I was helping with the WeBS
count at Rutland Water this morning and with only three counters I intended to
make an early start. I checked the old
oak near Eyebrook Reservoir on route and found one of the Little Owls enjoying
the early morning sun but had seen very little else as I pulled up in the Egleton
car park at around 07:40.
Tim had sent an email out
yesterday but hadn’t allocated any areas and so I tried calling him without
success and so decided I would start on Lagoon Four. I walked along the service track to start the
count from Dunlin Hide but hadn’t see a great deal by the time I reached the
hide.
There was Little Egret on the
west bank and one of the Avocets was still sitting on Island Ten but other than
three Oystercatchers I couldn’t find any other waders, despite the water level
dropping again. Wildfowl wise there were
Mute Swans, Greylag Geese, Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard and Tufted Duck and a few
Great Crested Grebes. I had also spoken
to Tim and agreed that I would complete the old lagoons.
I moved onto Sandpiper Hide
where I had more of the same but did find a single Ringed Plover and counted
twenty-one Common Terns before walking to Plover Hide to complete the count on
the lagoon. I set my scope up and
scanned the rocks where the gulls often rest and found two Little Ringed
Plovers and as I scanned left I found a small party of waders. There were five Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin and a
cracking summer plumage Little Stint.
With the count finished on
Lagoon Four I went to Bittern Hide to start counting Lagoon Three. There was very little in terms of wildfowl
from the hide but I did see several Reed Warblers and whilst watching these a
female-type Marsh Harrier rose from the reeds and after quartering the reeds
briefly it dropped back into them.
As I walked back along the
track towards Shoveler Hide I had my first Swifts of the morning and had a
rather nice view of a Garden Warbler as I turned down the path towards the hide
and found a Holly Blue just before reaching the hide.
As I scanned through the
wildfowl I found a female Pochard sitting on the far shore with a brood of at
least five young, which were almost half-grown but surprisingly there was just
a single Common Tern feeding over the lagoon.
From Shoveler Hide I went to
Smew Hide to begin the count on Lagoon Two but despite visiting all four hides
didn’t see a great deal with seven Pochard and a Little Egret being the
highlights.
From the Bird Watching Centre
there was a Little Egret and six Oystercatchers flew over. As I continued scanning I found an Osprey
over the south arm and then a couple of Hobbies over the poplars at the back of
the lagoon. Mike Chester joined me and
whilst I was talking to Tim he found a third Hobby.
After a bite to eat in the car
park the Spotted Flycatchers I had missed on Saturday had been seen and so I
went to have a look and had better luck today seeing both birds quite well and
a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over.
Spotted Flycatcher
With little else being found
on the count I was unsure of what to do and after a call to Malcolm who was at
the Nene Washes I still wasn’t sure, despite him hearing and seeing a single
Corncrake there earlier this morning.
I did eventually make a
decision to go to the washes but wasn’t expecting to see too much but it was a
change of scenery and possible a few different birds.
I had seen a Red Kite and a
Kestrel from the A1 but then nothing else before I reached March Farmers. I walked up the bank to view the washes and
found a selection of wildfowl that included Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard and
Shoveler. I walked west along the bank
seeing a female Marsh Harrier flying along the ditch to my left. I stopped when I reached the power lines to
scan the washes again but saw more of the same but did add an Oystercatcher and
two Redshank. I had heard a Cuckoo
calling and eventually saw at least two birds, with one sitting on the wires on
the far side of the dyke and I had also seen at least ten Little Egrets.
Cuckoo
Cuckoo
Cuckoo
I walked back and whilst
talking to another birder we found a pair of Avocet but there was nothing else
of note and after a coffee I moved off to Eldernell, seeing three Yellow
Wagtails as I drove back to the main road.
When I reached Eldernell I
scanned the far side of the washes and managed to see the head of a Crane on a
couple of occasions and had several more Marsh Harriers, including a rather
smart male that came obligingly close.
There was also a distant Hobby towards March Farmers and a Sand Martin
flew over.
Male Marsh Harrier
Male Marsh Harrier
Male Marsh Harrier
Swallow
With little else I tried the
area where Malcom had heard and seen the Corncrakes this morning. I didn’t expect to hear the birds but was
interested in looking at the area. I
parked the car near the road as the track looked quite rough and then walked
along it to view the area. The track in
fact wasn’t too bad after reaching the first bend and I would have been better
to have driven as far as the first gate.
However, it was a very pleasant walk through some excellent
pastures. I must have walked well over a
mile before I turned back after seeing a couple of displaying Snipe, a Little
Egret, another Marsh Harrier and Sedge and Reed Warblers.
I suspect that the best time
to visit this site is either early morning or late evening and perhaps when
there is little wind and I will perhaps try and revisit in the next few weeks.
Meadow Pipit
Male Reed Bunting
Peacock
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