Monday 15 August 2016

An early morning in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - August 15, 2016

It turned a little cool over night with a minimum temperature of 9°C, which no doubt affected the moth catch with ninety-four being trapped and identified that covered just twenty-one species but two were new for the year.


The following were recorded: Orange Swift [4]; Blastobasis adustella [2]; Light Brown Apple Moth [16]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [1]; Crambus perlella [2]; Agriphila tristella [25]; Agriphila straminella [13]; Agriphila geniculea [2]; Riband Wave [3]; Brimstone Moth [1]; Dusky Thorn [1]; Willow Beauty [4]; Gold Spot [1]; Copper Underwing [1]; Marbled Beauty [1]; Flounced Rustic [5]; Comon Rustic species [6]; Shuttle-shaped Dart [1]; Large Yellow Underwing [2]; Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing [2] and Square-spot Rustic [1].


Gold Spot


Copper Underwing


Flounced Rustic

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - August 13, 2016

David, Roger and I were headed for Eyebrook Reservoir this morning seeing a Red Kite after passing through Blaston.

We approached the reservoir from the southern end and parked near the entrance to the fishing lodge, where we saw at least six Tree Sparrows in the hedges around the field to the north.  We moved further around the reservoir seeing numerous released Pheasants before we reached the northern approach road.  We continued along the approach road to view the old oak but there was no sign of any Little Owls but a Buzzard flew over, which was mobbed by numerous Swallows and House Martins.  After turning round we returned to the bridge over the inflow where we found a party of feeding birds, which included Blue and Long-tailed Tits along with three Chiffchaffs and we also had some nice views of a Marsh Tit.


We moved further round as we were parking to view the inlet Roger spotted a Hobby, which flew over the eastern field.  Mike and Andy were already parked and after alerting them of the Hobby we set our scopes up to view the inlet.  As is normal at the moment numerous Greylag and Canada Geese were resting on the only exposed area of mud but we did manage to find a Dunlin and a Black-tailed Godwit amongst them and the resting Mallards.  The Hobby passed over again and an Osprey flew north carrying a fish while there was a Red Kite over Stoke Dry Wood and another over the eastern fields.  Three Little Egrets were around the edges of the reservoir and twelve Common Terns were feeding over the water.

At around 09:30 we moved onto the North Arm at Rutland Water and after observing the fishponds and seeing very little we moved out towards the spit.  There were just a few Common Terns and brood of five Tufted Duck of interest on the north shore and so we went into the field to the south to explore the southern shore.  There were eight Little Egrets in the small bay and a Green Sandpiper close by but with little else we spent some time trying to locate a Coal Tit, which we eventually managed to see.  We returned to view the northern section and I picked up a Swift moving west of Burley Wood and counted sixty-one Common Terns over the water.

As we were not finding anything new we moved on to Egleton and went into the centre to view Lagoon One.  As we arrived in the viewing area David picked up a Hobby, which headed off over Lagoon Two and disappeared.  There was a Great White Egret in front of the centre and two single Little Grebes were also observed.  I had scanned the long island and after seeing nothing of note was surprised when David said that there was a Curlew on one of the muddy areas and just after we found a couple of Black-tailed Godwits.  The female-type Marsh Harrier then passed over and was then seen intermittently as it periodical quartered the Wet Meadow area.  We all then heard a Whimbrel call on several occasions but couldn’t locate and presumably it had just passed over.  The Marsh Harrier then flew over the lagoon and caused some disturbance with the Curlew flying off but the two godwits remained.

After lunch we set off to the northern lagoons and headed for Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three where there had been a good selection of waders earlier but Tim had said he couldn’t find a Wood Sandpiper that had been present yesterday.  When we entered the hide Graham was already present and said that there was another Great White Egret present but that it had disappeared behind the reed island.  There were clearly plenty of Green Sandpipers on the lagoon and I counted sixteen on a couple of occasions but fewer were visible most of the time.  There were also two Black-tailed Godwits, a Curlew and a Greenshank feeding on the now superb conditions for wading birds.  As I scanned the area counting the Green Sandpipers I found the Wood Sandpiper, which then provided some nice views.  David then picked up a juvenile Marsh Harrier and then realised that there were two harriers.  As we watched them one flew off towards Lagoon Two but the other remained over the trees making it difficult to confirm that it was the female-type seen earlier on Lagoon One.  It looked rather dark and we suspected that it might be another juvenile, which we were able to confirm as it dropped below the tree line.  Scanning the mass of wildfowl on the lagoon confirmed that they were mainly Gadwall but there were clearly more Teal present today and also good numbers of Mallard and we also saw several Shoveler, Pochard and a Tufted Ducks and a single Wigeon.  One of the two juvenile Marsh Harriers flew from behind the hide and caused a panic amongst the birds, after which there were fewer waders and we didn’t see the Wood Sandpiper again.  The Great White Egret had made a couple of brief appearance but eventually flew off towards Lagoon Two.


Curlew


Greenshank


Green Sandpiper


Wood Sandpiper


Wood Sandpiper


Great White Egret


Great White Egret


Great White Egret

Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four was our next port of call where we found a Little Ringed Plover and nine Ringed Plovers.  There was also at least twenty Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the more numerous Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls and there were also good numbers of Lesser Black-backed and a few Common and a single Herring Gull.  Seventeen Common Terns were counted amongst a party of resting Black-headed Gulls and two Curlews made a brief visit.  As we continued to scan we found seven Shelduck and there was at least one and probably two Common Sandpipers.

As we made our way back to the centre an Osprey was observed carrying a fish and as it gained height it was joined by three more, two of which were juveniles.

When we arrived back at the centre we scanned the lagoon and found that just one of the Black-tailed Godwits remained and the Great White Egret was still in front of the centre.  We had further views of the female-type Marsh Harrier and a Hobby was watched for a while as it hunted near Harrier Hide.  The Hobby then headed towards Mallard Hide and then passed directly in front of the centre before heading off over Lagoon Two.  I picked up a Great White Egret in flight as it landed on the long island and on scoping it I found that it had a bicoloured bill and was therefore different to those we had seen earlier, which had predominantly yellow bills.

We eventually called it a day after recording eight-four species during the day, seventy-one of which were at Rutland Water.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - August 13, 2016

David, Roger and I were headed for Eyebrook Reservoir this morning seeing a Red Kite after passing through Blaston.

We approached the reservoir from the southern end and parked near the entrance to the fishing lodge, where we saw at least six Tree Sparrows in the hedges around the field to the north.  We moved further around the reservoir seeing numerous released Pheasants before we reached the northern approach road.  We continued along the approach road to view the old oak but there was no sign of any Little Owls but a Buzzard flew over, which was mobbed by numerous Swallows and House Martins.  After turning round we returned to the bridge over the inflow where we found a party of feeding birds, which included Blue and Long-tailed Tits along with three Chiffchaffs and we also had some nice views of a Marsh Tit.


We moved further round as we were parking to view the inlet Roger spotted a Hobby, which flew over the eastern field.  Mike and Andy were already parked and after alerting them of the Hobby we set our scopes up to view the inlet.  As is normal at the moment numerous Greylag and Canada Geese were resting on the only exposed area of mud but we did manage to find a Dunlin and a Black-tailed Godwit amongst them and the resting Mallards.  The Hobby passed over again and an Osprey flew north carrying a fish while there was a Red Kite over Stoke Dry Wood and another over the eastern fields.  Three Little Egrets were around the edges of the reservoir and twelve Common Terns were feeding over the water.

At around 09:30 we moved onto the North Arm at Rutland Water and after observing the fishponds and seeing very little we moved out towards the spit.  There were just a few Common Terns and brood of five Tufted Duck of interest on the north shore and so we went into the field to the south to explore the southern shore.  There were eight Little Egrets in the small bay and a Green Sandpiper close by but with little else we spent some time trying to locate a Coal Tit, which we eventually managed to see.  We returned to view the northern section and I picked up a Swift moving west of Burley Wood and counted sixty-one Common Terns over the water.

As we were not finding anything new we moved on to Egleton and went into the centre to view Lagoon One.  As we arrived in the viewing area David picked up a Hobby, which headed off over Lagoon Two and disappeared.  There was a Great White Egret in front of the centre and two single Little Grebes were also observed.  I had scanned the long island and after seeing nothing of note was surprised when David said that there was a Curlew on one of the muddy areas and just after we found a couple of Black-tailed Godwits.  The female-type Marsh Harrier then passed over and was then seen intermittently as it periodical quartered the Wet Meadow area.  We all the heard a Whimbrel call on several occasions but couldn’t locate and presumably it had just passed over.  The Marsh Harrier then flew over the lagoon and caused some disturbance with the Curlew flying off but the two godwits remained.

After lunch we set off to the northern lagoons and headed for Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three where there had been a good selection of waders earlier but Tim had said he couldn’t find a Wood Sandpiper that had been present yesterday.  When we entered the hide Graham was already present and said that there was another Great White Egret present but that it had disappeared behind the reed island.  There were clearly plenty of Green Sandpipers on the lagoon and I counted sixteen on a couple of occasions but fewer were visible most of the time.  There were also two Black-tailed Godwits, a Curlew and a Greenshank feeding on the now superb conditions for wading birds.  As I scanned the area counting the Green Sandpipers I found the Wood Sandpiper, which then provided some nice views.  David then picked up a juvenile Marsh Harrier and then realised that there were two harriers.  As we watched them one flew off towards Lagoon Two but the other remained over the trees making it difficult to confirm that it was the female-type seen earlier on Lagoon One.  It looked rather dark and we suspected that it might be another juvenile, which we were able to confirm as it dropped below the tree line.  Scanning the mass of wildfowl on the lagoon confirmed that they were mainly Gadwall but there were clearly more Teal present today and also good numbers of Mallard and we also saw several Shoveler, Pochard and a Tufted Ducks and a single Wigeon.  One of the two juvenile Marsh Harriers flew from behind the hide and caused a panic amongst the birds, after which there were fewer waders and we didn’t see the Wood Sandpiper again.  The Great White Egret had made a couple of brief appearance but eventually flew off towards Lagoon Two.


Curlew


Greenshank


Green Sandpiper


Wood Sandpiper


Wood Sandpiper


Great White Egret


Great White Egret


Great White Egret

Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four was our next port of call where we found a Little Ringed Plover and nine Ringed Plovers.  There was also at least twenty Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the more numerous Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls and there were also good numbers of Lesser Black-backed and a few Common and a single Herring Gull.  Seventeen Common Terns were counted amongst a party of resting Black-headed Gulls and two Curlews made a brief visit.  As we continued to scan we found seven Shelduck and there was at least one and probably two Common Sandpipers.

As we made our way back to the centre an Osprey was observed carrying a fish and as it gained height it was joined by three more, two of which were juveniles.

When we arrived back at the centre we scanned the lagoon and found that just one of the Black-tailed Godwits remained and the Great White Egret was still in front of the centre.  We had further views of the female-type Marsh Harrier and a Hobby was watched for a while as it hunted near Harrier Hide.  The Hobby then headed towards Mallard Hide and then passed directly in front of the centre before heading off over Lagoon Two.  I picked up a Great White Egret in flight as it landed on the long island and on scoping it I found that it had a bicoloured bill and was therefore different to those we had seen earlier, which had predominantly yellow bills.

We eventually called it a day after recording eight-four species during the day, seventy-one of which were at Rutland Water.

Sunday 14 August 2016

An early morning in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - August 12, 2016

A good night last night with 122 moths trapped and identified covering thirty-seven species, three of which were new for the year.


The following were recorded: Orange Swift [2]; Carcina quercana [1]; Blastobasis adustella [2]; Amblyptilia acanthadactyla [1]; Light Brown Apple Moth [4]; Euzophera pinguis [1]; Gold Triangle [1]; Anania coronate [1]; Mother of Pearl [1]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [4]; Crambus perlella [4]; Agriphila tristella [8]; Agriphila straminella [1]; Agriphila geniculea [1]; Riband Wave [13]; Common Carpet [5]; Brimstone Moth [3]; Canary-shouldered Thorn [1]; Dusky Thorn [12]; Willow Beauty [5]; Iron Prominent [3]; Straw Dot [4]; The Spectacle [1]; Silver Y [2]; Copper Underwing [1]; Mouse Moth [1]; Marbled Beauty [6]; Dark Arches [2]; Common Rustic species [8]; Cabbage Moth [1]; Smoky Wainscot [1]; The Clay [1]; Shuttle-shaped Dart [4]; Flame Shoulder [1]; Large Yellow Underwing [6]; Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing [7] and Square-spot Rustic [2].


Orange Swift


Gold Triangle


Amblyptilia acanthadactyla


Iron Prominent


Square-sot Rustic


Mouse Moth

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland -August 11, 2016

Roger and I were out locally today and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir seeing just a Kestrel of interest on route.

As we approached the reservoir we saw a Red Kite quartering the fields on the Rutland side but a stop at the bridge was unproductive and we moved around to view the inlet.  We found three Snipe and there was also a Black-tailed Godwit present and a single Little Egret on the stream.  There was a second Red Kite quartering the fields on the Leicestershire side of the reservoir and at least twelve Common Terns over the water and four more Little Egrets south of the inlet.

We moved on heading for Luffenham Airfield where we were hoping to find a Wheatear.  We drove around the area and down one of the old runways to look down another runway.  There were circa thirty Swallow over the area and a few Linnet and I saw a bird run quickly over the bare tarmac to disappear into some vegetation, which I thought was a Skylark.  As we continued to scan the area I picked up a Wheatear but it disappeared, like the possible Skylark into some vegetation.  I got Roger into the right area but it didn’t show again and so we moved our positions where we confirmed the Skylark sighting and then Roger found the Wheatear again on the edge of the tarmac.


With the target achieved we moved on to the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water, seeing a single Swift, just after parking and then went into the centre to view the feeders. There was a Magpie actually on one of the feeders and a constant stream of Blue and Great Tits were visiting the other one.  The Magpie eventually departed and almost immediately a party of birds left the bushes to the left and flew straight into the small bush next to the feeders.  They were Tree Sparrows, six in total and they soon appeared on the feeders, obviously feeling safe now the magpie had gone.  A Marsh Tit also made a brief visit just before a male Sparrowhawk zoomed in scattering the feeding birds, with most flying into the small bush.  The Sparrowhawk also disappeared into the bush but when it flew out again a few seconds later it looked as the attack had been unsuccessful.

With the feeders now quiet we headed off for Shallow Water Hide and heard Long-tailed Tits calling from the trees alongside the first part of the path.  When we came out into the open the tits flew across the path and into the bushes and hedgerow alongside the path.  As they flew over the path to a more dense area of cover we fund a couple of Chiffchaffs and a Lesser Whitethroat.  We continued along the path and just after passing Deep Water Hide I saw two more Lesser Whitethroats but they failed to oblige for Roger.

We eventually reached Shallow Water Hide where we found a single photographer who was keen to inform us that the Ospreys were quite active and that he had seen the three juvenile birds and the female.  We did see the three juveniles but they were pretty inactive the whole time we were in the hide, with just a couple of short sorties.  A Black-tailed Godwit flew in front of the hide as we opened the flaps and there were a couple of Little Grebes in front of the hide, one still in full summer plumage whilst the other was in winter plumage.


Little Grebe


Little Grebe

A Buzzard then passed over the hide and caused some disturbance in the bay before it moved off to the west.  Shortly afterwards Roger located a Greenshank, which was doing its best to hide amongst the vegetation.  As I moved my scope away from the Greenshank I noticed what I thought might be the Garganey I had seen on Tuesday but the facial pattern wasn’t visible.  I continued to watch the bird and it wasn’t too long before it turned and I could inform Roger that there was a Garganey.


Buzzard


Buzzard


Buzzard


Buzzard


Lapwing

Just after leaving the hide I heard a Goldcrest and whilst we were looking for it we saw several more Long-tailed Tits but we couldn’t locate the Goldcrest and had seen little else before reaching the centre.

From Lyndon we drove around to the Egleton car park where we had lunch before going into the Bird Watching Centre to view Lagoon One.  One of the Great White Egrets was feeding to the right of the hide and Roger picked up the female Marsh Harrier, which then quartered the area for a while.  Ten Curlews flew over and appeared to drop onto the Wet Meadow and so we decided to go and take a look from Snipe Hide.


Marsh Harrier

When we arrived at Snipe Hide the area was devoid of birds and we didn’t pick out anything new on lagoon one and therefore headed back and onwards to the northern lagoons.

As we reached the gate at the end of the Summer Trail we continued on and went into Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.  There were quite a few waders scattered around and we found three Snipe, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Curlew, a Common Sandpiper, eleven Green Sandpipers and a Greenshank.  There was another Great White Egret feeding in the left had bay and a Little Egret just in front of the hide.  There were good numbers of wildfowl on the lagoon, mainly Gadwall, with good numbers of Mallard and a few Teal and Pochard and we also located a Wigeon and a couple of Shoveler.  A Red Kite was observed over the trees on the edge of the reedbed but other than seeing a single Reed Warbler and hearing a Water Rail there wasn’t anything else.


Painted Lady


Four of the six Gadwall ducklings


Great White Egret


Great White Egret


Great White Egret


Little Egret

We made a trip to Bittern Hide hoping we might see a Water Rail but there was nothing and so we returned to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four.  There were eight Ringed Plovers and three Dunlin on the spits near the hide and two, possibly three, Common Sandpipers on the lagoon.  There were quite a few gulls with Black-headed, Common, Lesser Black-backed, Yellow-legged and Great Black-backed Gull all being represented and eighteen Common Terns were observed in flight and there were also five Shelduck.

We called in Osprey Hide to see if there was a third Great White Egret on Lagoon Two and found a Little Egret but no Great White.  As we were looking for the egret a Hobby flew over on a couple of occasions before it disappeared over the trees.

A final check from the centre produced another Black-tailed Godwit and we had a brief view of a Great White Egret on Lagoon Two but it disappeared and we couldn’t confirm if it was a different bird to either of those observed.  We also saw two Marsh Harriers, the female-type and a juvenile, over Lagoon Two.

We finally called it a day after recording eight-seven species during the day, which is not a bad total for Leicestershire & Rutland. 

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - August 9, 2016

I went straight to the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water this morning seeing very little on route and arriving in the car park around 07:45.  The centre was still closed and so I set off towards Shallow Water Hide after taking a brief look at the feeders, where there were just a few Blue and Great Tits and a single Goldfinch.


I set off down the track and the brisk north-west wind was making it feel pretty chilly and there was little bird activity.  As I approached Deep Water Hide and noticed some movement in a tree on the other side of the path and eventually managed to see an adult and a juvenile Spotted Flycatcher.  I continued along the path and found four Red-legged Partridges just the other side of the line of trees but had seen very little else until I had a brief view of a Chiffchaff near the turn to Wader Scrape Hide.  A little further along the track I found a Willow Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat and on entering the hide four photographers were in position hoping to photo the Ospreys.


Red-legged Partridge


Woodpigeon

The three juveniles were present with two initially on the nest and the other perched on an horizontal branch of a willow and one of the adults paid a brief visit during my stay.  The water is beginning to drop but there weren’t any waders present although an Oystercatcher flew in and appeared to be landing near the hide but was dissuaded from doing so by a group of Black-headed Gulls.  As I scanned around Manton Bay there were three Little Egrets and two broods of Tufted Duck, one of five and another of three.  There were quite a few Gadwall and Mallard in the bay and I then noticed a couple of Teal close to the hide when a third bird came close, which was a Garganey.


Garganey


Juvenile Osprey


Juvenile Osprey

As I started to make my way back there was a Chiffchaff calling at the end of the path, which I was able to locate and have brief views of and there were a couple of Treecreeper just before I turned and headed for Wader Scrape Hide.

On entering the hide there were a couple of other birders and the Osprey volunteer but they hadn’t seen too much as they had been focussed on the Ospreys.  One of them picked up a Buzzard on a post on the far side and just after the two had departed I noticed a Whitethroat in the bushes to the left of the hide.  It was a juvenile and I eventually saw two more and an adult still feeding them.  I managed to get a photo of one of the juveniles in the bush and then some nice shots of the adult as it perched on the reeds.


Juvenile Whitethroat


Adult Whitethroat


Adult Whitethroat

I left the hide and continued to make my way back to the centre calling at Tufted Duck Hide on route but there was very little on view from here as reeds were covering over 50% of the view.

As I approached Deep Water Hide I flushed a couple of birds and one landed on the fencing alongside the hide, which was an adult Spotted Flycatcher and presumably one of the birds I had seen earlier.


Spotted Flycatcher


Spotted Flycatcher


Spotted Flycatcher


Spotted Flycatcher

I had both Lesser Whitethroat and Whitethroat before reaching the centre and whilst viewing the feeders and talking to Paul saw a single Tree Sparrow on the feeders.

I eventually departed Lyndon and headed for the Bird Watching Centre at Egleton and popped in to view the log book before I set off to Snipe Hide on the Wet Meadow.  Whilst I was talking to Stephen, Ken called to say he had just arrived and so I waited for him, seeing two Ospreys over the centre before he arrived.  We hadn’t seen very much on route and on entering the hide found just a single Shoveler and a couple of Moorhen on the flash, which was rather disappointing.  As we scanned the area one of two egrets, on Lagoon One, looked bigger than the other but they were both Little Egrets and once in the scope were actually the same size.  I then noticed a third bird perched at the top of a bush in the far corner of the lagoon, which turned out to be one of the Great White Egrets.  A Grey Heron then flushed it and it flew towards Harrier Hide and dropped out of sight.  Ken then picked up the female Marsh Harrier that has been present for a while now and it provide some nice views as it quartered the area between the hide and Lagoon One.

We moved onto Harrier Hide and found nothing on the second scrape on the Wet Meadow but on opening the flaps to view Lagoon One found two Great White Egrets.  One, presumably the one flushed by the heron, was feeding whilst the other was stood on one of the islands preening.

We moved on to Tern Hide on Lagoon Six and opening the hide flaps the first bird I noticed was yet another Great White Egret actively feeding on the lagoon.  Ken then went back to Harrier Hide to make sure it was a third bird during which time I found a Green Sandpiper.  He came back saying that only the resting bird was still visible but I was still happy that there were three as the feeding bird on Lagoon One had a bicoloured bill, whilst the resting bird’s bill was predominately yellow as was the bird on this lagoon.  Just before we departed Ken found a Red Kite quartering the fields to the southwest.


We continued round to the 360 Hide where we met Steve, Terry and Mike and after a brief discussion, when Steve confirmed that there were three Great White Egrets, Ken and I went into the hide.  Other than a couple of Little Egrets and three Little Grebes there was very little on Lagoon Five and so we left the hide and found Mike returning from Pintail Hide after seeing the Great White Egret and three Green Sandpipers and we then walked back together to the car park.

After some lunch Ken and I joined Steve in the centre where there was a single Black-tailed Godwit.  I then noticed what I thought was a Curlew on an exposed island on mud but when I got the scope on it, it was showing a distinct crown stripe.  I informed Steve and Ken that I might have a Whimbrel but Steve soon dismissed it saying it was definitely a Curlew and of course he was right.  We then heard a Kingfisher calling, which Steve saw briefly before it obligingly perched on a post at the end of the old road.  Ken then picked up the Marsh Harrier again just as we had the first of several afternoon showers.

When the rain stopped we headed off to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four and arrived just before the next shower.  There were six Ringed Plovers and five Dunlin on the spit in front of the hide and I eventually found a Little Ringed Plover on a more distant island.  I then noticed a wader feeding on the west bank of the lagoon, which I initially thought might be a godwit but as it turned it had a curved bill and I got Steve and Ken on to it as a Curlew.  It appeared smaller than the bird we had seen in the centre and I joked saying it will probably turn out to be a Whimbrel.  It the turned to reveal a central crown stripe and Steve and I suspected that it was a Whimbrel.  However it then flew to one of the islands and in flight looked like a Curlew.  When it landed it was a little closer and we eventually agreed that it was just another Curlew before it disappeared around the back of the island.  I can’t recall seeing Curlews with crown stripes before and so it was obviously a good learning point in that single birds with crown stripes need to be viewed with caution.

Ken and I moved on to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three where we found a Greenshank and twelve Green Sandpipers.  There was also a single immature Shelduck and the female Gadwall was still escorting six, now almost half-grown, young.  There was also twenty-nine Egyptian Geese on the lagoon, which was not really a welcome sight.

We moved onto Bittern Hide where it was pretty quiet but I did find a juvenile Water Rail standing on the edge of the reeds alongside the channel before it was flushed by a Moorhen.

A visit to Plover Hide produced another three Ringed Plovers and ten Yellow-legged Gulls on the rocky area.  Surprisingly I had seen only eight Common Terns today but perhaps they were feeding in areas I hadn’t visited, although recently there had always been good numbers on Lagoon Four and perhaps most have left early.

Another brief visit to Sandpiper Hide produced nothing new and I set off back to the car park and decided to call at Eyebrook Reservoir on route home.

When I arrived Andy and Graham informed me that there we six Black-tailed Godwits and a Dunlin but the number of geese made it difficult to locate the Dunlin and the Black-tailed Godwits had probably moved around the end of the juncas.  Graham then picked up an Osprey further down the reservoir just before he and Andy departed.  I walked back along the road to view the bay behind the juncas but there was no sign of the godwits and presumably they had gone.  There were three Little Egrets and eleven Common Terns and I did manage to see the lone Dunlin but after a coffee I set off home.