I was out with David today and after picking him up we headed for
Eyebrook Reservoir and not seeing a lot on route. When we arrived, Roger was already there and
we joined him overlooking the inlet.
There was very little at the inlet and certainly nothing of note,
although one of two Little Egrets seen did drop into the stream. There were six Common Terns either over the
water or on the rafts and there were at least twenty Common Swifts hawking high
over the reservoir, along with a single Sand Martin and Common House
Martin. A Common Whitethroat singing on
the Rutland side did eventually reveal itself, but a singing Sedge Warbler
remained elusive. We eventually decided
to head to Rutland Water seeing three Barn Swallow as we drove along the
Rutland side of the reservoir.
As we drove towards Preston we saw a Common Buzzard to the west of the
road and a Little Egret flew across the road as we approached the River Chater
and on reaching Manton we headed for the Lyndon Reserve. After parking and whilst getting our gear out
of the car there was a Blackcap singing in the car park and we had a couple of
Eurasian Tree Sparrows on the feeders from the centre.
We walked down to Teal Hide, hearing a couple of Garden Warbler as we did
so and on reaching the hide we could see both Western Ospreys in Manton
Bay. There were six Common Terns in the
bay but initially there was no sign of any Great Northern Divers, but then
Roger found one a good way into South Arm One.
There was a Mallard with a brood of five near Gadwall Hide and another
drifted right in front of the hide with a brood of eleven. As we walked back to the centre a Willow
Warbler and Common Whitethroat were heard singing and yet another Garden
Warbler was heard from the car park.
We drove to the Egleton Centre from Lyndon seeing a Common Chiffchaff and
hearing another Blackcap whilst in the car park. We then walked to the centre and went up into
the viewing area to view Lagoon One.
There were two Common Shelduck and two Eurasian Oystercatcher on the
lagoon and four Common Terns were feeding over the lagoon but other than a
Eurasian Reed Warbler singing in front of the centre there was little else, and
we moved on towards the northern lagoons.
Chiffchaff in the Egleton car park
Chiffchaff in the Egleton car park
There had been a Bufflehead on Lagoon Two and although considered to be
an escape, we were quite keen to see it and made our way to Grebe Hide. We heard two Willow Warblers, two Common
Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler before we reached the
hide. There were six Common Pochard and
a Eurasian Oystercatcher on the lagoon and a Sedge Warbler singing to the left
of the hide but there was no sign of the Bufflehead.
Eurasian Wren in the Egleton Meadows
Dunnock in the Egleton Meadows
As we made our way to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four we heard another
Common Chiffchaff. Once in the hide we
found four Common Ringed Plover and a Dunlin and there were seven Eurasian
Oystercatcher with four escorting five young.
A pair of Egyptian Goose were escorting three young and a female Mallard
appeared with a brood of seven. There
was a single Little Egret and at least three Common Redshank on the lagoon and
a single Little Ringed Plover was also observed. Fifteen Common Tern were counted, and a Eurasian
Reed Warbler continues to sing in front of the hide but I still haven’t managed
to see it. Two Western Ospreys then flew
over before we decided to go to Dunlin Hide to check on the status of a sitting
Pied Avocet.
As we walked towards the hide we heard another Garden Warbler and found
the Pied Avocet still sitting on island eight.
We then made a quick visit to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three were we
found a Mute Swan escorting a brood of five, two Common Pochard and heard a
Eurasian Reed Warbler.
As we approached the car park we had brief views of a Spotted Flycatcher
and heard another Common Chiffchaff and Blackcap whilst we were having lunch
and a Common Buzzard passed over being mobbed by several corvids as we started
to head for Snipe Hide on the Wet Meadow.
Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard
Walking to Snipe Hide produced a Common Chiffchaff and Blackcap, both of
which were only heard, and we heard a Lesser Whitethroat as we approached the
hide.
There had been a pair of Garganey reported on the Wet Meadow earlier but
on a quick scan all we saw was a Common Shelduck and a Pied Avocet. David then noticed two birds asleep on the
island, which turned out to be the Garganey.
When they awoke and started to feed it was clear that the male was in heavy
moult and looking a bit tatty.
Male and female Garganey
Male Garganey
Grey Heron over the Wet Meadow
We found a pair of Mute Swan escorting a brood of six on Lagoon One and
there were two more Eurasian Oystercatcher on the long island and a Common
Kestrel flew over Mallard Hide. An
immature Yellow-legged Gull was then observed over Lagoon One before it headed
off towards the South Arm and a Western Osprey was observed perched on Brown’s
Island.
As we walked back to the centre I heard a call that we had heard on the
way out and thought might be young Eurasian Bullfinches, but I then noticed two
birds huddled together and realised that they were two young Garden Warbler. We saw an adult come and feed them but unlike
the young remained at least partially hidden by the foliage.
Fledged Garden Warbler
When we got back to the centre, there was quite a few of the usual
Saturday crowd in the viewing area but we were able to get a space. There were now three Common Shelduck on the
lagoon and I counted thirty-two Common Terns over South Arm Three, with Chris
Park indicating that he had counted fifty earlier from Lapwing Hide. A single Eurasian Hobby then appeared over
Brown’s Island and was seen to perch close to the Western Osprey we had seen
earlier from Snipe Hide. Two other
Western Osprey then flew over, with someone claiming there were three but I
only managed to get on two.
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
Western Osprey
It had been another good day’s birding with seventy-five species recorded
of which seventy-two were observed at Rutland Water.
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