I was a little later getting
into the field today as it was my youngest granddaughter’s first day at school
and I was required to take some photos and I arrived at Eyebrook Reservoir just
after 09:00.
I stopped briefly at the inlet
where I observed a Chiffchaff and heard a second.
Moving around the Rutland bank
I stopped to view the inlet, where there were two of the Eyebrook Reservoir regular
birders. There were a couple of Little
Egrets in the stream but other than Lapwings there were no other wades
visible. I picked out two Pintail
amongst the numerous wildfowl that also included Wigeon, Gadwall; Teal and
Mallard. Das then picked up a Whinchat
perched on top of grasses but a walk to view and area of set-aside failed to produce
anything other than a few Linnets.
I eventually left for Rutland
Water and headed to the end of the Hambleton Peninsula hoping to locate the
illusive Red-necked Grebe. As I was
getting the gear out of the car Steve called to say he and Terry had found
three Shags at the dam. I wasn’t in the
best place to get the dam quickly but might be able to see them from the end of
the peninsula. Steve said they would
keep an eye on the birds and hopefully be able to get me onto them. As I reached a suitable position on the
peninsula I could Steve and Terry but despite their best efforts I was unable
to see the birds through the scope, although frustratingly I could see several
Black-headed Gulls they we using as markers and even picked out a single Tufted
Duck. Having no luck with the Shag I
continued my search for the Red-necked Grebe, seeing two Yellow-legged Gulls
but there was no sign of the grebe and so I returned to the car and headed for
the dam.
After parking at Sykes Lane I
made my way to the dam to look for the Shag.
I walked along the dam to where Steve and Terry were but there was no
sign. It was difficult to see further
along the dam due to the bright sunlight and I had no alternative but make my way
further across the dam. I could see a
possible bird bathing near the pumping station at the southern end of the dam
and was able to confirm its identity when I had almost walked the whole length
of the dam. I then found the other two
resting on the rocks surrounding the pumping area.
Shag drying its wings
Three Shag on the dam
There were at least five
reported later in the day and possibly there may have been as many as six. Perhaps I had found three different
individuals to those seen by Steve and Terry but I hadn’t been able to find any
others despite walking the length of the dam.
Having been successful in finding the Shags I made my way back to the
car and drove to the Egleton Reserve for lunch.
From the Bird Watching Centre
viewing gallery I found two of the Great White Egrets along with six Little
Egrets but with little else I set off for the northern lagoons.
As I went through the gate at
the end of the summer trail I met Mike and after a brief chat I went into
Sandpiper Hide, with him, to view Lagoon Four.
There was a single Shelduck, two Pintail, four Ringed Plovers and a
Common Sandpiper on the lagoon but Mike eventually called it a day and I headed
towards Plover Hide in search of a Wheatear he had seen earlier.
As I walked down the path
towards the sluice, several reserve vehicles went past and on reaching the
sluice there was no sign of the Wheatear.
I went into Plover Hide on Lagoon Four but saw very little and so I returned
to look for the Wheatear but there was still no sign and so I went to Shoveler
Hide on Lagoon Three.
There was a Black-tailed
Godwit and two Green Sandpipers close to the hide but before I looked any further
Steve called to say that there was a male Redstart near Badger Hide. As it was a patch-tick I decided I would
leave Shoveler Hide and head back towards the centre hoping to see the
Redstart.
I arrived at the open gate
that Steve said the bird was near but there was no sign and so I went further
along the path and looked back into the area.
I saw the bird almost immediately as it flew from the gate area into a
bush and but it quickly returned to where it had come from. I moved back to the open gate but again there
was no sign and presumably it was sitting out of sight in one of the bushes. Steve then called again to say there was a
Whinchat on Lagoon One, which was another patch tick and so I went to the
centre, seeing an Osprey on route.
Steve was still watching the
Whinchat and I soon found the bird perched on a fence post beyond Mallard
Hide. There were now three Great White
Egrets on view on the lagoon and Terry announced that the Marsh Harrier was
flying again, which turned out to be the female that has been present for some
time.
I hadn’t been in the North Arm
today and decided I would go and have a look as the light would now be pretty
good. I walked out to the point and
found a Little Ringed Plover on the next area of exposed mud. As I scanned the north shore I found five
Little Egrets, two Ruff, five Curlew and four Greenshanks. There was a Yellow-legged Gull on the water
and along the south shore there were three more Little Egrets, three Ruff and a
couple of Green Sandpiper.
After exploring the North Arm
I went back to the Egleton car park and after a coffee and bite I went to see
if I could find the Redstart again.
There was no sign when I arrived but whilst I was looking a Sparrowhawk
flew over and shortly afterwards the Redstart dropped to the ground but almost
immediately flew back into the hedge. It
then flew across the field into another bush and whilst searching for it I
found a couple of Blackcaps. The
Redstart hadn’t reappeared after another ten minutes and so I went back to
Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.
Steve joined me just after I
entered the hide but the only waders were a couple of Green Sandpipers and
three Greenshanks. A Hobby then flew
over and second was observed over the woodland beyond the reedbed. Steve then left to go to the dam to checkout
a report of 6+ Shag and shortly after he had gone I found a Snipe and as I
watched a Reed Warbler fly over the water into the reeds, three other birds
followed it. They were Yellow Wagtails
and they soon flew back to the shore to feed, only to be followed by at least
another seven.
My final port of call was
Dunlin Hide on Lagoon Four were there were plenty of gulls assembling at their
pre-roost. However they are not easy to
work through in bright sunlight but I did find six Yellow-legged Gulls. There was also an immature Peregrine on one
of the islands, which could well be the female that was present last
winter. Two Green Sandpipers were
observed to the right of the hide and just before I departed two Ringed Plovers
and a Dunlin alighted on one of the nearer exposed areas.
I walked back along the
service road and saw a Green Woodpecker and a Chiffchaff before reaching the
car.
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