Friday 12 May 2017

A short visit to Stanford Reservoir, Leicestershire/Northamptonshire - May 5, 2017

There was a report of two Spotted Redshanks and a Wood Sandpiper and Stanford Reservoir and David and I decided we would go and have a look.

David had a permit for the reservoir now and we could park in the car park on the Leicestershire side of the reservoir.  Another birder was just leaving and he explained where the Wood Sandpiper was but unfortunately the Spotted Redshanks had flown off.


We walked along the Leicestershire bank and heard a Cetti’s Warbler and saw three Little Ringed Plovers, six Ringed Plovers, and three Turnstones before we reached the area the Wood Sandpiper was supposed to be.  There was another birder who had seen it but it wasn’t there now and so we continued along the bank and found a Whooper Swan amongst a small party of Mute Swans on the near shore.  After observing the swan for a few minutes, we continued until we could see into Blowers Lodge Bay, which is in Northamptonshire.  There were two Oystercatchers, two Grey Plover, two Bar-tailed Godwits, nine Greenshanks and a Redshank feeding in the bay.  There were also sixteen Common Terns resting on the mud at the mouth of the bay.  With still no sign of the Wood Sandpiper we retraced our steps and David, who was a little further on, found it feeding in an area not too far from where we expected to find it initially.  It then flew further upstream and we relocated again and it was now a little closer and providing excellent views.  With David needing to get home we went back to the car park and on stopping briefly I picked up a Hobby quite close, which David missed, but fortunately it came back a few seconds later.  Whilst we were on site we heard two Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, a Blackcap, a Garden Warbler, a Whitethroat; three Sedge Warbler and a Reed Warbler.

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