the short
journey to the Egleton car park before taking lunch and after speaking to Rick
we set off for Harrier Hide, where there had been a pair of Stonechat. As we approached the hide there was a party
of birds feeding close to the path and so we stopped to observe them. There were several Blue and Long-tailed Tits
but we also found a Goldcrest, a Chiffchaff and Blackcap in the party. Once inside the hide we scanned the area for
the Stonechats but there was no sign and appeared very quiet. Scanning the lagoon the only bird of note we
found was a Greenshank. Another birder came into the hide and asked if we had
seen the Stonechats, which we hadn’t, but within a few minutes he found the
male in an area Roger had scrutinised several times but without success. It then flew and was pursued by another bird,
which turned out to be the female. The
male flew again and as it settled I realised that there were possibly three but
when I scoped them the additional bird was a nice Whinchat. The all remained on view then for quite some
time before the Stonechats flew towards us before disappearing. The Whinchat remained on view for longer but
it also eventually disappeared.
Grey Heron alighting on the Wet Meadow
Grey Heron on the Wet Meadow
Grey Heron on the Wet Meadow
With news of a Little Tern at
Eyebrook Reservoir we decided to head back to the car and call at Eyebrook
Reservoir on the way home. As we drove
towards some other birders a Redstart flew across the road and disappeared into
the hedge. When we reached the other
birders they indicated that the tern had flown to the southern end and that if
it was still there it was likely to be on the island. On reaching the island we walked out to see
the fare shore but unfortunately there was no sign of the tern but we did see a
Greenshank and a Yellow-legged Gull.
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