Sunday 29 January 2017

A day in Northwest Leicestershire - January 28, 2017

I was raining early morning but the forecast suggested that it would clear between 09:00 to 10:00 and so I agreed to pick Roger up at around 09:00.  There had been a first-winter Iceland Gull and two first-winter Glaucous Gulls at Albert Village tip and so we decided that we should start the day there.

When we arrived in the car park at Albert Village it was still raining but it soon stopped and after getting or gear on we walked to the lake and around the western shore.  There were a few gulls on the lake mainly Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls but there were also a few Black-headed Gulls and several Lesser Black-backed Gulls.  There was also a few Mallard, Tufted Duck and Coot on the water and party of ten Goldfinch flew over.  We continued around the lake and the headed for the main road to view the tip from the road.


There were two Kestrels hunting when we reached the road and after crossing we could see that there were masses of gulls on the tip.  The gulls were tightly packed in some areas and it wasn’t easy scanning through them.  Roger did pickup one of the Glaucous Gulls in the area where the rubbish was being disturbed by the bulldozer.  The gulls then flew around but Roger then re-found the Glaucous Gull again and just afterwards another birder joined us.  He picked up a Glaucous Gull in a different area but with the first now not being on view we assumed it was the same bird.  As I was scanning an area where we had first seen a Glaucous I picked it up one in flight and then got the others onto it on the ground.  Roger checked and found the other bird was still in the same area and we had therefore seen both first-winter Glaucous Gulls.  Just after another birder joined us Roger and I decided we should go and check out the lake again and one of the two birders joined us.

As we approached the lake there didn’t appear to be any more gulls than earlier and we were joined by Dave Grey who had been observing them for the path.  The other birder then picked up two Yellow-legged Gulls and shortly afterwards I picked up a white-winged gull in flight, which turned out to be one of the Glaucous but it didn’t land and just returned to the tip.  Dave then left us and headed for the tip and shortly afterwards Roger and I started to go back down the slope to the lake.

We hadn’t gone too far when Dave called to say that the Iceland Gull was on the tip and so we went back up the hill and after informing the other birder we went back to the bridge to view the tip.

When we reached the bridge, Dave said that he couldn’t see it any more but that it was still there.  As we started to scan the birds they all took to flight and most went up quite high but some began returning.  Initially it appeared that the Iceland Gull was one that hadn’t returned when another birder said he had it.  He gave directions and when I scanned I saw it appear from the back of flock and then it stood on a small mound where it was in full view before it returned to feed amongst the other birds.  Roger, Dave and the other birder hadn’t found it and so Roger and the other birder looked through my scope and Dave used the other guys, to see it.  They all took flight again and this time there were fewer gulls returned and there was no sign of the Iceland and eventually Roger and I headed back to the car, seeing a Peregrine before we dropped down to the lake.

After some lunch, we went to Groby Pool to look for a Firecrest that has been present for a few days.  The Firecrest had been seen some distance to the north of the pool and we therefore walked from Newtown Linford to reach the site, which was only a few minutes away.

I hadn’t been in this area before and was surprised to find some rather nice habitat.  Roger had already been to look for the Firecrest on a couple of occasions and hadn’t seen despite spending two hours on site on both occasions.  It was surprising how few birds there appeared to be in the area and when another local birder joined us we had seen very little.  Roger walked up the hill and few minutes later I left the other birder to view and area of scrub.  It wasn’t long before the other birder summoned us back indicating that he had seen the Firecrest fly over the footpath and disappear into the scrub.  We spent quite some time viewing the area from various positions and I heard a crest call several times but when I caught site of a bird it turned out to be a Goldcrest.  When some rather ominous looking black clouds appeared, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the car and just got back before the real heavy rain arrived.  During our stay the only birds of note were a couple of Buzzards, with very little else observed.

Wednesday 25 January 2017

A day in Lincolnshire - January 24, 2017

Malcolm and I had agreed to go to Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire today to hopefully see a juvenile White-billed Diver. It was on the River Witham commuting between Kirkstead Bridge and Stixwould Station and so it was important to try and get a fix before starting out to look for it.

We approached Kirkstead Bridge via Witham Bank, which is a minor road running alongside the river seeing a Great White Egret on the eastern shore.  When we arrived at the bridge we were aware that the diver was about 800 meters north of the bridge and after parking we walked along the old railway line footpath before getting on the bank of the river to look for the bird.  Another birder making their way back informed us that it was moving north slowly north indicating it was still a good ten minutes’ walk ahead of us.


Two other birders were in front of us and one stopped and alerted the other and when we caught them up we could see the diver quite close to the shore but still 200m away.  As it approached closer it didn’t appear to be too concerned and I was able to get some nice shots of it from the top of the bank.


White-billed Diver


White-billed Diver


White-billed Diver


White-billed Diver


White-billed Diver


White-billed Diver


White-billed Diver

It allowed us to get quite close without becoming alarmed but when another photographer walked along the bank right next to the water it started diving and gradually moved to the other side of the river and thereafter gradually continued to move north.  We followed it for a while with the now reasonable flock of birders but eventually made our way back to the car.  This is not the UK rarity that it once was as there are now many coastal sightings particularly at several hotspots in Scotland but what made it remarkable was that it was inland and on the same river as one seen nineteen years ago.

A Sparrowhawk was observed as we walked north along the bank and I did see a single Fieldfare whilst we were watching the diver but otherwise we saw very little else.

Out next target was a drake Ring-necked Duck, which has been present for some time on one of the pits at Kirkby on Bain Gravel Pits, which was only a short drive away.

When we arrived, there was only one other birder present and he hadn’t seen the Ring-necked Duck and Malcolm commented that there was a larger surface of the water frozen over today.  Eventually quite a crowd developed but all that was being seen amongst the Tufted Duck were several Pochard and a single female Scaup.  We also had a look on the nearby tip where Malcolm had seen a Glaucous Gull on Sunday but there was no sign of that either and after about ninety minutes on site we headed for Frampton.

When we arrived at Frampton there was a message on the phone that both the Ring-necked Duck and Glaucous Gull had been seen about twenty minutes after we departed but we found out later that they were on a different pit.

After some lunch, we went into the centre and viewed Reedbed Marsh where we found a single female-type Scaup and looking back over the grazing meadow found a Ringed Plover and several Dunlin.

Our target birds here were Hen Harrier and Merlin and with the sun shining brightly to the west we felt our best chance was to go to the sea wall and look from there.  When we reached the wall the salt marsh was quiet and we stood looking back over the reserve where there were plenty of birds.  Mainly Wigeon but also plenty of Shelduck and smaller numbers of Dunlin and Curlew and we also found four more Ringed Plovers and two Black-tailed Godwits.

As we walked along the bank towards the raptor watchpoint Malcolm picked up a couple of Short-eared Owls but I failed to see them.  There were also three Spotted Redshanks feeding on one the flood pools and c.2000 Golden Plover were also present.

When we reached the view point, the salt marsh was still quiet but I did manage to connect with the two Short-eared Owls but they were rather distant and into the sun.  There was a forth Spotted Redshank on the grazing meadows and we had three Little Egrets.  Malcolm then picked up a bird of prey flying low from the east, which turned out to be a ring-tailed Hen Harrier but it wasn’t hunting and kept flying east at some speed before dropping some distance away.  I then picked up a female Marsh Harrier and shortly afterwards a male appeared and a party of circa thirty Twite were seen in flight on several occasions.  One of the Short-eared Owls was seen again but again some distance to the west and we eventually started walking back to the car.  When we were a good way back along the sea wall Malcolm picked up another ring-tailed Hen Harrier, which went by at a more leisurely pace as it quartered the marsh before settling on a post.


Sunset at Frampton Marsh

On reaching the car we had a coffee, seeing five Black-tailed Godwits flying over, before we set off for home and then seeing a Barn Owl briefly as we drove along the road towards the village.

Monday 23 January 2017

A day at Rutland Water Rutland - January 21, 2017

I went straight to the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water today seeing Buzzards at Wistow, Tur Langton and Stockerston and a Sparrowhawk near the Uppingham Road, Stockerston Lane crossroads.

It was dull and quite cold when I arrived in the Egleton car park at Rutland Water and after getting the gear sorted I set off for Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three hoping that the Bittern might perform.  I checked the feeding station at the centre where there were Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits along with House Sparrow and Chaffinch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker also paid a brief visit.  There was a Moorhen, Pheasant, Blackbird and Dunnock feeding under the feeders along with several rats.


I moved through the meadows and just after passing the badger hide had three more Great Spotted Woodpeckers and whilst checked the final small meadow before the large meadow met up with Lloyd.  As we approached the path to Redshank Hide there was a party of birds feeding in the Alders, which included three Siskin and several Goldfinches and Long-tailed Tits.

I went down to Redshank Hide with Lloyd, which is officially closed as a new ramp is being constructed.  There was a Little Egret and Great White Egret in front of the hide before they were both flushed by a Grey Heron.  I then noticed a party of swans in flight, which turned out to be Whooper Swans, that came down to the right of Lapwing Hide.

From Redshank Hide I made way towards Lapwing Hide hoping to get some shots of the Whooper Swans.  I had spoke to Roger earlier and had agreed to meet in Shoveler Hide and so called him to make him aware of the change in plan.  I didn’t see a great deal else before I reached Lapwing Hide where there was another birder in the hide but the Whooper Swans weren’t immediately obvious.  The other birder said that they had probably drifted towards Brown’s island and so I went to the far end of the hide and found them some distance away.  I fired off a couple of shots and after scanning the birds near the hide realised that Whooper Swans were now in flight and heading towards the hide.  They continued west but didn’t gain much height and appeared to come down on Lagoon Four.


Six adult and a juvenile Whooper Swans in South Arm Three


Five adult and the juvenile Whooper Swans over South Arm Three


Five adult and the juvenile Whooper Swans over South Arm Three


Five adult and the juvenile Whooper Swans over South Arm Three

There were a couple of red-headed Smew on Lagoon Two, one of which was quite close to the hide allowing me to get a couple of photos.  I also counted twenty-one Pintail, which appear to have taken a liking to this lagoon recently.


Red-headed Smew


Red-headed Smew

Roger arrived shortly afterwards having seen the swans flying over and saying he had met Terry Mitcham who had seen the Ruddy Duck from the hide.  The other birder had seen it earlier and re-found it but it was some time before Roger and I got on it as once it started diving amongst the Coot it was under the water more than on the surface.  Roger picked up a drake Smew whilst were searching for the Ruddy and there were three males and four female Goosanders.  Other birds amongst the Coot were Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe and there were three Little Egrets on the bund.  The hide was quite packed now and we had been able to get a group of Nottingham birders onto the Ruddy, which was causing some excitement.

Roger and I eventually made our way to Shoveler Hide where there was a good number of wildfowl on the water.  We counted thirteen Pintail and fourteen male and six female Red-crested Pochards and Roger found three red-headed Smew close to the reedbed and two Shelduck were feeding closer to the hide.  There was also a couple of Little Egrets but surprisingly no Great White Egrets, which have been seen regularly on this lagoon recently.

We then went Bittern Hide to see what clearance had been done and found that the reeds had been cleared to give a better view of Lagoon Three but we didn’t stay too long as we were only seeing what we had see from Shoveler Hide, although two Jack Snipe were reported later.

As we walked back along the track the Whooper Swans called and then flew almost over us heading east but then circled and went back over Lagoon Four.  We went up the ramp to Sandpiper Hide to see if they had comeback down on Lagoon Four but there was no sign, although there were plenty of Mute Swans but the only bird of note was a single Shelduck.

We had heard that there was a Green Sandpiper showing from Osprey Hide on Lagoon Two and so walked the short distance to Osprey Hide as Roger hadn’t seen a Green Sandpiper this year.  The Nottinghamshire birders were in the hide when we arrived and indicated that the sandpiper had walked behind one of the island and was now out of sight.  We spent some time observing the island but there was no sign of the sandpiper and so we moved onto Grebe Hide to get a different view.  We could see the island but there was still no sign of the Green Sandpiper but I did get some nice shots of a pair of Stonechats that were feeding close to the hide.


Female Stonechat


Male Stonchat


Female Stonechat


Female Stonechat

A Buzzard then flew lower over the lagoon before turning sharply and heading off towards Lagoon One and with nothing else we did the same.

There was a Little Egret and Great White Egret on Lagoon One and another pair of Stonechats were observed briefly in front of the hide and I counted sixty-one Pintail.

We eventually went to the car park for lunch, after which I went to the North Arm whilst Roger went back to Lagoon Two hoping to find the Green Sandpiper.

There were three male and two female Goosanders in the fishponds and it didn’t take too long to find the two Slavonian Grebes, although the Black-necked Grebes proved more difficult, although I did eventfully find two.  There were nine Dunlin and a Redshank feeding on the north shore but with little else and the cold getting to me I returned to the Egleton Reserve.

I called Roger and agreed to meet him in the centre but just as I reached the centre he called to say Mike had seen and photographed a Brambling just beyond the badger hide and so I set off saying I would see him there.

I had been in the area a while before Roger arrived and after some thirty minutes or more with still no sign of the Brambling we returned to the centre.

There were more Goosander than earlier with seven males and seven females being present and presumably these included some of the birds I had seen earlier as they tend to gather on Lagoon One late in the day.  There were two Shelduck on the long island and a Sparrowhawk passing over and landing briefly caused panic amongst the Lapwings and gulls.  A short while afterwards with nothing new we called it a day and headed home.

Friday 20 January 2017

A day in West Norfolk - January 19, 2017

David, Malcolm, Roger and I left Newton Harcourt at 06:30 and headed for a day’s biding in West Norfolk.  It was murky and misty when we left and it remained misty with drizzle more on than off all day making birding difficult.

On route we had a Kestrel as we approached Guyhirn and three Fieldfares flew over the road on the Wisbech bypass but there had been little else when we made our first brief stop at Wolferton, hoping that we might connect with the Golden Pheasant.  We didn’t spend too long at the sight as we weren’t too optimistic in seeing it and soon moved onto Hunstanton.


As we drove along Cliff Parade at Hunstanton we had a Turnstone and an Oystercatcher, both of which were year-ticks.  We the stopped at the northern end of Cliff Parade and went to the cliff edge to look for Fulmar.  We soon found one and eventually had twenty-seven sitting on the sea but the only other birds visible on the sea were three Great Crested Grebes but circa sixty Oystercatcher and a Curlew flew by.

As we moved onto our next site, Thornham, we had a party of c.100 Pink-footed Geese at the side of the road at Holm Next the Sea, which was the fourth year-tick of the day.

As we approached the coal shed alongside Station lane at Thornham we noticed several birds on the roof, which then flew but two returned and we were able to confirm they were Rock Pipits.  Whilst we were watching these Malcolm noticed a party of passerines in flight near the end of the road, which we assumed would be the Twite we were hoping for.  A car then left the parking area flushing the birds and they flew towards us and settled in the vegetation just opposite us giving some nice views.

We moved onto the parking area and as we started walking along the path leading to the Holme Reserves a Kingfisher flashed by and there were three Bar-tailed-Godwits feeding in the channel along with several Curlews and Redshanks.  There were also a party of distant Brent Geese but we were surprised not to find any Grey Plovers.  David and I were walking ahead of Malcolm and Roger, who saw a Buzzard and Water Rail but David and I had seen very little as we reached the point on the boardwalk where we could observe Broadwater, which is part of the NOA Holme Bird Observatory.  Our target here was a male Ferruginous Duck, present for some time now but the visibility was pretty poor and we could only find a single Pochard amongst  small party of Tufted Duck.  There were also a few Gadwall and three Little Grebes on the water but with no luck with the Ferruginous Duck we moved onto view the sea.

There had been some good birds reported on the sea yesterday but today we had trouble locating birds with a just a single Great Black-backed Gull standing out.  The mist and drizzle wasn't making viewing easy but we did eventually find a party of Red-breasted Merganser in the mist.

With the sea failing to produce any of yesterday’s goodies we went back to have another look for the Ferruginous Duck.  As David, Roger and I were observing the party of Tufted Ducks, Malcolm summoned us from further down the path.  When we joined him he had seen something with two distant Pochards but we agreed that it wasn’t the target bird.  I was pretty sure that it would still be present but we were beginning to lose hope, I scanned the far shore and picked it up preening amongst a group of Gadwall.  The views weren’t brilliant due to the persistent fog and drizzle but at least it was on the year-list.  David also heard Bearded Tits calling but the rest of us didn’t hear any and they then went quiet and we didn’t find them.

We didn’t see very much walking back but there was a drake Red-breasted Merganser in the creek that gave some nice views.  We also had further views of the Twite and there was a Little Egret on the salt marsh.

As we moved onto Titchwell the weather was still pretty poor and we suspected that the mist was unlikely to clear.  After parking we went into the visitor’s centre to establish what had been seen and stooped outside to view the feeders where a Brambling was being observed.  However after a few minutes without success, although we did see a Chiffchaff, we set off down the west bank.  There were two Water Rails feeding alongside the path as we reached the west bank path but a check on Thornham Pool for Water Pipit proved fruitless.

The Fresh Marsh was pretty much flooded with few areas of exposed mud and consequently there were few obvious waders and so we continued onto the sea.  I didn’t spend much time viewing the Volunteer or Tidal Marsh and arrived on the beach just after David, who had just seen several Long-tailed Ducks fly off.  As I started to scan the sea there was a large party of scoter that were just visible in the mist but too distant to pick out any Velvet Scoters.  A Guillemot was then observed quite close but just after Roger saw it, it disappeared.  Two divers were then found and initially I thought that they were both Red-throated Divers but another birder was rather insistent that one was a Black-throated Diver.  They both came a little closer and on closer inspection one did appear to be slightly larger both in size and bulk and there was no visible white above the eye suggesting that it might well be a Black-throated Diver.  Malcolm then picked up a third bird, which was further out and on closer inspection it was obviously a Black-throated Diver.  I went back to have further views of the other two birds but couldn’t find either of them but whilst looking, a drake Long-tailed Duck flew into view but continued heading east.  There were two Sanderling on the beach and a Grey Plover and two Knot flew by.  Another large flock of scoter then flew in from the east and landed on the sea but there was no obvious Velvet Scoter amongst them and we therefore walked further west to try and get closer to the first flock.  As we were scanning the flock Roger saw a Velvet Scoter raise it wings and we all then managed to see the bird.  Once aware of its location it was clearly visible as it was larger than the nearby Common Scoters and we could even see the white on the closed wing.

We eventually called it a day on the beach and started to walk back along the west bank.  There were few waders on the beach, mainly Oystercatcher with a few Turnstones in addition to those mentioned and there didn’t appear to be too many on the marshes either.  The others had seen Avocet on the Tidal Marsh as they walked out and there were thirteen there as we walked back.  There were also two Black-tailed Godwits, which were the only ones I saw, and several Bar-tailed Godwits.  Malcolm and I also looked to see if there was a Spotted Redshank as he had seen one earlier on the Volunteer Marsh but there was no sign.  David and Roger had already reached the Volunteer Marsh and when we caught them up he had seen a Ringed Plover, which had disappeared but there was no sign of the Spotted Redshank.  We did locate the Ringed Plover and there were a few Grey Plover and Dunlin along with several more Bar-tailed Godwits and Curlews.  Another birder then informed David that there was a Spotted Redshank on the Tidal Marsh and we retraced our steps to view the marsh.

David found the bird feeding in the very area Malcolm and I had looked but shortly after we saw it, it moved to edge of the water and then flew back over the bund and out of sight.

With reports of Water Pipits being seen from Parrinder Hide we walked out to view the area where there were c.400 Golden Plover and three Pintail but there was no sign of any Water Pipit.  Malcolm and I checked Volunteer Marsh again and found another Avocet and when we caught up with David and Roger, David had heard a pipit, which he thought wasn’t a Meadow Pipit and Roger had seen two pipits that appeared to come down on the Fresh Marsh.  We soon found the two pipits bathing at the edge of a small island but they were Meadow Pipits and so we continued to make our way back for lunch.

A Firecrest had been seen by the Fen Trail but it hadn’t been seen for a while and so David and I returned to view the feeders but again there was sign of the Brambling.

After lunch we agreed to go back to have another look for the Firecrest but all we had seen after a good thirty minutes was a Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff and we called it a day at Titchwell.

Our plan was to go to North Creake to hopefully find a party of White-fronted Geese and then go onto Roydon Common to finish the day.  We saw quite a lot of Red-legged Partridges on route to North Creake but not the hoped for Grey Partridge.

As we approached Creake Abbey I could see geese in the field next to the road and there was a rather convenient turn at the end of the field with a gap in the hedge and were able to park and view the birds.  They were all White-fronted Geese and 291 had been counted earlier and I suspect that there was still a similar number present.

With time pressing we set off for Roydon Common but on arrival, although there was still plenty of light it was still quite misty and as the light begin to fade it became quite difficult to view the distant area where we have seen harriers in the past and we called it a day and headed for home, having seen just Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Blackbird and a single Stonechat in a thirty minutes stay.

Despite the weather it had been a reasonable day as I had recorded eighty species, which included twenty-two that were new for the year, taking my year-list onto 142.

When we left Roydon just before 16:30 we would have expected to be home before 18:30 but due to an accident on the A1, which also caused chaos on the A47 I eventually arrived home just before 20:00, which was a good ninety minutes later than expected.

Wednesday 18 January 2017

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - January 17, 2017

The weather forecast for today was for a dull and rather drab day with the chance of some light rain.  However when I left home it was reasonably bright with some blue sky appearing.  As I approached Slawston there was a Kestrel perched at the side of the road and between there and Blaston I saw ten Fieldfare and four Redwings.  There was another Kestrel and a couple of Red-legged Partridge as I climbed Blaston Hill but I hadn’t seen anything else of note before reaching Rutland Water.

I had made a decision to start at Lyndon this morning and before walking to Wader Scrape Hide I viewed the feeders where both Coal and Marsh Tits paid a brief visit and there was also a single Tree Sparrow.  There was a Little Egret feeding in the bay just to the left of the centre but generally there were few birds on the water.


I had seen just a single Fieldfare of note by the time I reached the hide.  The bay was fairly quiet although there were good numbers of Wigeon and Teal and smaller numbers of Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye and there were also five Pintail.  Three Little Egrets were feeding around the edges of the bay and I then found three Dunlin amongst a party of Lapwing.  As I scanned the bunds I was surprised to find them covered in Lapwings and there must have been several thousand present.

As I left the hide to walk back a party of seventy plus finches flew over but they were just silhouettes and although they were calling I didn’t recognise it.  Fortunately a few landed in the trees close to the path and I was able to identify five Goldfinch and five Siskin and presumably the rest were mainly of these two species, although it is possible there were also some Redpolls.

I called at Tufted Duck Hide on the way back but other than a brief view of two Jays there was little else and a visit to Teal Hide produced a single Redshank just in front of the hide and a second close to Goldeneye Hide on Lax Hill.


Robin close to Tufted Duck Hide

Steve and Tim had both called to say that two Whooper Swans had flown off from the North Arm but that seven more had now arrived and I therefore headed for the unnamed road hoping they would still be there.  After parking near the cottage I walked down the road and viewed the fishponds where there were a couple of Little Egrets and a Great White Egret along with six male and three female Goosanders.

The area of vegetation screening the North Arm from by the gate had been cleared and there is now a clear view and the seven Whooper Swans were resting on the end of the northern spit.  Pleased that the Whooper Swans were still there I walked through the gate and joined to other birders.  They thought they had seen a Black-necked Grebe but had now lost it but I soon found both of the Slavonian Grebes and shortly afterwards two of the Black-necked Grebes and one of the other birders then found the third Black-necked Grebe.  As I scanned over Burley Wood I picked up a Red Kite and two Buzzards but was unable to locate a Raven we heard calling.  As the other two birders were about to leave I noticed a party of Dunlin in flight, which then came down amongst the Lapwings on the northern spit.  Once on the ground they weren’t that easy to see but I did manage to count thirty-two.  I then found another Buzzard on the north shore that was feeding on a carcass.

Following the success in the North Arm I drove to Egleton where I had my lunch before going to the Bird Watching Centre to view Lagoon One.  There was another Great White Egret and a Little Egret on the southern shore and two Shelduck were on the long island and I counted seventeen Pintail.  A second Great White Egret then flew in and landed out of sight near Harrier Hide and the first bird then went and joined it.  Craig then arrived and after he picked up a male Stonechat we had some difficulty helping two other birders get on them but during that time we also located a female and a second male.

Craig had already departed for the northern lagoons when I set off but I had only seen a single Fieldfare by the time I reached Shoveler Hide.  I was surprised to find the hide empty but then started to count the Red-crested Pochard and finished with nineteen males and seven females, which is a good number and they have built up rather quickly since the start of the year.  There was also a good number of Shoveler and three Pintail on the lagoon and a Great White Egret at the back of the lagoon.  Craig and Stephen then arrived and we were joined by two female birders who were from Northampton.  Craig then found a red-headed Smew that promptly disappeared and whilst looking for this he found a Water Rail on the edge of the reeds and then a Bittern, which appeared on the edge of the reeds briefly.  A Sparrowhawk then flashed through and there was a Red Kite and two Buzzards over the woodland with a third Buzzard passing close to the hide.  Steve and Terry then entered the hide and Terry soon latched on to the red-headed Smew and a party of Snipe were then observed in flight.

I eventually set off to Lapwing Hide but called at Smew Hide on route where I found twenty Pintail feeding but a stop at Crake Hide added nothing new.


Drake Pintail from Smew Hide


Drake Pintail from Smew Hide

As usual there were plenty of birds from Lapwing Hide but mainly Coot and there was nothing unusual with a distant grebe that looked as if it might be the Red-necked turned out to be just a Great Crested Grebe sitting low in the water.  I had seen a couple of red-headed Smew on Lagoon Two from the hide but Steve who was looking over the fence found five but when I opened a flap in the hide they flew off.


Red-headed Smew from Lapwing Hide

I called briefly in Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four where there were numerous Wigeon and a single Pintail.  There were also plenty of gulls, mainly Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls but also Black-headed, Common and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

I walked back to the centre, which was closed, but I viewed Lagoon One from one of the gates hoping that some Golden Plovers seen earlier would still be present.  As I scanned through the Lapwings there was no sign of any Golden Plovers but I did eventually find ten Curlews.  Fifty Redwings and a single Fieldfare appeared in the meadow behind me before I departed, which was surprising and a good close to the day as I hadn’t seen a single Redwing at the reservoir all day.

A morning at Rutland Water, Rutland - January 15, 2017

I was back at Rutland Water today to help with the WeBS Count and had support from Jeff this morning and only had to complete South Arm Three.

We started at the Old Hall during intermittent rain, which made counting from the northern shore a little difficult and unpleasant.  There were twenty-one Dunlin and a Redshank on the exposed mud but the reservoir is now filling quite fast and any suitable habitat will soon disappear.  We counted the birds close to the northern shore and then decided to go to Lapwing Hide to continue counting.


There were still plenty of birds in front of the hide, which were mainly Coot but there was also good numbers of Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal and Tufted Duck with smaller numbers of Mallard, Pochard and Goldeneye and there was also seven Goosanders.  There were five Little Egrets around the arm and a Great White Egret flew in but disappointingly there was no sign of yesterday’s Scaup, Ruddy Duck or Red-necked Grebe.

Satisfied we had counted all we could from Lapwing Hide we went to Fieldfare Hide to get a better a few of the southern shore.  There was little to add with another Redshank being the best and with Tim calling and agreeing to count the birds between Goldeneye to Gadwall we were able to call it a day.

As we left the hide Jeff noticed three Lesser Redpolls feeding on the path but as I raised my bins they flew and I only managed to get on one of them and we couldn't relocate then afterwards.

We returned to the centre to hand in the count figures and after dropping Jeff back at his car I headed for home seeing three Buzzards and five Kestrels on route.

Monday 16 January 2017

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - January 14, 2017

David and I went out a little later today as there was a warning of icy roads first thing.  We headed straight to the unnamed road to view the North Arm north arm seeing a couple of Buzzard and two Kestrels before we reached Rutland Water.  As we were getting our gear on along the unnamed road we were joined by another birder from the West Midlands and after viewing the fishponds seeing a pair of Goosander and two Red Foxes on the far shore we walked down onto the point.

A Jay flew off the ground as we walked down and there were three Little Egrets on the bund and a Great White Egret flew in before moving into the fishponds.  Moving out onto the spit a little further David found a Slavonian Grebe and then I found a second individual and there were three Black-necked Grebes further towards Dickinson’s Bay.  There was a single Dunlin and a Redshank on the spit but surprisingly I didn’t find a single Pintail.


With no sign of the Green-winged Teal we decided to head for the fisherman’s car park but found it full and continued onto the Old Hall in the South Arm.

After passing over the cattle grid we found forty-one Dunlin and a single Redshank on the shore but we couldn’t see a great deal else and walked to view the bay on the other side of the Old Hall.  There was another Redshank and a couple of Little Grebes towards Hambleton Wood and at least eleven Redwings flew over.

We made our way back along the path and went a little further to view the area towards Lapwing Hide.  There were masses of birds between us and we felt we would probably do better from Lapwing Hide later.  As we were about to walk back to the car David thought he might have the Red-necked Grebe and after a few directions we were able to locate it just to the east of the now reducing island.  It was quite distant but after seeing it on a couple of occasions between dives we were all happy that it was the Red-necked Grebe.

On reaching the Egleton car park we had a quick look at Lagoon One from the centre where there were six Goosander and a few Pintail on the water and a single Curlew on the long island and we also heard a Water Rail.

As it was a little early for lunch so David and I had decided to go to Snipe Hide on the Wet Meadow but having seen that there was a Green Sandpiper being seen from Fieldfare Hide we went there first.  When we reached the hide there was a single Redshank on the shore but there was no sign of a Green Sandpiper.  A Kestrel was then observed and shortly afterwards a Peregrine flew over and headed off to the east.

David was a little disappointed that we hadn’t seen the Green Sandpiper as we made our way back to the Snipe Hide.  There were five Curlews on the Wet Meadow and I picked up a Stonechat and I counted sixty-seven Pintail on Lagoon One and there was also a Great White Egret on Lagoon One.  We saw another Kestrel as we made our way back to the car park for lunch and there were several Blackbird and Redwings and a single Song Thrush in the first meadow.


Blackbird


Redwing


Redwing


Song Thrush

We didn’t see a great deal whilst we were having lunch but another male Blackbird came quite close and didn't seem to be concerned about David and I and it even came closer after David and provided it with his apple core.  Erik then joined us and we set off for Lapwing Hide where he had seen the female Ruddy Duck from there yesterday.


Blackbird

We hadn’t gone too far when another birder informed us that he had seen a Bittern on three occasions from Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three and so we called there before going on to Lapwing Hide.  There were plenty of birds on the lagoon with ten male and six female Red-crested Pochards and three red-head Smew being the highlights and there was also three Shelduck, seven Pintail, five Little Egrets, three Great White Egrets and a Snipe and Erik picked up a Kingfisher in flight before it landed in a bush on the edge of the lagoon.  However with no further sightings of the Bittern we moved onto Lapwing Hide.

As has been the case recently there were masses of birds from Lapwing Hide, mainly Coot but also god numbers of Wigeon, Gadwall and Tufted Duck.  As we and other birders scanned through the duck a male Scaup, a pair of Smew and three male and three male Goosanders were found and there was another pair of Smew on Lagoon Two.


Drake Smew on Lagoon Two

We were about to go back to Shoveler Hide when another birder said I think I’ve got the Ruddy Duck.  He provided directions and there was the female Ruddy Duck roosting on the water.

With the target bird in the bag David and I went back to Shoveler Hide leaving Erik scanning for a Common Scoter.

When I arrived in the hide there hadn’t been any further signs of the Bittern and so I settled down hoping it would show.  David then entered the hide having observed a Chiffchaff close to Smew Hide and it wasn’t long afterwards when Erik arrived.  With no sign of the Bittern Erik indicated he was going back to the centre to view Lagoon One but as he was standing up to leave both David and I saw a Bittern rise and then disappear behind the reeds close to Buzzard Hide.  A few second later it emerged flying over the water and landed on the edge of the reeds of the main reedbed.  Someone then cried its flying again, which turned out to be a second bird, with the first remaining to give good, if distant, views whilst preening a little near the top of the reeds.  After quite some time it dropped into the reeds only to reappear a few minutes later and then David and I decided we would leave.  David had left the hide but as I was about to follow it took to flight again and I managed to get a few record shots before it dropped out of sight further along the reeds.


Bittern in flight (note Great White Egret below)


Bittern in flight


Bittern in flight


Bittern in flight

I caught David up and we went into Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four as David had seen several large gulls dropping in.  There was a good number of gulls at the back of the lagoon, mainly Herring and Great Black-backed with smaller numbers of Black-headed and Common and we did find a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.  Other than four Pintail on the water and a Red Kite flying over, with a second over Burley along with a Buzzard there was little else and we made our way back to the centre.


Red Kite over Lagoon Four


Red Kite over Lagoon Four


Red Kite over Lagoon Four


Red Kite over Lagoon Four

There wasn’t anything new on Lagoon One but both David and I heard a Green Sandpiper call and I picked it up heading off towards Snipe hide before it flew back in front of the centre and went off back over Lagoon two.  We also had our third Red Fox of the day that was walking across the meadow at the back of the lagoon.

It had been a good day with eighty species recorded, two of which, Ruddy Duck and Bittern, were new for the year.

Wednesday 11 January 2017

A morning in northwest Leicestershire - January 10, 2017

I decided to go into north-west Leicestershire today to visit several sites in the hope of finding four target birds, Mandarin Duck, Glossy Ibis, Raven and Willow Tit.

My first site was Kelham Bridge and I headed for the first hide where there is a feeding station.  It is the most reliable site in the counties to find Willow Tit and as opened the hide flap there was a Willow Tit on the feeders but it flew off almost straight away.  It wasn’t long before it came back and this time I had better views before it flew off again.  A Peregrine then flew over low and it was some time before any birds were at the feeders but the Willow Tit eventually came back.  With little else other than Blue and Great Tits and two Chaffinches visiting the feeders I moved onto the second hide.


There was very little on the flash in front of the hide just a few Moorhen and a couple of Coot.  The small flash on the other side of the hide produced a Black Swan and a Gadwall but with little else I made my way back to the car.


Black Swan


Gadwall

I saw a Buzzard on route to my next site, which was Blackbrook Reservoir where I was hoping for Mandarin Duck.  As I walked down the path to the reservoir I heard a Buzzard and a Nuthatch but didn’t see either of them.  There were six Little Grebes and a couple of Great Crested Grebe on the small section of the reservoir and on reaching the bridge I soon found a small party of Mandarin Ducks.  I eventually found nine males and three females along the southwest shoreline but as is usual at this site there was little else, just a few Mallard and a couple of Teal.

As I walked back to the car there was a party of Long-tailed Tits feeding in the bushes along with several Blue Tits and a single Great Tit and just after passing through the gate a party of c.150 Redwing flew over and landed in the trees.  Back at the car I watched a Carrion Crow mobbing a Sparrowhawk and a couple of Common Gulls flew over.

I parked on the road overlooking the southern section of Swithland Reservoir and found Andy Forryan on the bridge.  He had seen several Mandarin Ducks along the southwest shore but on scanning they had all disappeared.  There were thirty-two Shoveler on the water, which is a good number for here and I picked up a Kingfisher flying low over the water towards Rabbit’s Bridge.  Roger then arrived who was hoping to get Mandarin Duck on his year-list before he departs for Costa Rica at the weekend.  We scanned the edge of the water several times and I eventually caught site of a male perched in the bushes.

Roger then departed to Swithland Wood hoping for a Treecreeper and went to the northern section hoping for my next target Raven.  I parked at the far end of the dam and initially scanned the water finding nine Goldeneye but very little else.  I then scanned the skyline above Buddon Wood but there was nothing.  I looked at the tree where a Peregrine often perches but there was no sign but just to the right were two corvids, one in particular looking quite large.  I got the scope on the two birds and confirmed that they were Ravens and that was three out of three of the targets and quite easy so far.

Roger had informed me that he had seen the Glossy Ibis on Rectory Marsh this morning and so I was hopeful that I would get a clean sweep.  After parking I walked the short distance to the marsh and wasn’t surprised that there was nothing obvious on the flash as I went through the gate.  As I continued along the footpath a party of Teal flushed along with the Glossy Ibis, which then landed on one of the small islands.  I hadn’t seen it quite so close before and was able to get some nice shots as it preened and fed on the island.


Glossy Ibis


Glossy Ibis


Glossy Ibis


Glossy Ibis


Glossy Ibis


Glossy Ibis

After a short while it flew again and landed into the northeast corner of the marsh but eventually finished in the southwest corner, where I was able to get some more shots.


Glossy Ibis

With the ibis feeding contently I went back to the main track and walked north towards Tern Pool.  I had brief views of a Green Woodpecker but other than a few Pochards on Tern Pool saw little else other than seeing two Green Woodpeckers together and a Kestrel as I walked back to the car.

Although it was just after 13:00 I called it a day and went to my daughters as my oldest granddaughter wasn’t well and this allowed my wife to collect the younger one from school with dragging the older one with her.

Sunday 8 January 2017

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - January 7, 2017

David, Ken, Roger and I were planning to go to Derbyshire today but with fairly thick fog early morning we decided we would go out locally but give the fog a chance to clear a little before doing so.

A report of a Hawfinch visiting the feeders station at the Bird Watching Centre yesterday tempted David, Roger and myself out before the fog had cleared but as we approached Rutland Water the fog developed into a mist and we could see quite some distance.


We walked the short distance to the feeding station and spent thirty minutes observing the feeders.  Blue and Great Tits were ever present along with regular visits from some House Sparrows, Chaffinches and a single Reed Bunting.  There was at least one Dunnock and several Blackbirds feeding under the feeders along with six Brown Rats.  With no sign of the Hawfinch we went into the centre and found out that it possibly only made a single visit yesterday and was only seen by the finder despite them alerting others in the centre yesterday.


Male Reed Bunting at the Egleton feeding station

With no joy with the Hawfinch and the fog now gone we decided we would go to the North Arm to look for the Green-winged Teal, which had been seen over the last few days.  After parking at the end of the unnamed road we observed the fishponds and found two drake Smew and four male and a single female Goosander.  There were another couple of birders towards the spit but they hadn’t seen the teal or anything else.  As we scanned the area David found a Slavonian Grebe and a Black-necked Grebe together and there were sixteen Dunlin on the north shore and two Redshanks on the south shore.  I counted forty-one Pintail scattered around the southern bay and we spent quite some time scanning a group of Teal on a distant spit on the south shore but had no joy with the Green-winged Teal, although we did pick up a red-headed Smew.  As we turned to go back to the car there were two Great White Egrets near the bund and a Little Egret was also present.

We weren't convinced we could see all of the Teal on the south shore and were going around to the fisherman’s car park to get a different view when Terry Mitcham arrived who we had been viewing the area from the Fisherman’s car park.  He had seen the Green-winged Teal near a Willow Tree just east of the car park.  When we reached the car park we could see the tree but were unable to see the Green-winged Teal and so went over the gate to get a view along the shoreline.

David had got into position first and gave me the thumbs up as I approached and we were soon watching the bird feeding along the shoreline.  After watching the teal for a while I scanned the rest of the North Arm and found the Slavonian Grebe and Black-necked Grebe not too far away but I didn’t find much else and we were soon on our way to the Old Hall.

When we reached the bottom of Lyndon Road another birder informed us he had seen the Red-necked Grebe and several Scaup but hadn’t seen the Common Scoter.  When we got over the cattle grid I noticed Brian, Roger and Rosie a little further along the cycle track but we started scanning through the mass of birds in South Arm Three.  Brian, Roger and Rosie then joined us and informed us that the Red-necked Grebe was left of the island and it didn’t take too long to locate it.  We then moved further along the track to get a different view and soon found a male and three juvenile Scaup amongst the Tufted Ducks.  After quite some time Roger found three drake Red-crested Pochards along the southern shore and we eventually had six drakes.

Roger Brett had mentioned that the Waxwings in Oakham had been reported again today and so we set off hoping that they would be there.  We hadn’t gone too far when Roger called to say he was on site and that there were some present.  It was probably a good ten minutes later when we arrived and fortunately they were eleven birds still present.  We then spent thirty minutes watching and photographing them before we returned to Rutland Water for lunch seeing a Peregrine on Lagoon Four as we did so.


Waxwing


Waxwing


Waxwing


Waxwing


Waxwing


Waxwing

After lunch we went to the Bird Watching Centre to view Lagoon One.  There was a pair of Stonechat in front of the centre and I found another pair towards the Wet Meadow whilst observing some Curlew of which there were six.  There was also a third Great White Egret on the lagoon and single Little Egret on the lagoon and another on the Wet Meadow.  There were also twenty-three Pintail and a pair of Goosander on the lagoon but otherwise it was fairly quiet.

Our plan was to go to Eyebrook Reservoir for the gull roost as we were hoping an Iceland Gull present yesterday would come in again this evening.

As we approached the reservoir we stopped to view the old oak and found the Little Owl in its normal spot and we stopped briefly at Holly Oaks Farm entrance where there were sixteen Red-legged Partridge.  As we approached the fencing just to the north of the island there were a group of birders that appeared to be looking at something.  When we joined them they said they had an adult Iceland Gull, which I soon located and then spent a few minutes getting both David and Roger onto it.  It was alongside several Herring Gulls and looked at least as big as the largest Herring Gull and certainly larger than the smaller birds.  However after viewing it for a couple of minutes it flew off to the north and wasn’t seen again.  Andy Mackay got a couple of distant shots of it, which did show the jizz and colouration off quite well but the photos were understandably not the best.  The head was nicely rounded with the eye forward of centre and the wings tips did not seem to project beyond the tail, which might have suggested it was a small Glaucous.  Andy circulated the photos on Twitter and the final consensus was that it was in fact a small Glaucous Gull.  I did pick up a possible adult Caspian Gull but before others got on it, it too flew off to the north.  With the light fading quite quickly and some mist developing we called it a day and headed off home.