I left home this morning and
headed for Eyebrook Reservoir but seeing nothing of note on route. I checked the old oak as I approached the
reservoir but there was no sign of the Little Owls and a stop at the bridge
produced two Red Kites over the field to the east. It was very quiet with just a single Little
Egret and four Common Terns being seen from the inlet.
I was soon on my way to
Rutland Water and headed for the Lyndon Reserve first. After parking the car, I set off for Shallow
Water Hide and checked the feeding station as I started down the path. The feeders were quiet but I did see a female
Blackcap, four Whitethroat and a Tree Sparrow in the hedge to the left of the
centre. Scanning the shore below Lax
Hill I found a Little Egret roosting at the base of the Lax Hill and I had
another Whitethroat from the beginning of the path to the hides.
I hadn’t seen a great deal by
the time I reached Shallow Water Hide and there was just a single Osprey in the
bay, which was one of the juveniles.
Apparently one of the juveniles, a female, had disappeared and had been
missing for four days, causing some concern as she was still dependent on the
adults for food. There was a single
Redshank just in front of the hide, which was joined by a second just before I
departed. I found a couple of Common
Sandpipers further into the bay and there was a single Little Egret on the far
shore and two Buzzards just west of the reservoir.
Redshank
Redshank
I didn’t see a great deal else
until I was approaching the centre where I found the Whitethroats were still
present and whilst watching these I also had a Chiffchaff and a Willow Warbler.
When I arrived in the car park
at Egleton Mike Chester had just arrived and we went into the centre together
to view Lagoon One. There were twelve
Little Egrets scattered around the lagoon and just before we left the viewing
area one of the Great White Egret flew in but the only other bird of note was a
Sparrowhawk carrying food.
Mike went off to the northern
lagoons, whilst I decided to have an early lunch. Steve and Terry arrived whilst I was having
my lunch and after a brief chat they went to the centre and shortly afterwards
I went to the northern lagoons. I went
to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three first and met Mike who hadn’t seen a great
deal but indicated that there were a few waders on Lagoon Four.
There were five Little Egrets on
the lagoon and I found my first Pintail of the autumn. There were a few Common Terns over the water
but I was surprised when something caused a disturbance and many more got off
the rafts and I counted twenty-five before most descended back onto the
rafts. There were three female Tufted
Duck escorting broods of ten, six and four.
Little Egret
Little Egret
Egyptian Goose
Pintail
Shoveler
Tufted Duck with brood
Tufted Duck with brood
From Shoveler Hide I walked
the short distance to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four, where I spent quite some
time scanning the lagoon. There was a
party of Dunlin feeding amongst the roosting terns and I eventually had eleven
and counted thirty-four Common Tern. As
I continued to scan I found a single Little Ringed Plover, a Ringed Plover, a
Common Sandpiper and two Redshank. A
couple of Yellow-legged Gulls flew in and a single Swift swooped low dipping
its bill into the water before moving on.
Yellow=legged Gull
I scanned Burley Wood where I
picked up three Red Kites and a couple of Buzzard and there was a third Buzzard
at the back of the lagoon. I spoke to
Steve and found out that he and Terry had seen a Marsh Harrier and a Snipe from
Shoveler Hide and so I decided to go back and have a look.
I found the Snipe on one of
the islands and also saw my only Reed Warbler of the day but there was no sign
of the Marsh Harrier and I eventually called it a day and headed back to the
car park.
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