There was a report of a White-winged Tern at Eyebrook Reservoir this
morning and I managed to get out with David to go and take a look, but I needed
to be back by about 12:00 to go for lunch at my daughters.
We arrived on site at 11:05 were there was a good crowd and we found the
tern sat on a buoy near one of the tern rafts.
After a few minutes it started to fly and feed over the water. I tried to get some photos in poor light and
finished up disposing of all of them.
After watching it for about thirty minutes it was time to get back home
and we left. Whilst on site we had
obviously seen a number of Common Terns, a Hobby flew over just before we departed,
and we heard a Lesser Whitethroat.
I hadn’t been at my daughter’s long when news of a Baird’s Sandpiper on
Lagoon Four at Rutland Water came through.
I alerted David and Malcolm but neither of them could get out until
later at best, which suited me as well.
Birdguides then put the news out as a possible Baird’s Sandpiper, which
started to raise some doubt, however when I left my daughter's at around 16:15
the news was that it was a Baird’s Sandpiper.
When I got home I called David, who couldn’t get out until later and
after a discussion with Malcolm I agreed to meet in the car park at Egleton,
which would at least mean I would get my scope back, which I had managed to leave
at Eyebrook Reservoir earlier.
I had spoken to ken earlier, who was on site, and he said that quite a
few people had seen it and were happy it was a Baird’s. As we were talking the bird flew and he said
he would ring me back if they couldn’t relocate it. He hadn’t called as I was about to leave and
on calling him he said it was now on the island just in front of Sandpiper Hide
and that the consensus was that it was a Baird’s but that he was surprised the
wings didn’t appear to be longer than the tail.
I left home and headed for Egleton only to receive a call from Ken when I
was about five minutes away saying that Andy Mackay had seen it and had said it
was a Sanderling. Being so close I continued,
and Malcolm was waiting in the car park when I arrived. I informed him of the news and after some
discussion with the Brett’s and Brian Moore, decided to go and have a look
anyway.
When we arrived in the hide there were still quite a few birders,
including Andy, who was still certain it was a Sanderling. The bird was still on the near island, along
with four Common Ringed Plover and a Dunlin.
When I got on the bird I could see that it was similar in size to the
Common Ringed Plover and Dunlin and that the primaries didn’t extend beyond the
tail. It is ok being wise after the event,
but it did just look like a Sanderling moulting into summer plumage and I am
certain that if others, who had seen it earlier, had the views we were now
getting Baird’s wouldn’t have been considered.
There was also two Little Ringed Plovers in the same area, but Malcolm
and I eventually left and went to Mallard Hide hoping we might find the drake
Garganey reported earlier.
When we got into the hide there was no sign of the Garganey initially,
but I picked it up feeding beyond the islands near the centre, but it wasn’t
always in sight and disappeared on at least two occasions. The views would have been a lot better from
the centre, which was now closed and so we went to the Rutland gate near the
centre to see if we could see it from there.
I wasn’t very optimistic and was proven right as we couldn’t see the
area and consequently the Garganey and we called it a day.
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