A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 21, 2017

I headed for Eyebrook Reservoir seeing a Kestrel just after passing by Wistow Pool but other than a few Red-legged Partridge hadn’t seen a great deal else before reaching the reservoir.

I parked near the gate to the fishing lodge where I found thirty-three Red-legged Partridge in the field but with little else I moved onto the island coral.  I scanned the western shore I found a pair of Pintail and quite a few Pochard amongst the other wildfowl but there was no sign of the Ferruginous Duck.

I next stopped on near the fencing on the other side of the island and where I found a drake Pintail and a few more Pochard but still no Ferruginous Duck.  I scanned the far shore and found a large concentration of Pochard but due to them diving and the swell on the water it wasn’t easy and if the Ferruginous was with them I didn’t see it and moved onto the northern coral.

There were seventeen Dunlin and 460+ Golden Plover on the mud and there was a Little Egret on the far shore.  There were plenty of Teal and Lapwing around the stream, along with three Grey Heron and there was quite a few Black-headed and Common Gulls on the water.  Looking south along the reservoir there were plenty of birds on the water between the coral and Holyoke's and on scanning through them I found plenty of Wigeon and Coot, with smaller numbers of Gadwall, Mallard and Shoveler.  As I looked across the far side I picked up two Red Kites over the fields and a Buzzard perched in a tree.

I was going to drive around to the Rutland side but a message from Steve indicated that there was a Curlew Sandpiper with a party of Dunlin in the North Arm at Rutland Water and so I decided to go there.

As I drove down the unnamed road I scanned Tim’s feeders and found a Great Spotted Woodpecker was on the feeders with a few Blue and Great Tits.  After parking at the far end, I walked out to the spit to few the north shore.  The two Barnacle Geese were on the north shore and I counted seventeen Pintail amongst the more numerous Wigeon, Teal and Mallard but there was no sign of any waders.  I walked a little further to view the southern bay where I found five Great White Egrets and counted another sixty-five Pintail.  There was a large number of birds in this section that also included Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye but there was still no sign of any waders.  Two Grey Wagtail then flew over, but I lost then when they dropped below the treeline.  I called Steve to see where he had actually seen the Curlew Sandpiper and he indicated that it was on the north shore with about forty Dunlin, but they had flown onto the spit briefly before going back to the north shore.  He also said he and Terry had seen a Common Scoter and Caspian Gull from Whitwell and that the three Red-breasted Mergansers were in the southern corner of the dam.  I scanned the north shore another couple of times but with still no sign I called it a day and went to Whitwell.

As I arrived at Whitwell Steve and Terry were just leaving, indicating that the Caspian Gull had flown off and they couldn’t find the Common Scoter off the peninsular but that the mergansers were still visible.

I walked out to the western entrance to the creek and scoped the southern corner of the dam but couldn’t find the mergansers and on scanning for the scoter had no joy with that either.  It was turning out to be a bit of a disastrous day and my only consolation was three Little Egrets and a Redshank in the creek.

I toyed with the idea of going to Sykes Lane car park and viewing the dam from there but decided to go to the southern end and view the dam.  I parked off the road and scanned the dam but there was still no sign of the merganser and I found out later that they had apparently flown off to the south shore.  As I continued scanning with bins I picked a bird up mid-water that dived and I considered diver or Cormorant, expecting the latter.  I got the scope on the area and when it hadn’t resurfaced quickly I began to favour diver.  I picked it up again but it dived almost immediately but then next time I got on it long enough to identify it as one of the Great Northern Divers that are now present.

A quick call at Normanton didn’t produce anything and I moved onto the Lyndon Reserve.  I walked down to the Teal Hide, seeing a single Tree Sparrow and Coal Tit at the feeders, and joined Steve and Terry in the hide.  Steve had seen five Great White Egret, but I could only find four and he then found a couple of Black-tailed Godwits near Goldeneye Hide.  There was also fifty-six Dunlin but after seeing them in flight on several occasions both Terry and I were satisfied that none were showing a white rump and therefore the Curlew Sandpiper wasn’t with them.  There was a single Redshank feeding along the shoreline and I counted another twenty-five Pintail.  Steve then located four female Goosander and Terry then found a male close by.  There was a party of Linnet I had seen in flight several times and whilst trying to get Terry and Steve onto them I saw a Sparrowhawk flash through where I thought they had landed and I didn’t see them again.  Steve then said I think I might have the Red-necked Grebe and increasing his magnification confirmed it and both Terry and I were able to get on it, although it was quite some distance away.  I could see a group of Red-crested Pochard on the far side and thought that there was at least thirty.

With nothing new being found for a while I went back to the car for lunch and whilst doing so had two Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a few winter thrushes.  Steve and Terry headed off for the Egleton Reserve whilst I decided to walk to Wader Scrape Hide to view Manton Bay.

When I reached the hide, there didn’t appear to be some many birds as of late, but I did find three Curlew and the Whimbrel was feeding between myself and Shallow Water Hide and there was a single Redshank on the near shore.  On the far shore there was a Great White Egret, which was presumably Steve’s fifth bird but other than a few Little Egrets there wasn’t much else, and I made my way back to the centre.

As I approached the centre there was a Tree Sparrow perched in the hedge and on continuing along the path three flew off to the south.

Disappointed that I hadn’t seen the Curlew Sandpiper earlier I decided to go back to the North Arm and give it another go.  As I walked towards the spit I picked up two Redshank that then landed on the spit and began feeding.  I had scanned both the north and south shores several times without finding any more waders when suddenly I picked up a party of Dunlin in flight with some Lapwing.  They landed on the far side, but I could see them and scanned through them but the distance and the fact they were feeding amongst the Lapwing and some gulls didn’t make it easy.  They flew several times and on one occasion I thought I saw a white rump, but I wasn’t certain and after several more scans through the birds was beginning to think that the Curlew Sandpiper might not be there and even if it was I wasn’t going to see it.  When suddenly a single bird flew, and I was pretty sure it displayed a white rump and it landed away from the main flock and I was able to see it was indeed the Curlew Sandpiper.  It is funny how your luck can suddenly change, and it was worth the effort as I had only seen three Curlew Sandpiper in November previously and this was the latest by some sixteen days.

I went to the Egleton Reserve to finish of the day and walked towards the northern lagoons seeing a Marsh Tit near the badger hide and c.1000 Golden Plover in flight over Lagoon Four as I walked along the path.  I met Terry as I approached Shoveler Hide and whilst chatting a party of Linnets flew over and I then continued onto Crake Hide.  There was a single Little Egret in the water and it wasn’t long before I had seen three Water Rails and then continued to Lapwing Hide.  There wasn’t so many birds close to the hide today and apparently the American Wigeon had gone back onto Lagoon Two.  I scanned through the birds and noticed a concentration of Goldeneye and on counting them found there were 115 and presumably they were likely to roost in the area.  A scan of Lagoon Two from the hide and then from Smew Hide failed to produce the American Wigeon and I moved to Shoveler Hide.

I found Steve in the hide who hadn’t seen a great deal but indicated that a Marsh Harrier had been performing, which I did see before starting to make my way back to the car.  There was a guy mothing near the gate and after a brief chat about what he might catch, I continued back to the car.

As I approached the gates that overlook Lagoon One I felt a few spots of rain and with it now being almost dark I went straight back to the car and thankfully I did as it started to rain quite heavy before I set off for home.

Despite missing several good birds earlier today the day gradually improved with the Curlew Sandpiper being the icing on the cake, making it a good end to the day.

A morning at Rutland Water, Rutland - April 19, 2017

I left home and headed for Rutland Water where I was going to help with the monthly WeBS count.  It was a bright sunny start after a sharp overnight frost and consequently it was quite cold but thankfully there was no wind.  There was a Little Egret on Wistow Pool and I had a Red Kite near Stonton Wyville and Kestrel just beyond Cranoe and after passing through Hallaton I flushed a Buzzard from the roadside and there were four more Red Kites over a field as I approached Horninghold and another Kestrel just the other side of the village.

I arrived at Rutland Water and Matt and I were assigned to do South Arm Three and then to liaise Joe to see who was to count Lagoon One.

As usual we started the count from the Old Hall on what was a bright and sunny morning with very little wind but feeling quite cold after the overnight frost.  After a quick but unsuccessful look for the Red-necked Grebe we went to view the bay just west of the Old Hall.  As we started to walk along the path a Sparrowhawk flew through and when we reached the bay we found a Grey Wagtail along with a Pied Wagtail and a couple of Meadow Pipits.  There was a flock of Tufted Duck feeding just off the Old Hall and a few Mallard in the bay but nothing else.  We retraced our steps counting what was close in on the shore before scanning the far shore between Goldeneye Hide and Brown’s Island.  One of the first birds I located was the Red-necked Grebe and there were plenty of birds along the shore including a Shelduck, forty-eight Pintail and a Great White Egret.

Once we had finished counting this section we moved further into the arm to view the western section.  There were thirty-six Red-crested Pochard close to the shore and the area between Brown’s Island and Lapwing Hide was covered in birds, which took quite some time to count.  By far the most numerous species was Coot with a count of over 1900 but there was also Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe and Moorhen.  I also found the American Wigeon amongst the flock and there were at least five Little Egrets scattered around the edges.

Andy Mackay had sent out a WhatsApp message that there was a flock of c.120 Pink-footed Geese over Normanton that were moving northwest.  I was hoping we might be lucky and see them pass over Burley, but it wasn’t long afterwards when we picked up the calls of the geese and eventually found them quite high moving west but to the south of us and they had obviously flown due west from Normanton.

Finally, we went to Crake Hide on the reserve to make a final check for any birds we might have missed in the small bay.  We found a few more Moorhen and a Grey Heron tucked into the rocks and also three Water Rails, which made the visit worthwhile.

A call to Joe to check his progress and good news as he had counted all the new lagoons, the Wet Meadow and Lagoon One and so we had finished and went back to the centre to hand in our counts.

Although we had only counted South Arm Three our total count was 3431 and Tim tweeted later that 16551 birds had been counted around the whole reservoir and excellent November count which was possibly due to the very low water levels at present.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 18, 2017

David and I were out locally today and headed straight to the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water where a Jack Snipe had been reported yesterday.  We had a Kestrel just after passing through Great Glen and I saw a Red Kite as we passed through Preston.

There were both Fieldfare and Redwing in the first meadow but there was nothing of note on the feeders and we continued onto Mallard Hide on Lagoon One where the Jack Snipe had been reported.  There was no sign of the Jack Snipe, but we did see six Shelduck and four Pintail on the lagoon, a Sparrowhawk over the lagoon and two Stonechats, one in front of the hide and the second more distantly near Harrier Hide.

With the sun shining brightly I suggested that we should go to the Lyndon Reserve as the sun would be behind us there making viewing at lot easier.  As we arrived in the car park a Sparrowhawk flew into the bushes and perched briefly before flying again.  We checked the feeders as we walked down to Teal Hide and found a single Tree Sparrow amongst the more numerous Blue and Great Tits.

We scanned the shoreline below Lax Hill and found four Black-tailed Godwit and a Redshank and there were five Great White Egrets and a Little Egret between Gadwall and Fieldfare Hides.  There were a few Dunlin flying around and once they had settled and become quite stretched out we counted seventy-five and there was also thirty Pintail scattered along the shoreline.

As we walked back towards the centre there was a Coal Tit and now three Tree Sparrow around the feeding area.  Walking towards Wader Scrape Hide David noticed a Lesser Redpoll feeding on some Rosebay Willowherb near Deep Water Hide and we were able to get a few photos before it went into the bushes.

Lesser Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll

We continued onto Wader Scrape Hide but didn’t see a great deal else before reaching the hide.  As I opened a flap a Snipe flew out of the area and disappeared over the bund and we found another two Great White Egrets near Heron Bay.  There was a female Goosander just on the far side of the bund and as we scanned the bay we found two Curlew feeding in the shallow water and two Redshank along the water’s edge and a second Snipe towards the bridge.  I then noticed a third Curlew-type bird feeding on the mud some distance from the water’s edge and suspected and then confirmed that it was the long staying Whimbrel.  We were about to walk back when I found a Green Sandpiper on the edge of the stream, which had probably just walked into view.

The North Arm was our next area and we saw a Red Kite as we entered Manton village and a Kestrel after passing through Gunthorpe.  As we drove along Church Road, nearing the Old Stanford Road, thirteen Egyptian Geese flew over and there was another twenty-two still in the field on the left,

We saw another Great White Egret in the fishponds and a Great Spotted Woodpecker on Tim’s feeder’s as we went down the unnamed road.  After parking we found a single Goosander in the fishponds and the Great White Egret was now on the bund along with four Little Egrets and the two Barnacle Geese were on the north shore.  There was yet another Great White Egret on the north shore and I counted fifty-seven Pintail, most of which were close to the south shore.  On scanning Burley Wood, we located two Red Kites and two Buzzards and as we were thinking of leaving a large number of wildfowl were noticed flying around, which had probably been disturbed by the farmer driving close to the water’s edge.  There were numerous Tufted Duck, which we scanned looking for a Scaup and I found a male amongst the more distant party.  Steve had seen a Lesser Scaup-type hybrid on Tuesday, but the head shape and size of this bird ruled out the hybrid.

We eventually departed for Egleton seeing a Red Kite over the fishponds as we did so and on reaching the car park had lunch before venturing back onto the reserve.   A Kestrel flew over whilst we were having lunch and as we stood on the steps to the centre a Red Kite passed over and a few seconds after a Buzzard appeared being harassed by a Carrion Crow.

Red Kite

Red Kite

Red Kite

As we walked beyond the badger hide David heard a Siskin call and then one flew over heading north.  A little further along I noticed some movement in some of the alders and when I looked I found several Siskin and a single Goldfinch and David had a Lesser Redpoll, but I couldn’t find it.  We went into Grebe Hide to look for a red-headed Smew that had been present for some time but there was no sign and all we found was a Shelduck and three Pintail.

Having no luck with the Smew we continued to Lapwing Hide and found the American Wigeon amongst a small group of Wigeon and a female Goosander was also found, which then swam across the front of the hide.

Goosander

We had made a brief stop in Crake Hide on the way to Lapwing but the reported Water Rails were not showing and we had continued onto Lapwing Hide and so we tried again as we returned.  This time we were lucky and two were showing quite well and I was able to get some photos of one of them.

Water Rail

Water Rail

Water Rail

Water Rail

Female Teal from Crake Hide

Carrion Crows from Crake Hide

We called at Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three and then Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four but both areas were very quiet with just two Pintail of note from Shoveler Hide and a Shelduck from Sandpiper Hide.

David was keen to get to Eyebrook Reservoir as the Ferruginous Duck had been reported and he had already been three times and not found it.  We stopped briefly at the northern coral where we found circa fifty Golden Plover, a Dunlin, a Ruff and two Redshank and a Peregrine flew over just before we departed.  When we reached the fencing, we found Colin and Chris parked at the roadside.  We got out to look for the Ferruginous Duck, which had been seen by Andy Mackay with some Pochard.  We found the Pochard but even with Colin and Chris help we couldn’t find the Ferruginous Duck.  We stopped at the island coral to have a word with Ken and Andy and Andy said that he had been unable to locate the Ferruginous Duck amongst the Pochard again and presumably it was no longer with them.

It had been another good day’s birding with eighty-three species recorded of which seventy-eight were at Rutland Water.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 16, 2017

I was out with David today and we were planning to just go local and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir first.  There was a Red Kite observed on route to Cranoe and several Red-legged Partridge after passing through Blaston.

As we turned onto the southern approach road to the reservoir a Sparrowhawk was flushed from a roadside bush and stopping near the entrance gate we found another party of Red-legged Partridge in the field, a Red Kite perched and then in flight to the north and there were a few Fieldfare and a Redwing near the old feeding station.  We moved onto the island coral where we were hoping to find the Ferruginous Duck, although it had only been reported once since I saw it on the 14^th.  There were quite a few ducks along the southern shore and we found a couple of Pintail and quite a few Pochard and a small party of Pochard swam out from behind the island but there was no sign of the Ferruginous Duck.  There was at least one Herring Gull and a Great Black-backed Gull on the island spit, along with a party of roosting Cormorants but with little else we drove to the other side of the island to view the bay to the north.  Again, there were plenty of birds and even more Pochard with eight-four recorded during our visit and there were also four more Pintail but again no sign of the Ferruginous Duck.

We moved further along the Leicestershire bank finding circa thirty Red-legged Partridge on the road near Holyoaks and presumably more had been released.  We continued along the road before turning around on reaching Harborough Hill Road to look for the Little Owls.  We didn’t expect to see any as Malcolm had seen a Barn Owl drop into the hole in the tree on Tuesday indicating that the Little Owls were no longer in residence.

We drove around to the Rutland side of the reservoir to view the inlet and found thirty-four Dunlin, a Ruff and a Redshank and just before we moved on a party of circa sixty Golden Plover dropped in and there were also four Shelduck on the water.

From Eyebrook Reservoir we headed to Exton where a single Hawfinch had been reported earlier today.  When we reached the area overlooking the cemetery there were far fewer birds than last Saturday, although there were a few Fieldfare and Redwing.  We remained on site for a good hour but just a few Greenfinch and Goldfinch joined the thrushes in one of the trees and when we left there weren’t any birds in the trees with all the thrushes flying off to the south and the other birds just disappearing.  A surprise was a Grey Heron that appeared to come out of the ground in the cemetery before flying off and we did see a Kestrel and heard a Nuthatch.

Our next target was the Great Northern Diver at Rutland Water and after parking in Sykes Lane car park we walked down to the beach to view the area close to the dam.  There was no sign of the diver and after walking to the monument to have a word with Phil we found out that he had seen it in flight heading for Whitwell and so we went around to the Whitwell car park.  There was a Little Egret in the bay and I picked up a Kingfisher in flight but there was no sign of the diver.  We could see Andy and Roger Brett near the monument and Roger texted me to see if we had seen the diver and when I called him back they hadn’t seen it but said the three Red-breasted Mergansers were with some Great Crested Grebes in the south corner of the dam.  We scanned the area and eventually picked up the mergansers but they were so distant if Roger hadn’t indicated where they were I doubt I would have been able to identify them.  A Red Kite also flew over, which was the third we had seen with the other two being on the southern shore from the dam.

We decided to go to the North Arm seeing a Buzzard over the road alongside Burley Wood before parking along the unnamed road in the North Arm.  The two Barnacle Geese were on the shore but other than a few Pochard and a couple of Little Grebe there was nothing else of note.  Whist we were scanning the water I heard a Raven call and alerted David and we then picked it up flying towards Burley Wood.

As I walked down to the spit there was a Great White Egret just of the end of the spit and I then found another seven feeding along the southern shoreline.  There were thirty-six Pintail with most along the southern shoreline and a few Pochard.  We were about to go to the Egleton Reserve when I got a ‘WhatsAp’ message from Andy indicating that the diver was in the north corner of the dam.  We saw Andy and Roger as we were leaving and found out that they had seen the diver from the south shore whilst getting a better view of the mergansers.

We decided to go back to Sykes Lane car park and after walking to the beach again David soon picked the diver up, which the provided some nice close views between frequent dives and we were able to determine that it was a juvenile.  We could see the three Red-breasted Merganser close to the dam but they had moved to about the midpoint and so we decided to go to the Lyndon Reserve for our lunch.

After lunch we went down to Teal Hide and on viewing the feeders found a Tree Sparrow and a Coal Tit amongst the more numerous Blue and Great Tits.  From the hide there were eighteen Dunlin, four Black-tailed Godwits and two Redshank feeding along the shore close to Goldeneye Hide at the base of Lax Hill.  There was also a single Great White Egret and I counted thirty-six Pintail amongst the more numerous Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal and Mallard.  I then found two Great White Egrets towards Brown’s Island that then came and joined the one on the Lax Hill shore and then two more on the Heron Bay bund and presumably we had probably seen thirteen on site today.  Nigel joined us in the hide and after a brief chat David and I left and headed towards Wader Scrape Hide.

David thought he heard a Treecreeper just as we entered the meadows and on stopping and looking for a few minutes we found the Treecreeper along with six Long-tailed Tits and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers.  A look from Deep Water Hide produced our first Goosander of the day but we couldn’t find a Scaup amongst the large flock of Tufted Duck, but a Green Sandpiper flew by.

As we approached the turning for Wader Scape Hide a Green Woodpecker was observed and on reaching the hide David found a Curlew in Manton Bay and we eventually had four.  There were just four Pintail in the bay and whilst scanning the shore I found two Snipe and then David said he had a fifth curlew-type bird, which he though was a Whimbrel.  A quick look through the scope and it looked as though it was being slightly darker and smaller and then it turned to reveal it crown stripe confirming its identity.

It had well worth our time visiting the Lyndon Reserve and we thought we would still have sufficient time to go the Egleton Reserve.  On reaching the reserve David went into the centre to check the book and I checked the feeders where I found a Marsh Tit.  There wasn’t a great deal in the book for today and so we headed off for Lapwing Hide.  As we walked towards the hide we met another birder who said that there were two Water Rails showing from Crake Hide and that the American Wigeon was still off Lapwing Hide.

A quick check in Crake Hide produced nothing and on continuing to Lapwing Hide we found a lot of birds and it took several scans before I found the American Wigeon and then David picked up five Red-crested Pochard in flight and two male Goosander behind the large raft of duck.  I had a look on Lagoon Two and found a rather nice Sparrowhawk perched in one of the willows near Smew Hide.  It was also apparent that Goldeneye numbers were increasing whilst we were in the hide and we had over thirty by the time we started to head back.  We went into Crake Hide again and found two Water Rails on the far side but visits into both Shoveler and Sandpiper Hides produced just a single Pintail on Lagoon Three.

A brief stop at the gate overlooking Lagoon One produced two Shelduck but there was no sign of the hoped-for Barn Owl.

It had turned out to be an excellent day’s birding, despite our poor start and between us we recorded eighty-nine species of which I had seen or heard eighty-six.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 14, 2017

I left home in rather dull conditions and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir where a Ferruginous Duck present since Friday had been seen again yesterday.  It was still overcast when I arrived at Eyebrook Reservoir and I parked near the gate to the fishing lodge. I called Malcom to see if he was on site and found he was looking for the duck from the island coral with another birder, but he hadn’t seen.  I climbed over the gate to view the back of the island and found a party of Pochard feeding but on scanning through them found there was just Pochard.  There was a single Pintail on the far side of the island and three Goldeneye between myself and the island.  There was a Fieldfare, Redwing and male Bullfinch in the trees surrounding the old feeding station but with little else I drove to the island coral.

I joined Malcolm and the other birder in the coral with an intention of not staying very long.  They still hadn’t seen the Ferruginous Duck but as we stood talking a party of Pochard swam from behind the island.  I scanned them with the bins and thought the last, but one bird to appear was the Ferruginous Duck.  I said to Malcolm get your scope of the bird second from the left and he and the other birder confirmed that it was the Ferruginous Duck.  I went back to my car for my scope but when I got back I found it quite difficult to find it as it was constantly diving.  It wasn’t as bright as what I had expected but it had a classic head shape and a white eye indicating it was a male.  The white under-tail coverts were only seen clearly as it dived, although they did show at other times occasionally.  The group birds then took to flight when the striking wing-bar was very obvious and it looked more chestnut on the flanks than it did when on the water.  The flock flew towards the dam when the slightly smaller Ferruginous started to fall behind the Pochard by some distance but the Pochard turned and went back towards the Ferruginous when it re-joined the flock and flew behind the trees on the island. I then saw some of the Pochard comedown to the north of the island when Malcolm still had the Ferruginous in flight and saw it come down on the far side of the reservoir.

Pleased with finding the Ferruginous Duck we moved to the northern coral to few the inlet where there had been a Curlew Sandpiper yesterday.  We couldn’t find the Curlew Sandpiper but there were circa 250 Golden Plover, thirty-nine Dunlin and two Ruff.  Malcolm then found a Bar-tailed Godwit whilst scanning through the gulls and there were three Shelduck to the south.  All the birds around the inlet suddenly took to flight and we picked up a Peregrine flying to the east and watched it alight in a tree on the Rutland side.  A brief stop on the Rutland side produced two Red Kites over the field to the east but with nothing else of note we moved onto Rutland Water.

We drove to the Egleton Reserve car park and we then went in my car to Sykes Lane car park as three Red-breasted Mergansers and a Great Northern Diver had been reported yesterday and I also needed to renew my annual car park permit.  We parked near the sculpture and was walking to the shore when a tweet arrived from Steve indicating that the Great Northern Diver was in the north corner of the dam.  Malcolm picked it almost immediately but it dived and so we walked towards the dam to get a better view but couldn’t find it.  I scanned further to the right and found it quite close to the dam but it dived again and so we went onto the dam where we thought we would get a better view.  As we walked across the dam I had got ahead of Malcolm and when he caught me up he said he had seen the three Red-breasted Mergansers in flight and that they had dropped onto the water.  We soon found the three birds on the water but there was no sign of the Great Northern Diver.  Steve, Terry and Terry Mitcham then joined us and after pointing out the mergansers we returned to the car and I went and renewed my annual car park permit.

I eventually decided to go back to the Old Hall for another look for the Red-necked Grebe but despite an extensive search it still eluded me and I went into the North Arm.

After a word with Tim I parked at the end of the unnamed road and found two Barnacle Geese feeding on the north shore before going through the gate to view the North Arm.  I hadn’t been there long when Lloyd joined me and he then found a juvenile Scaup and a female Goosander.  There were thirteen Dunlin on the north shore along with a single Yellow-legged Gull and I counted seventy-two Pintail scattered around the arm, with most being in the southern bay.  I had seen a single Great White Egret on the north shore, but Lloyd then noticed two on the south shore and when he scanned further along the shoreline found another six, making eight in total, as the bird on the northern shore had disappeared.  Had I seen sixteen today or possibly just eight, I suspect it was somewhere in between.

A quick look on Tim’s feeders produced a Coal Tit and then I saw a Jay as I headed off to the Egleton car park.  Terry was about to leave as I pulled into the car park but stopped for a chat when I picked up a Chiffchaff in a bush in the entrance, which then flew as Terry turned to see it.

I walked to the northern lagoons and after a chat with Brian and Roger went into Osprey Hide hoping that the Smew might have returned after being flushed earlier but there was no sign and I went to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.  Other than three Pintail there wasn't a great deal on the lagoon and as the light faded I made my way back to the car park and found Steve overlooking Lagoon One from one of the gates.  We stood talking for a while and heard a couple of Snipe and had two Pipistrelle Bats flying around on what we thought was a late date.

It had been a good days birding with eighty-one species recorded, with two, Ferruginous Duck and Red-breasted Merganser, being County year-ticks and the first Great Northern Diver of the winter.

A day in West Norfolk - November 11, 2017

Ken, Malcom and I had agreed to have a day’s birding in west Norfolk and when Malcolm and I set off from home around 06:30 there was some light rain, but we expected it to be dry by the time we reached Norfolk.  It was still damp when we picked Ken at Uppingham and there was some mist and drizzle as we continued east, which began to clear slowly.

We had a Kestrel just after passing through Flitcham and then a single Pink-footed Goose was observed between Great Bircham and Docking.  We approached the coast via Choseley Barns and whilst checking the fields for Grey Partridge, which we didn’t find, found a flock of Golden Plover.  There must have been close to a 1000 bird in the flock and with a Dotterel being reported with Golden Plover recently we stopped and scoped the flock.  We had scanned through the flock once without success but as I started to go through them again they took to flight and disappeared.  We continued checking the fields before reaching the A149 and found twenty-six Red-legged Partridge in the last field with fourteen Curlew in the field just to the south.

Having no joy with the Grey Partridge we headed for Thornham where there had been a small flock of Twite.  After parking at the far end of the beach road we got out and had a male and female Marsh Harriers over the saltmarsh.  There were plenty of Brent Geese and Shelduck on the foreshore between here and Titchwell and a large concertation of gulls on the beach were mainly Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.

We walked across the small footbridge to reach the footpath to Holme, seeing a Grey Plover, a Bar-tailed Godwit and several Curlew and Redshank in the creek.  Malcolm then pointed out a Stonechat that was perched on a post just on the far side of the path.  I then noticed a small party of birds in flight and altered the others that I had the Twite.  They flew towards us and landed in sueda on the edge of the creek, so we walked along the path to get a little closer.  There were at least a dozen birds but we could only see three or four most of the time, but I did get a few shots of them as they continued feeding.  They eventually flew and landed on the far side of the creek and we able to see that there were fifteen birds before they flew again and disappeared.  With the target bird in the bag we moved back to Titchwell, where the plan was to spend the rest of the day.

Twite

Twite

It only took a few minutes to get to Titchwell and after parking we went through the centre to reach the west bank.  The feeders were all empty so we continued onto the west bank to walk to the beach seeing a Stonechat before we reached Thornham Pool.

We stopped to scan the now empty pool hoping to find a Water Pipit, but all we found was a Pied Wagtail and circa seventy Linnet.  There was a distant female-type Marsh Harrier perched in a bush in the reedbed and when we reached the freshwater marsh there was far more water than on recent visits.  There were three Avocets roosting alongside both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit and I counted 115 Bar-tailed, which were mainly concentrated to the left of the flock.  As I went through the flock I found several Dunlin, a single Ruff and seven Turnstone and there were two Knot towards the far side of the lagoon and a few Golden Plover on another exposed island.  There was plenty of wildfowl scattered around the marsh, that included Brent Geese, Wigeon; Gadwall; Teal; Mallard; Shoveler and a single Pintail.  As we walked further along the path Malcolm found a distant Chinese Water Deer on Thornham Marsh where there were also five Little Egrets.

On reaching Volunteer Marsh it was clear that the tide was coming in as the lagoon was almost covered in water with just a few Shelduck, three Curlew and several Redshank still feeding.

I didn’t spend any time looking on the Tidal Marsh as I wanted to get to the beach before high tide.  On reaching the beach the water was already lapping around the old building remains and there were three Sanderling feeding at the edge of the water and we eventually had at least ten.  Further east along the beach there were a few Oystercatchers and four Bar-tailed Godwits but nothing else.

Other birders had seen a range of birds on the sea and we had soon picked up some Common Scoter that were quite close.  I then picked up two female Red-breasted Merganser in flight before Malcolm joined Ken and me.  He then went a stood-on top of the sand dunes to get a better view whilst Ken and I remained on the beach.  As we continued scanning we saw several Guillemots, both in flight and on the sea when Malcolm called a Velvet Scoter.  We were able to get some rough directions from him and I eventually found it and it was a striking male.  There were five Red-breasted Mergansers nearby, a male and four females and we eventually must have seen at least nine birds.  I got on a Red-throated Diver flying east and Malcolm then announced that there were two Long-tailed Ducks just off-shore.  It was a few minutes before I found them as they were always out of sight more than not due to the swell on the sea.  Malcom then thought he might have a Kittiwake, but it turned out to be just a Black-headed Gull, but I then picked up another gull that was dipping down to the water, obviously feeding.  I did consider Little Gull, but it was clearly not a first-year bird and as the underwing didn’t look particularly dark and then considered Kittiwake and on seeing what I thought were dark tips to the wings alerted the others.  Another birder then approached asking if we had seen it and suggesting it was a Little Gull.  The bird was still visible but as we started to look again it dropped onto the sea and we didn’t see it again.  Ken had also considered Little Gull as he thought the underwing did look darkish but not as dark as in an adult.  I then suspected the bird was probably a second-year, which would explain the dark tips to the wings and I also thought I had seen some black smudges around the head on one occasion.  Shortly afterwards I picked up three Kittiwakes heading west when the in dark black tips to the wings being obvious.  Other birds seen were four Goldeneye, three Gannets and several Cormorants and Great Crested Grebes.

Meadow Pipit on the beach

With the time now after mid-day we decided to return to the car park for lunch, but it took a while as we stopped initially to check out the waders roosting on the Tidal Marsh, where we found nine Grey Plover, six Dunlin, ten Bar-tailed Godwits and four Turnstones and there was another drake Pintail as well.  We stopped again just before going over the hump to Volunteer Marsh as Malcolm had found a Spotted Redshank on the way to the beach and we found two roosting along with a Ringed Plover and Ken then found a second Ringed Plover

The water level was beginning to drop on Volunteer Marsh and we found two Dunlin quite close to the path and a single Grey Plover our in the middle of the marsh.

First-winter Dunlin

First-winter Dunlin

First-winter Dunlin

When we arrived back at the Freshwater Marsh there were clearly more birds and obviously a big party of Golden Plover, which may well have been those we had seen earlier at Choseley.  As we looked through these with still no sign of the Dotterel I counted forty-one Ruff, which had also returned.  We eventually got back to the car, seeing two Siskin near the centre, and six Fieldfare and a Redwing flew over as we were having lunch.

I suggested that we went to have a look on Patsy’s Pool but on reaching the pool there didn’t appear to be a great deal, but we then found a couple of Snipe to the right of the screen.  As Ken looked at one of the birds he indicated that there was a pipit close to it.  I glanced through the bins and thought that look interesting and whilst setting the tripod and scope up, Malcolm and Ken announced it was a Water Pipit.  It then disappeared but soon came back into view and we all had decent views before it disappeared again behind the vegetation with Ken picking up shortly afterwards flying off to the east.

We made our way back to the West Bank and went out to Parrinder Hide to view the Freshwater Marsh.  The Bar-tailed Godwits had left, which made it easy to count the Black-tailed Godwits of which there were eighty.  As we stood looking over the marsh twenty-four Knot flew in and landed just to our right but with nothing else new being seen we made our way back along the path hoping to see a Hen Harrier come into roost.

It wasn’t too long before the number of Marsh Harriers began to build and at one point we had eleven in the air together but sadly no Hen Harrier.  I did pick up a Barn Owl on the far side of the marsh and a Yellow-legged Gull on the Freshwater Marsh and Malcolm picked up a Kingfisher as it flew by before we finally called it a day and headed back to the car.

When we left Titchwell it was getting quite dark and just after passing through Docking we flushed a Tawny Owl off the road, which was a good end to the day.  I had recorded ninety-one species that included a year-tick, the Water Pipit.

A day in Lincolnshire & Rutland - November 9, 2017

Malcolm and I had decided to go to Frampton Marsh this morning and we met in the Rutland Water car park at Egleton.  There had been some confusion as I arrived at 07:30 and Malcolm had been then since 07:00, expecting me to be there as well.  I transferred my gear into his car and we set off towards Stamford and then onto Frampton.  We didn’t see anything of note on route and arrived at around 09:00 and parked at car park near the sea wall.

It was overcast with a light south-west breeze but didn’t feel particularly cold and we started to scan the marsh from the car park.  There was a single Ruff and several Redshank to the south and party of circa forty Pink-footed Geese circled and dropped in for a while before we saw them heading off south shortly afterwards.  It isn’t easy to get a decent view to the east due to a belt of phragmites alongside the path so we walked towards the sea wall to stand on a raised area.  There were more Redshank and good numbers of Dunlin and Curlew on the marsh and a few Little Egrets scattered around with a single Black-tailed Godwit flying over.  There had been reports of over 4000 Wigeon on site but we could see very few wildfowl that did include a few Wigeon but also Teal, Mallard and Shoveler.  Malcolm then picked up a female Merlin perched on a gate to the west, but it then flew and was lost from view.

Our intention was to walk east along the sea wall, but the number of Dunlin built up considerably whilst we were observing the marsh and we could see more waders dropping in front of the 360 Hide and so decided to go there instead.  As we walked back along the road circa two hundred Golden Plover flew over and we found the Merlin back on its perch.

There was a Kestrel as we turned onto the path leading to the hides that allowed us to get quite close and I was able to get a few nice shots both as it perched and in flight.

Male Kestrel on the sculpture near 360 Hide

Male Kestrel

Male Kestrel

Male Kestrel

Male Kestrel

There were plenty of waders on view from the 360 Hide, mainly Dunlin with at least 200 being present.  There was also a Grey Plover, four Black-tailed Godwits, a Curlew and several Redshank.  As we continued to scan two Avocets appeared and Malcolm eventually found a Little Stint and then a Peregrine that was sitting on the ground.

We eventually left the hide and walked around to the south-east corner seeing a single Ringed Plover as we did so.  There were more waders in the south-east corner and we found two more Grey Plover, more Dunlin and a few Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks.  We were hoping to find a couple of Spotted Redshank that had been seen earlier but there was no sign.  Some waders were starting to go out to the Wash as presumably the tide had started to turn and then six Whooper Swans few over, two adults and four juveniles.

Adult Whooper Swan

Adult Whooper Swan

As we walked further west along the bank numerous Wigeon were coming in off the Wash along with small numbers of Brent Goose and it wasn’t long before the Reedbed Marsh was covered in Wigeon and there were plenty more scattered around the reserve.

We continued scanning the marsh and found three Pintail but despite hearing a Spotted Redshank we were unable to find any but I did pick-up the adult Peregrine bathing in one of the small pools and we wondered if it had flushed the Spotted Redshank, which is when I heard one call.

Pete Jessop arrived whilst we were on the bank and after a chat we started to walk back to the car and saw Dave who was a regular Rutland Water visitor not too long ago but now spends most of his time at Frampton.  After a bite to eat we set off for Exton where we were hoping to catch up with a Hawfinch.

We didn’t see anything of note on route to Exton, which took us and hour and twenty minutes due to a long delay at the Tallington railway crossing.  The barriers lifted three times before we eventually got through and five trains, three south and two northern went through.  I haven’t known the barrier go up and down quite so quickly before and although we have waited in the past we do usually get through once the barriers are raised.

After parking in Exton village we walked the short distance to the private cemetery where the Hawfinches were being seen.  There were four large trees on the south side of the cemetery and plenty of yews in the grounds.  We viewed the area from the path and could see that there were plenty of birds in the large trees, mainly Fieldfare and Redwing but also a few Greenfinches, which were dropping down to feed on the yew berries.  We hadn’t been there very long when I found Hawfinch, but it moved before Malcolm got on it and we couldn’t find it again.  Malcolm then went back to the farm buildings to view the trees, where the light would be better, but the trees were further away.  Terry Mitcham arrived and after discussing birders entering Tunneley Wood to see Hawfinches and that the estate had now closed the gate to try and prevent further access as it is private.  I called Andy Mackay to ask him to put a message on the website regarding access and whilst doing this Terry found a Hawfinch.  I finished the call to Andy as the bird dropped from the tree into the top of one of the yews and the down a little to eat some berries.  It was a male and gave superb views as it fed against the back drop of the yew.  I called Malcolm who returned but it had disappeared before he got back.  Terry left shortly afterwards as did two other birders and just as they were driving off Malcolm found one, which then flew over our heads with a party of Greenfinch.  It was easily separated due to its size and as it passed overhead I could see the translucent white patches in the wings.

Please we had at last caught up with Hawfinch in what has been a remarkable autumn for them we returned to Rutland Water car park.  I had received a tweet regarding a red-headed Smew on Lagoon Two, so we went to try and find it.  We went into Grebe Hide but drew a blank and so went onto Osprey Hide to get a different view of the lagoon.  It looked as though we were going to suffer the same fate when I picked it up diving right against the far bund.  This is quite an early date for a Smew as they don’t usually turn up until later in the month, although my earliest record was of a red-head at Eyebrook Reservoir on November 3^rd, 1974.

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - November 7, 2017

There had been a drake Ferruginous Duck in South Arm Three at Rutland Water yesterday evening and I was hoping it would still be there today.  I left home in rather dreary conditions being overcast and rather windy with some heavy drizzle.  I saw a couple of Red Kites near Tur Langton and a Great Spotted Woodpecker as I approached Cranoe on route.  I called Erik as I approached Uppingham, who had just arrived on site and agreed to give me a call if the duck was still visible from Lapwing Hide.

The drizzle had stopped when I pulled up in the Egleton car park and before I was ready Erik called to say that the American Wigeon was present but there was no sign of the Ferruginous Duck.  He mentioned that there was a large raft of birds near Fieldfare Hide but he was going to check out Lagoon Three, whilst I said I would go to Fieldfare Hide.

I spent a few minutes checking out the feeders where I saw a couple of Marsh Tit but was surprised that Erik caught me up before I had got very far down the path to Fieldfare Hide.  He had looked on Lagoon Three but there were very few birds and no Ferruginous Duck.

As we walked around the path we had a Red Kite over the path, a few Fieldfare and Redwing and two Goldcrest and a male Sparrowhawk flew over as we reached the turn to Fieldfare Hide.  There was a Great White Egret just in front of the hide, but it flew off towards Gadwall Hide and another Sparrowhawk flew over, which was larger than the one seen a few minutes ago and we considered it to be a female.

Scanning through the flock of birds it was immediately apparent that most were Coot with a just three male and a leucitic female Red-crested Pochard and a few Pochard and Tufted Duck amongst them.  Nearer to the hide there were a few Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal and nine Pintail.  Whilst we were scanning the flock a considerable number of Tufted Duck flew in and I picked out several Pochard amongst them.  Once they had settled on the water we were able to go through the flock but there was still no sign of the Ferruginous, but Erik did find a female Scaup.  I called Steve, who was in Lapwing Hide with Terry, to inform him of the Scaup and he confirmed that there was still no sign of the Ferruginous from there but that they had found thirty-two Red-crested Pochards in front of Brown’s Island and that they were now swimming out towards the end and we should be able to see them.  We could see at least some of them amongst the Coot but the mass of birds and the choppy conditions made them difficult to count and the most I got was twenty-eight.

Erik eventually decided to go to Lyndon to view South Arm Two and I also left a few minutes later and headed towards the southern lagoons.  As I walked between Tern and Pintail Hides on Lagoon Six I could see that the water level was now quite high and I couldn’t see any birds and so continued onto the 360 Hide on Lagoon Five.  The water level on Lagoon Five was also higher than my last visit and there were quite a few birds with the highlights being three Pintail and four Little Grebes.  Ken called whilst I was in the hide and I agreed to meet him in the centre in about thirty minutes.

I went into Snipe Hide before heading back to the centre but other than a couple of Black-headed Gulls on the flash the area was devoid of birds and I was soon on my way back to the centre.

After a chat with Stephen I went up to the viewing area and Ken joined me a few minutes later.  Eight Shelduck and two Pintail were the highlights amongst the small number of wildfowl on the lagoon and there were a couple of Little Egrets on Brown’s Island and two Snipe flew over.

With still no positive news on the duck I decided I would go to Lyndon and Ken followed me round to the car park.  After checking out the feeders where there was nothing of note, although a Sparrowhawk flew over twice being harassed by a Carrion Crow, we set off for Wader Scrape Hide to view Manton Bay.  We saw a few Fieldfare and Redwing as we walked down and there were a couple of Red-legged Partridge and four Skylark over the first large field to the south.  We called in Deep Water Hide to view the rafts of ducks in South Arm Two and although there were plenty of Tufted Ducks there was still no sign of the Ferruginous Duck.  There were a couple of Goldeneye on the far shore and another seven Pintail in the arm.

We moved onto Wader Scrape Hide and found six Great White Egret and nine Little Egrets feeding in Manton Bay but there were far fewer wildfowl than on my last visit.  As we scanned the area I counted eighteen more Pintail but the only waders I saw were a few Lapwing.  There was some disturbance and as the birds were settling again I saw a Black-tailed Godwit drop to the left of the hide and alerted Ken.  Andy Howes then called to say he had seen a Hawfinch fly over the path to Teal Hide and suggested that it might be worth checking out the feeders when we returned.

As we approached the feeders there were a few birds visiting them including a couple of Tree Sparrows but there was no sign of a Hawfinch and we went back to the cars.  Ken departed and after a bite to eat I went down to Teal Hide to view the South Arm.  I found two more Pintail to the right of the hide and I picked up a party of eighteen Goldeneye in flight that landed to the left of the island but there was little else and so I went to the North Arm.

I saw yet another Sparrowhawk over the road near Gunthorpe and on stopping briefly to view Tim’s feeders I had a Coal Tit and a Nuthatch.  After parking at the end of the unnamed road I walked out onto the spit and found yet more Pintail counting seventy-three with most being in the southern bay.  There were two Little Egret on the Sothern shore and another Great White Egret beyond the fisherman’s car park and two Buzzards over Burley Wood were to be my only sightings of the day.

Having returned to the Egleton car park I walked down to the centre and met Pete Jessop returning from the northern lagoons.  He hadn’t seen a great deal and had been unable to find the American Wigeon from Lapwing Hide.  I was considering going to Eyebrook Reservoir when he mentioned there was a Peregrine perched in a tree in one of the meadows and so I went to take a look.  His directions weren’t clear but on looking in the two areas I thought he might have meant there was no sign of the Peregrine and I decided to carry on to Lapwing Hide.

There weren’t too many birds close to the hide but on scanning a small party of Wigeon I located the American Wigeon but saw nothing else of note and returned to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.

Like most of the lagoons on the reserve at present there was very little with the area directly in front of the hide totally devoid of bird, except for a few Moorhen.  I did find three Pintail and heard a Water Rail but there was very little else and so I moved onto Sandpiper Hide.

Like the other lagoons, Lagoon Four was barren, except for the normal gulls at the now small pre-roost and a few Wigeon and Lapwing there was very little else.  My fifth Sparrowhawk of the day flew over and just before I called it a day four Dunlin flew around the lagoon, but I didn’t see them come down.  The weather had closed in whilst I was in the hide and it was now raining quite heavily but fortunately I had taken an umbrella and got back to the car without getting too wet.

With the Ferruginous Duck not being seen and the inclement weather made it a rather disappointing day with just seventy species being recorded.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 4, 2017

I was out on my own today as David was in Norfolk, Roger was heading for Panama and Malcolm decided that it wasn’t worth going out because of the weather.  When I left home it was raining, which became heavier as I reached Eyebrook Reservoir.  I hadn’t seen very much on route, although a Red Kite was a surprise as I dropped down the hill towards the reservoir.

I parked at the bridge briefly but soon moved to the gateway to view the inlet; it was still raining heavily, although I could view the inlet through the bins.  There was c.250 Golden Plover and I could also make out several Dunlin and a Ruff and ten Snipe flew into the stream area.  The rain eventually stopped and I was able to scope the area and found twelve Dunlin and three Ruff.  There was a single Shelduck, a drake Pintail and twenty Shoveler amongst the more common Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal and Mallard and there was also a few Tufted Duck.

I moved onto the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water and had a single Redwing fly over as I got out of the car and on hearing Whooper Swans calling saw twenty flying low over the water heading east.  I initially viewed the feeders but there were just Blue and Great Tits and a single Dunnock.  Just before I set off for Wader Scape Hide a Sparrowhawk flew over being harassed by a Carrion Crow.  It was very quiet as I walked to the hide with very little being seen or heard.

As I entered the hide I could see what I thought might be a Great White Egret on the far side and on opening the flaps I could see that there was not just one but three Great White Egrets.  As I scanned around the area I eventually had six Great White Egrets in Manton Bay and two more in Heron Bay and there was also nine Little Egrets.  As I scanned the shoreline I found three Dunlin but couldn’t see any more waders but a Sparrowhawk then caused some disturbance and there were seven Dunlin flying amongst the Lapwings.  When the birds settled again I caught sight of a Green Sandpiper in flight and then saw it on the ground before it walked out of sight.  I then noticed a Curlew type bird and when I got the scope on it realised that it was a Whimbrel and it looks as though this bird might over winter for a second year, although there is some doubt about its origin.  I counted twenty-four Pintail in the bay and found a single drake Goldeneye in South Arm Two.

I called in Deep Water Hide on the way back to the centre and found two more Great White Egrets and a Little Egret feeding at the base of Lax Hill but when I got back to the centre there were even fewer birds on the feeders.

As I reached the main road from the Lyndon Reserve ten Redwing flew over and six Egyptian Geese flew over the road as I approached the unnamed road in the North Arm.

I had my lunch whilst scanning the fishponds and part of the North Arm and found yet another Great White Egret feeding on the north shore and there were six more Little Egrets in the fishponds.  After finishing my lunch, I walked out to the spit where I counted fifty-nine Pintail and eighty-three Pochard and there were also good numbers of Wigeon and Tufted Duck with smaller numbers of Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and Shoveler.  I then found three more Little Egrets on the bund, another on the south shore and a fifth in Dickinson’s Bay and there was yet another Great White Egret feeding along the southern shore.  This took my daily count to twelve and with fourteen being reported earlier in the week it is quite a remarkable increase.

From the North Arm I drove to the Egleton Reserve and then walked to the centre spending a few minutes observing the feeders where there was a Marsh Tit before going in to view Lagoon One.  There were six Shelduck and seven Pintail on the lagoon and a Sparrowhawk flew over, which was my third sighting of the day.  There were a few Shoveler and Cormorants roosting on the lagoon but otherwise it was quiet and moved onto the northern lagoons.

As I walked along the path it was very quiet with very few passerines in evidence and a visit into Osprey Hide failed to produce the American Wigeon or the reported Red-crested Pochards.  As I went through the gate I met Ricky and Graham but other than a Marsh Harrier, Water Rail and circa eight Golden Plover they hadn’t seen much else and after a chat I continued onto Lapwing Hide.

There was a party of Wigeon feeding in front of the hide and another birder found the American Wigeon amongst the flock.  It was quite distant but I did take a few record shots as it is now fully moulted.

American and Eurasian Wigeon

There were also three drakes and a female Red-crested Pochard towards Brown’s Island and twelve Goldeneye towards the Old Hall.

A visit into Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three to look for a drake Scaup produced very little, a single Pintail being the best and I soon moved onto Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four.

When I opened the flaps in the hide there appeared to be very little on the lagoon, certainly close to the hide.  As I scanned there were quite a few gulls in the pre-roost assembly that contained all five commoner gulls, but I couldn’t find anything unusual.  There was a mixed flock of Golden Plover and Lapwing on island one that contained at least fifty Golden Plover but other than three Little Egrets in front of the hide that was basically it.

I called in Redshank Hide on Lagoon Two on the way back to the car park and was rewarded with a single Water Rail.  With the centre now closing at 16:00 I viewed Lagoon One from one of the gates and found that there were now eight Shelduck on the lagoon.  I then picked up a Barn Owl towards Harrier Hide but it was only on view briefly before it disappeared behind a bush and didn’t reappear.  Whilst at the gate I heard my only Cetti’s Warbler of the day and four Redwing flew over.

Despite the weather it hadn’t been too bad a day with seventy-two species recorded but it was disappointing to see so few passerines both in terms of numbers and species.

A day in West Norfolk and Rutland - November 2, 2017

Roger and I were planning to go out locally today but when I called Malcolm he said he thought we might go to Norfolk as north-west winds were forecast.   I checked the forecast and found that there were north-west winds forecast, not that strong but up to fourteen miles per hour and gusting up to twenty.  After a chat with Roger we thought it might be a good option with nothing new locally being reported and agreed to meet at my place at 06:00.

We had a Red Kite approaching Peterborough and another near Harpley in Norfolk and I had a Sparrowhawk over the car along the Kings Lynne bypass and a Kestrel as we approached Guyhirn.

As we turned onto the beach road at Cley there was a male Stonechat but when we got out the car at the beach car park, we were surprised to find the wind was very light and coming from the west.  Another birder was just leaving informing us it was very quiet, but we joined another birder in the old shelter in the hope it might pick up.  We spent ninety minutes in the shelter during which time we had eighteen Brent Geese, a Wigeon, three Teal, seven Common Scoter, a female Red-breasted Merganser, five Red-throated Divers, ten Gannets, six Redshank, a Great Skua and three Guillemots.  There were a party of c.100 Brent Geese on the Eye field, along with fifteen Golden Plover and I saw a single Snipe in flight with a flock of Starling.

There was a report of fifteen Snow Bunting on Gramborough Hill at Salt House and so we decided to go and have a look.  As we parked I could see a flock of Turnstone on the beach and counted fourteen, but another birder informed us that the Snow Buntings had flown over and he hadn’t seen them despite walking beyond Gramborough Hill.

Turnstone

Turnstone

We made our way across the shingle towards Gramborough Hill and found another male Stonechat feeding from the fence as we reached the base of the hill.

Stonechat

Stonechat

All we found on the hill were a few Meadow Pipits and there was no sign of the Snow Buntings and on reaching the far side we scanned the shingle bank to the east.  Malcolm though he had seen something that might have been a couple of Snow Buntings but as we started to move towards the area a party of Snow Buntings flew over and I counted seventeen.  They went over the top of the hill and out of sight and we were unable to relocate them and on getting back to the car decided to head for Burnham Overy Staithe where we would have lunch.

Two Cattle Egrets had been reported in the cattle field just east of Stiffkey and we saw these as we drove by but hadn’t seen a great deal else by the team we parked at Burnham Overy Staithe.  Initially there appeared not to be many geese but there were at least a hundred Pink-footed Geese some distant away and a flock of at least twenty-four Barnacle Geese amongst them; a female Marsh Harrier and a single Buzzard were also observed.  When a checked a tweet on my phone I found that there was a Cory’s Shearwater in the North Arm at Rutland Water.  This seemed an incredible record, but Andy Mackay had tweeted it out and we suspected that it was probably true.  I tried calling Andy but was unable to get him and had no joy with Tim either.  I did manage to get through to Steve who said it had been found by Andy and he was about to set off to see it.  With the news confirmed I called David as I knew that it was a UK lifer for him.  I got through and he hadn’t seen the news and was about to go to Stanford Reservoir but understandingly was now heading for Rutland Water.

When we got down to the shoreline there was no sign but a group of birders on the end of the peninsular appeared to be looking at something.  I looked to see if there was anyone there I could call and saw Colin and Chris and got failed calls to both of them, which was rather frustrating as we still couldn’t see the bird.  I called Colin again and this time got through and he confirmed that the bird was the other side of the church, which explained why he couldn’t see it, but said it was heading towards them.  We rushed into the fisherman’s harbour area where we could see the church better and Roger then said I got it and I just saw it as it disappeared behind the church again.  It soon reappeared and continued to fly towards us and we then rushed back to our original position.  It flew right past just thirty meters off shore and we had a wonderful view as it headed for the yacht club.  The flight was rather slow with just a few flaps followed by periods of shearing with the tips of its wings cutting into the water as it turned.  I went to get my camera hoping it would comeback but when I returned it had gone off further into the South Arm and had been lost from view.

Cory's Shearwater (Brian Moore)

Female/immature Goosander, one of two at Normanton

David then called to say he was in Lapwing Hide and could see it on the water near the island, so we decided to go to Teal Hide.  When we got into Teal Hide it had disappeared again and was last seen heading for Manton Bay.  We then spent some time scanning the area looking for a party of Whooper Swans when Roger said the shearwaters back but to the east of the hide.  There was quite a crowd in the hide and it was surprising to see how it had gone back up the arm without being seen.  It was interesting to see how the gulls, of which there were several thousand, reacted when it was in flight as they got up from the water and wheeled around above with a few appearing to mob it.  It settled on the water several times before disappearing again in front of Brown’s Island and whilst scanning for it I found the party of Whooper Swans in front of Goldeneye Hide.  Two adults and four juveniles had been reported but there were now six adults and four juveniles and there were seven Great White Egret in Manton Bay.

With no further sign of the shearwater and the light now fading we returned to the car and were having a coffee when Lee Evans turned up saying the traffic had been awful and he shot off to the hide still hoping to see it.  A Nottinghamshire birder who we had seen on Tuesday then came back having not seen it and we felt rather sorry for him when three birders he had left in the hide returned to say that they had seen it again after he left; he took it on the chin but was clearly disappointed.

The Cory's Shearwater was obviously a new bird for the VC55 (Leicestershire & Rutland) and my forth and perhaps the least expected county lifer for the year moving my total onto 276.