It was rather dull and cold
when David and I set off for Rutland Water this morning and the forecast was
for it to remain pretty much the same all day.
There had been a party of Brambling reported at Owston Church and we
headed there first hoping that we would be able to find them.
When we arrived, it was still
rather dull and initially there appeared to be no sign and so we pulled off the
road into a small entrance to a field.
Just as we stopped both David and I noticed a group of birds in a bush
at the entrance to the field and when we got them in the bins they were the
Brambling. There were at least fifteen
birds and possibly sixteen but they weren’t easy to count as they were
constantly moving around the bush. They
eventually dropped onto the ground in the church yard but were then impossibly
to count as they kept disappearing in the grass. Pleased we had sound them almost straight
away we headed for Rutland Water.
When we arrived at Rutland
Water we headed for the Lyndon Reserve but called at Lyndon Church Yard first
before visiting the reserve. We had a
Nuthatch as soon as we pulled up but other than a Kestrel flying over we saw
very little else and headed back to the Lyndon Reserve.
We walked the short distance
to the feeding station where there was now a supply of food with Blue Tits
visiting constantly and there was also a couple of Tree Sparrows in
attendance. As we were about to go to
Teal Hide we heard a Treecreeper calling and then found it in the bushes just
behind us.
When we reached, Teal Hide
there appeared to be very few birds in South Arm but on closer inspection we
could see there were good numbers near the Old Hall and towards Lapwing
Hide. We scanned the area hoping to find
the Red-necked Grebe but there was no sign and the only birds of note were a
few Goldeneye and a single Little Egret on the bund at Heron Bay.
We left Lyndon Reserve and
headed for an area of farmland just north of Empingham village but saw very
little and made our way back to Dickinson’s Bay at Rutland Water to view the
North Arm.
Roger had called us a little
earlier after he had seen the Brambling and he was observing the North Arm when
we arrived and had already found the two Slavonian Grebes and three
Black-necked Grebes. It didn’t take
David and I too long to locate the grebes and we therefore agreed to go to the
Old Hall to look for the Red-necked Grebe.
We scanned the area to the
west of the Old Hall finding a female Scaup and a distant Great White Egret but
there was no sign of the Red-necked Grebe and so we walked to view the bay to
the east of the hall. As we neared the
cattle grid we could see that there was a party of thrushes feeding in the
field, most of which were Redwing but there was also a single Fieldfare and
Song Thrush.
David had gone on a head of
Roger and I but hadn’t found the Red-necked Grebe when we reached him. As we all started to scan the area David
found the Red-necked Grebe quite close to the shore and we could see that it
was beginning to show some red around the neck.
David had gone closer to the shore to try and photograph the grebe and
flushed three Oystercatchers and a Redshank but Roger and I just got on the
Oystercatchers as they flew east. Three
Goldcrests provided some excellent views in an oak we were standing under and I
was beginning to regret that I had left the camera in the car. As we walked back to the car the Redshank was
on the shore to the west of the hall.
From the Old Hall, we drove to
the Egleton reserve and decided to visit Snipe Hide on the Wet Meadow before
lunch. The wintering Whimbrel had been
seen with the Curlew on the meadow and we were hoping it would be there
today. When we opened the flaps on the
hide we found several Curlew and then David found the Whimbrel but it soon
walked out of sight with one of the six Curlews. Roger then found a Water Rail that was
feeding in the meadow close to the small reedbed in front of the hide. There was a pair of Shelduck on each flash, a
Little Egret was on the eastern one and drake Pintail on the one close to the
hide and Great White Egret flew in onto Lagoon One.
Drake Wigeon on the Wet Meadow
We didn’t see a great deal as
we walked back to the cars for lunch or whilst having lunch, with two Greenfinch
being the best, which are now quite scarce on the reserve.
After lunch, we went into the
centre to view Lagoon one where we found a single Shelduck, seven Pintail and
four male and five female Goosanders and we had brief views of a male Stonechat
just in front of the centre.
We eventually ventured out
into the cold again and walked towards the northern lagoons. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was observed as we
turned towards Redshank Hide and David then found a couple of Lesser Redpoll
and we spent quite some time viewing these along with six Siskin. A one point David thought he had a Common
Redpoll, which both Roger and I saw but we couldn’t be certain and were unable
to relocate the bird. Roger also found a
Treecreeper in the same area.
On reaching the northern
lagoons we went into Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three where we found another Great
White Egret and five Snipe on the edge of the reedbed. There were two Shelduck, seven Pintail and
fourteen Red-crested Pochards on the water and a few Pochards and Goldeneye,
amongst the more numerous Wigeon, Gadwall and Tufted Duck.
As we moved onto Lapwing Hide
I called in at Smew Hide where I found a couple of Little Egrets and a
Kingfisher flashed by the hide. From
Lapwing Hide I found two male and three female-type Scaup and two more Red-crested
Pochards were observed close to the Green Bank.
We had been surprised that we hadn’t seen any Smew and as we continued
to scan the area I found a diver quite some distance out into the arm. It was just sitting on the surface and
tending to face away most of the time but we were eventually happy that it was
a Great Northern Diver, which was the first sighting at the reservoir this
year.
As Roger and I walked back we
heard a Cetti’s Warbler and when David caught us up he and I went into Buzzard
Hide whilst Roger went back as he had to leave.
Whilst we were in the hide a Kingfisher flew by but there was nothing
else of note and we headed for Dunlin Hide on Lagoon Four.
There was a female Peregrine
sitting on one of the islands and a few gulls gathered at the back of the
lagoon. The gulls included Black-headed,
Common, Herring and Great Black-backed Gull and as the number began to increase
there was a single Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Gulls continued to arrive but most were flying over and presumably going
to roost in the South Arm, with by far the majority being Common Gulls. As I was scanning Burley Wood I picked up our
only Red Kite of the day. I then found
two Pintail to the right of the hide and as I scanned through a group of Black-headed
Gulls to the right of the centre I found a drake Smew and shortly afterwards we
headed back to the car.
A quick scan of Lagoon One as
we returned produced nothing but whilst changing our boots and having a coffee
c.100 Golden Plover were observed in flight.
As we made our way home,
surprisingly, I saw our only Buzzard of the day near King’s Norton.
I had recorded eighty-three species
of which Whimbrel and Brambling were new for the year and Great Northern Diver
new for the counties; an excellent day.
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