The weather forecast wasn’t
great today with heavy periods of rain expected and it was overcast but dry
when I left home and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir. I didn’t see a great deal on route and it was
no surprise when the Little Owls weren’t preforming, although Malcolm had seen
one yesterday.
When I arrived, I drove along
the Leicestershire side and after parking entered the northern coral to view
the Rutland shoreline. There was a
juvenile Ruff feeding along the shoreline and I eventually found three along
with a Little Ringed Plover, two Ringed Plovers, three Dunlin and a
Greenshank. As I scanned through the
wildfowl it was clear that more Shoveler had arrived and I found a single
Pintail, which was my first here this autumn.
There was a Red Kite over the far hill top but with little else in
evidence I went to the bridge, where I saw very little and soon moved further
around to view the inlet. I did see one
of the Ruff and the Greenshank and there was another Red Kite over the end of
the plantation and just before I left for Rutland Water I found a single
Black-tailed Godwit feeding along the Rutland Shore.
I went to the Lyndon Reserve
and after parking went to view the feeders where there were several Blue and
Great Tits making regular visits but nothing else. I did find a couple of Tree Sparrows and
several Goldfinches in the hedge to the left of the centre but then moved down
to Teal Hide. There were plenty of
hirundine over the water, mainly Sand Martin and House Martin but also a few
Swallow. The bund across Manton Bay was
now fully exposed and clearly the water had dropped since my last visit and the
Cormorants were making full use of it and there was also a Yellow-legged Gull
on one of the signs across the bund. I
then heard a Kingfisher call and picked it up flying towards the hide, looking
as though it was heading straight for it but it veered away at the last second.
With little else I went back
towards the centre and found there were more birds at the feeders including
fourteen Greenfinch, which is a good number here these days, and at least six
Tree Sparrows. The centre was now open
and after a brief chat with Holly I headed for Wader Scrape Hide. As I reached the first meadow there was a
bird perched on top of one of the hay-bales, which looked like a falcon at
first glance. I got the scope on it and
realised that it was a juvenile Cuckoo, which was close enough to photograph. However, I had left the camera in the car as
I was expecting rain and so went back to get it hoping it would remain. As I was coming back there were two guys who
had walked along the bottom path, non-birders who were just out for a walk and
I wasn’t therefore surprised the Cuckoo had gone.
I continued to Wader Scape
Hide seeing just a female Kestrel on route, which wasn’t that surprising as the
weather was beginning to take a turn for the worse. I reached the hide without getting too wet
but once inside the heavens opened and there was quite a heavy downpour that
lasted about thirty minutes. There were
plenty of hirundines feeding low over the water but other than three Pintail
there wasn’t a great deal else and once the rain ceased I started to make my
way back. I saw the female Kestrel again
but was surprised when I found the Cuckoo, again perched on a hay-bale but in
different meadow. It was slightly more
concealed than earlier but I fired off a few shots before it flew and my
attempts of a flight short were a disaster.
Juvenile Cuckoo
When I got back the centre I
had seen very little else and went to the North Arm and spent the first few
minutes in the shelter as it was raining again.
There weren’t any waders visible on the north shore but I did find a single
Yellow-legged Gull and a Yellow Wagtail, which may well be my last of the
year. When it stopped raining I walked
out to the spit and found the Whimbrel along with four Curlew feeding in the
grass to the south and there were two Greenshanks on the shoreline. Surprisingly there wasn’t a single hirundine
and other than an odd Black-headed Gull very little over the water. I scanned through the Great Crested Grebes
hoping to find the Red-necked Grebe without success and soon moved to the
Egleton Reserve.
When I arrived in the car park
I had my lunch during which I saw a Chiffchaff near the car park entrance.
I went into the centre to view
Lagoon One after lunch and was told there were three Great White Egret on the
long island. I soon found these and then
found a fourth at the back of the lagoon, which then joined the other three on
the long island. There was a Hobby over
the poplars on Brown’s Island and a second flew over the lagoon towards Brown’s
Island. I then picked up a Green
Sandpiper feeding to the right of the viewing area but other then three Little
Egrets there was nothing else of note and I moved on to the northern lagoons.
I was speaking to David on the
phone as I approached Badger Hide when a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew out of
the tree and across the meadow.
Mike Chester had seen a Golden
Plover on Lagoon Four and so I went to Dunlin Hide hoping to find it. I was surprised to find four other birders in
the hide as it quite normal to have this one to yourself during the week. There was a juvenile Ruff feeding at the end
of the first island and three Ringed Plovers were visible near Island Seven. I then saw a Greenshank drop in and found
another amongst the roosting Lapwing. A
young lad then said he thought he had a Green Sandpiper to the left of the
hide, which proved to be correct, and a second Ruff joined the first. The Ruff were both juveniles but the size
difference confirmed that the second bird was a Reeve. Two Pintail were observed feeding between the
two closest islands and there were three Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the more
numerous Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls and
single Common Tern was observed over the lagoon. The other birders then left the hide and
shortly afterwards I heard a Golden Plover on at least four occasions but
couldn’t find it and on the last occasion it appeared to be some distance away.
There was news of a Black Tern
in the North Arm, which I hadn’t seen earlier and so decided to go and have a
look for it but called in both Osprey and Grebe Hides on route but didn’t find
the American Wigeon.
When I got back to the North
Arm it was bright and sunny and there was no sign of the reported Black Tern
and after about twenty minutes I headed back to the reserve.
I went back to the northern
lagoons but this time went into Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three where there were
five Common Terns along with several Black-headed Gulls feeding above a party
of thirty feeding Cormorants, which were clearly creating a feeding opportunity
for the gulls and terns. There was a
Hobby and a Kestrel over the wood but with little else I moved to Buzzard Hide
where a Grey Heron proved a nice photo opportunity.
Grey Heron
The cloud had increased again
and so I thought I would go to Smew Hide and try and locate the American
Wigeon. As I left Buzzard Hide a Water
Rail called and on reaching Smew Hide the light was ok and I could scan the
wildfowl without any glare. I didn’t
pick the American Wigeon up on the first scan but as I scanned back through the
duck I found it, although it was some distance away.
The weather was closing in
again and I just made it Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four before there was another
heavy downpour. There was a Green
Sandpiper directly in front of the hide, which I suspected was the same bird I
had seen earlier and I then saw what I thought was a Greenshank fly in and
disappear behind some vegetation. There
was a Greenshank further along the area where the other bird had dropped and
shortly afterwards it revealed itself and I was able to confirm my original
thoughts and they then both flew off together.
I suspect that these two birds are the same as I saw this morning in the
North Arm and are commuting between the two areas. I then found a Common Sandpiper on the far
side of the lagoon and a juvenile Osprey was on one of the perches.
As I started to walk back to
the centre the weather had improved again and it was bright and sunny. A Jay flushed from the side of the track and
flew into the trees and after moving a short distance I could see it quite
clearly and fired off a couple of shots.
Jay
Jay
I decided that I would call at
Eyebrook Reservoir on the way home and on stopping near the inlet found a Ruff,
two Snipe, three Green Sandpiper and three Greenshank before I left for home.
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