An afternoon in Northwest Leicestershire - October 6, 2017

As it was such a wonderful day I decided I would visit Cropston Reservoir and Swithland Reservoirs this afternoon.  When I left home, it was quite warm in the afternoon sun and I arrived at Cropston Reservoir just after two-o’clock.

There wasn’t a great deal on the reservoir and no sign of the hoped for Mandarin Ducks.  There were a few Mallard and Great Crested Grebe on the water and a party of gulls on the far shore included Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls but other than five Little Egrets and five Grey Heron there was little else.

I parked on the road bridge at the southern end of Swithland Reservoir where there were more birds.  As I scanned the western shore I located fourteen male and eleven female Mandarin Duck and there was also Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler and Tufted Duck.  I just saw a single Little Egret but there were also a few Cormorant and Grey Herons around the edge.

The Great Central Railway appeared to be quite busy, particularly for a Friday, and I saw quite a few engines pass over the viaduct and managed to photograph two of them.

BR Standard 9F 2-10-0, 92214 Leicester City

SR West Country & Battle of Britain Class, 34081 92 Squadron

When I got around the other side I was surprised to find the Kinchley Lane was quite busy and clearly people had been at Rabbits Bridge photographing the steam locomotives.  When I reached the dam, I found Richard and another birder near the draw off tower and after parking I joined them.

They had seen a few Buzzards, two Peregrines and a Raven prior to my arrival but on scanning Buddon Wood there was nothing on view.  There were good numbers of Wigeon on the water and again there was also Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler and Tufted Duck but in smaller numbers.

It wasn’t long before I saw the first of four Buzzards and shortly afterwards a Raven flew over but there was no sign of the Peregrines.  A Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and a Jay were also observed and I also heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Nuthatch before I departed.