When I left home this morning
there was a fresh south-west wind and it was overcast but felt quite warm. I called at Newton Harcourt and spent forty-minute
searching for Nuthatch and Spotted Flycatcher without success, although I was
pretty sure I could hear a Spotted Flycatcher but was unable to locate it.
From Newton Harcourt, I
continued onto Eyebrook Reservoir seeing very litter on route and wasn’t
surprised the Little Owls were not showing in the old oak. I stopped at the bridge where there was a
Little Egret upstream and a Tree Sparrow on the feeders. A Red Kite flew over the inlet stream and two
more were observed over the Rutland fields.
There was a Willow Warbler and Garden Warbler singing from cover and I
saw a Treecreeper before I drove around to the Rutland side to view the inlet.
As I got out of the car there
was a Whitethroat singing but it remained elusive during my short stay. I scanned the inlet and found a second Little
Egret feeding along the Leicestershire side and at least eleven Common Terns
were feeding over the reservoir. With
the weather being overcast and rather dreary I was surprised that there were no
Swift or hirundines present.
From Eyebrook Reservoir I went
to Rutland Water and had a Red Kite over the road when I reached Manton bridge
and after parking I walked to the northern lagoons. I went via the summer trail and heard
Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Garden Warbler before reaching
Sandpiper Hide.
When I entered the hide John
Wright was present and was trying to get an idea of the parentage of an unusual
duck, which he had seen yesterday and earlier today. It had been resting near the terns in front
of Sandpiper Hide but when John moved from Dunlin Hide to Sandpiper Hide to get
a better view it had disappeared. He
pointed out that there was rather nice male Ruff, indicating where it was and
suggesting that at a quick glance it could easily be mistaken for a
Turnstone. It had a black ruff and with
some black also on the head and whitish underparts and the upperparts and some
chestnut on the upperparts. There had
also been a report yesterday of a Spotted Redshank and John told me later that
two other birders had claimed it today but they had been watching the Ruff,
which is probably what happened yesterday.
As I scanned around the lagoon
I found the unusual duck, which had bill recalling a Canvasback but the rest of
the plumage didn’t recall any Aythya at all. It was with a Wigeon and dabbling rather than
diving and there was some resemblance to a Fulvous Whistling Duck and John also
referred to the fact it had large feet and rather stout legs, which I didn’t
see but would also support a whistling duck might be involved in it parentage
at some stage.
One of the Avocets looked as
though it was sitting on Island Seven again but this time on the top of the
island and the second bird was observed feeding at the back of the lagoon. There were several Oystercatchers and Ringed
Plovers on the lagoon and there also a single Sanderling, three Dunlin and four
Redshank and a second-year or female Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew made a brief
visit and at one point there were fifty-three Common Tern on the spit. At least three distant Red Kites were
observed and a Kestrel was harassed by a corvid as it flew over the lagoon.
From Sandpiper Hide I moved to
Shoveler Hide where the water is still very high resulting in fewer birds. There were a few Common Terns feeding over
the water and two drake Pochard were observed amongst the more numerous Tufted
Ducks, I spent quite a while in the hide
and had heard Little Grebes on several occasions and they eventually appeared
out of the reeds, a Little Egret flew over and a Sparrowhawk was observed
soaring before it plunged into the wood behind the reedbed.
Little Grebe
Common Tern
Common Tern
Common Tern
I eventually left the hide and
started heading back to the car park for lunch but called at Grebe Hide on
Lagoon Two, where the Ruddy Duck was on Saturday. I saw a Garden Warbler near one of the
Nightingale sites, which was silent this morning and from the hide there was
another Little Grebe and a Reed Warbler but there was no sign of the Ruddy
Duck.
Mistle Thursh in the Egleton Medows
After lunch, I went to the 360
Hide and heard Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Garden Warbler on route and saw a
photographed a Chiffchaff. Other than
three Shelduck and five Redshank there was a great deal else on the lagoon but
I did see an Osprey over Lagoon One.
Chiffchaff
Redshank
On reaching Pintail Hide,
again there wasn’t a great deal with just a pair of Shelduck, a Little Egret,
several Oystercatchers and a Redshank but I was forced to remain in the hide
for around an hour whilst a band of rain passed through.
Cormorant over Lagoon Six
Canada Goose on Lagoon Six meadow
Little Egret on Lagoon Six
Coot on Lagoon Six meadow
Oystercatchers over Lagoon Six
Lapwing on Lagoon Six meadow
European Hare on Lagoon Six meadow
When the rain ceased, I called
at Harrier and Snipe Hides but saw very little but did hear Chiffchaff, Willow
Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler and saw
one of the Chiffchaffs as I made my way back to the car park and whilst the
Lesser Whitethroat was very close it refused to show.
There was a threat of more
rain and so after a coffee I made my home seeing a Kestrel close to Billesdon.
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