I left home in slightly
overcast conditions but the sun was shining by the time I reached Eyebrook
Reservoir. I had seen a couple of
Buzzards on route, one at Wistow and the other approaching Eyebrook Reservoir.
After turning onto the
northern approached road to Eyebrook Reservoir I stopped to view the old oak
and found both Little Owls on view.
There were six Tree Sparrows around the inlet bridge and I had a nice
view of a male Blackcap and heard another and a Chiffchaff. From the gateway along the eastern edge I
found a couple of Snipe on the edge of the stream, where there was a suggestion
of a muddy edge. There was a single
Shelduck and a Little Egret on the edge of the stream and a second Little Egret
in flight a little further to the south.
With little else obvious at
the reservoir I set off to the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water but saw very
little on route but did hear a Chiffchaff near Wing.
The centre was closed when I
arrived in the car park and so I went to view the feeders where there was a
single Yellowhammer. Whilst I stood
observing the feeders I heard a Willow Warbler singing and then had brief
views.
I went down to Teal Hide to
view the south arm and both the Manton Bay Ospreys were on view with the female
on the nest and the male on the perch above the nest. Apparently, the female laid her first egg
during the day and the male was observed incubating later in the day. When I scanned the far side just to the left
of Goldeneye Hide on Lax Hill I picked up a sandpiper and identified it as a
Common Sandpiper, which was the first site record of the year and there were
also two Black-tailed Godwits.
From the centre, I drove to
Sykes Lane and after parking set off to view the dam. There was another Chiffchaff singing and I
heard and then saw another Blackcap. As
I started to walk across the dam it appeared devoid of birds and I almost
turned back but I eventually walked right across but had only seen three Pied
Wagtails and two Meadow Pipits. I
stopped and scanned the dam from the south end but found nothing but a Red Kite
passing over head provided and excellent photo opportunity. After getting a few shots of the Red Kite I
started walking back and hadn’t gone too far when I was sure I heard a Yellow
Wagtail call and on looking along the dam found a nice male perched on the
rocks close to the top of the rocks. It
was close enough to photograph but before I had a chance a Pied Wagtail chased
it and I couldn't relocate it. When I
finally made it back to the car I hadn’t seen a great deal else, with a second
Red Kite being the best.
Red Kite
Red Kite
Pied Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
Meadow Pipit
I made a brief stop at
Barnsdale and focussed on the first piece of woodland hoping for a Marsh Tit or
a Nuthatch but there was no evidence of either and I didn’t see a great deal
else.
With little seen in Barnsdale
I made my way to Egleton and after a brief chat with Stephen went towards the
southern lagoons, initially making my way to the 360 Hide on Lagoon Five. I called at Mallard Hide and found a couple
of Curlew before moving on, having a couple of Chiffchaff and another male
Blackcap on route.
From the 360 Hide, there were
three Oystercatchers and four Redshanks but there was no sign of the reported
Barnacle Goose. I went to Shelduck Hide,
which is also on Lagoon Five, but there was still no sign of the reported Barnacle
Goose. As I walked back up the track I
heard at Blackcap and found a Chiffchaff feeding in the hedgerow on the left.
Chiffchaff
Chiffchaff
Chiffchaff
As I continued beyond the 360
Hide there were two Oystercatcher feeding on the grass to the left and four
Shelduck and a pair of Redshank were on Lagoon Eight. I called in Pintail Hide on Lagoon Six but
there was nothing of note and I made my way to Harrier Hide, seeing a
Chiffchaff as I approached the hide.
There were a couple of
Oystercatcher on Lagoon One and an Osprey flew low over the hide on two
occasions but there was little else and I started to make my way back to the
centre.
I called at Snipe Hide on the
way back where I found four Shelduck and a pair of Pintail and on getting back
to the centre there was an Osprey on the nest platform, which was presumably
the same bird I had seen from Harrier.
After some lunch, I drove to
the North Arm but all I could find were a pair of Shelduck and a Redshank on
the south shore and a Little Egret on the North Shore. Whilst I was in the North Arm it became much
colder and there was some light drizzle and I picked up three Swallows high
above the water. As I walked back to the
car Steve and Terry arrived and whilst we were chatting an Osprey flew over but
with the weather taking a turn for the worse we all went back to the centre.
There wasn’t a great deal
visible from the centre but a lady returned saying she had seen a pair of
Garganey on Lagoon Two but seemed a bit confused as from which hide. She said it was the new hide and the first
hide walking towards the northern lagoons but the new hide isn’t the new hide
but does have a new ramp.
I went back to the car to get
my waterproof coat, whilst Erik, Steve and Terry went to Redshank Hide, which
is the first hide. As I approached
Redshank Hide, Terry was leaving and heading for Osprey Hide, which is the new
hide, as there was no sign of any Garganey from Redshank Hide.
I joined Erik and Steve in
Redshank where there was a couple of Pochard but little else. I then received a text regarding a Cattle
Egret at Deeping Lakes and we decided to go.
As we were leaving the hide Terry called to say he had seen the Garganey
but that they had swum towards Grebe Hide and so went to Grebe Hide. There was no sign when we got in the hide but
Erik then picked them up towards Osprey Hide and we watched then for a couple
of minutes before they swam out of sight again.
We then returned to the car
park and headed for Deeping Lake, which was only about forty-five minutes
away. We drove through some heavy rain
on route and it was still raining when we pulled up into the car park. Richard arrived just after us but there was
no sign of the Cattle Egret and after about twenty minutes Erik and I set off
for the hide to hopefully find the Long-tailed Duck. We hadn't gone very far when Erik caught
sight of an egret in flight that dropped into the area we had just come from. We walked back quickly but as I approached
the shelter neither Richard or Steve looked at all excited. Richard and Steve hadn’t seen the egret but
another birder who Erik spoke to had and it was just a Little Egret.
Erik and I then set off for
the hide again and this time Richard joined us and we heard Cetti's Warbler,
Chiffchaff and Blackcap before reaching the hide. I wasn’t too optimistic in finding the
Long-tailed Duck as it isn’t possible to see all the lake from the hide. There were plenty of distant Tufted Duck but
the Long-tailed Duck didn’t appear to be amongst them and we were about to give
up when I noticed what I thought was a small bird dive. I alerted the other two and Erik scoped the
area and when I indicated that it was up again he confirmed it was the
Long-tailed Duck.
As we walked back we found
Steve on the river bank but he hadn’t been able to find the Cattle Egret. When we got back to the cars Richard saw something
drop behind the reeds but on checking we found a Little Egret. As we left the site and headed for Rutland
Water a Green Woodpecker flew over.
On getting back to Rutland
Water I was unsure whether to call it a day but Steve and Erik decided to go to
Dunlin Hide on Lagoon Four. I finally
decided I would join them and set off. Erik,
who had gone to get his bike, caught me up and accompanied me part of the way
before he continued onto the hide.
When I joined then in the hide
Erik had already located three Ringed Plovers but I only eve saw one of the
them and there was no sign of the Avocets, reported earlier. There were plenty of gulls just in front of
the hide, mainly Black-headed and Common but also a few Lesser Black-backed and
Great Black-backed and an odd Herring Gull.
Erik then said Little Gull but it flew before Steve and I could get on
it and although Erik was sure it came down again we couldn’t locate it. Erik then went to Sandpiper Hide in the hope
of finding it there but after about fifteen minutes with no news form him and
only a couple of Pintail being found I called it a day.
I called Erik when I got out
of the hide and he indicated that he had heard a Sedge Warbler from the bottom
of the ramp to Sandpiper and so I joined him there. We couldn’t hear the Sedge Warbler and so I
started to make my way back to the car park, whilst he went to Shoveler Hide on
Lagoon Three. I hadn’t gone too far when
he called to say that the Little Gull was feeding with Black-headed Gulls on
Lagoon Three. I went back and
fortunately it was still there when I arrived in the hide and I had reasonable
if distant views of a first-winter/summer bird.
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