I set off or Eyebrook Reservoir on a rather dull and cool day seeing a
Red Kite just as I entered Slawston and a Common Kestrel and Common Buzzard as
I drove along Stockerston Lane to the southern approach road to the reservoir.
I stopped at the gate to the fishing lodge and saw a Red Kite over the
reservoir and then two more well to the north, although there was little else
and so I drove to the island corral.
There were plenty of wildfowl near the island, mainly Mallard and
Eurasian Teal but I also found a single Northern Pintail. There was a Grey Heron, a couple of Great
Cormorant and several Northern Lapwing and Black-headed Gulls on the island.
As I drove along the road there were several groups of Red-legged
Partridge, which had obviously been released for the shoots later in the
month. I stopped at the northern corral
to scan the inlet, where I was hoping for a Wood Sandpiper that has been
present since Sunday. There were good
numbers of Eurasian Teal but there appeared to be few waders, but I did find
ten Common Snipe near the mouth of the inlet and two Green Sandpiper and two
Common Greenshank on the Rutland shoreline.
There were six Little Egrets between the inlet and the Stoke Dry car
park and a single adult Yellow-legged Gull.
I then found three Dunlin in the shallow water and five Northern Pintail
near the tern rafts and ten Little Grebes near Stoke Dry car park but with no
sign of the Wood Sandpiper I moved onto the bridge.
There was just a few Eurasian Blue Tits in evidence at the bridge and a
further stop along the Rutland bank didn’t produce anything else and so I moved
onto Rutland Water.
I drove around to Barnsdale on the north shore of the North Arm to look
for the Great Northern Diver and Red-necked Grebe. After parking I walked down towards the water
and found several birds in the bushes, including three Common Chiffchaff. When I reached the water, I scanned the arm
for the two target birds. I found seven
Little Egrets on the shore near Armley Wood and a single Common Tern was
feeding at the mouth of Dickinson’s Bay.
I went through the gate to Dickinson’s Bay but other than four Little
Grebes and another Little Egret there was little else and so I went back to
view the North Arm again from my original position.
There was another Little Grebe and a Common Kingfisher flew by before
returning and perching on an exposed stump.
I continued searching for the two target birds and eventually found the
Red-necked Grebe way down towards the end of Armley Wood but with no sign of
the diver I went back to the car, hearing a Blackcap as I did so.
On reaching the unnamed road in the North Arm I walked to the old water
trough to view the fishponds. I counted
thirty Little Grebes and there was a single Common Tern feeding briefly and I
also heard a Eurasian Jay before returning to the road. I walked down the road and just before
reaching the gate David called to say that a message on BirdGuides had reported
two Black Terns and a Common Scoter in the North Arm.
When I reached the end of the spit another birder joined me and just
after mentioning the Black Terns I picked them up just off the end of the
point. There was another seventeen
Little Grebes and the other birder found a Common Buzzard on the north shore
and I then found the female Common Scoter.
Two Eurasian Curlew then flew to the north side and two more followed
them and when checking the shore, we found there were five.
As we walked back along the road there was clearly a lot of birds
opposite Tim’s cottage and we stopped for a while to observe them. There were good numbers of Eurasian Blue Tits
and I then saw a Marsh Tit before flew over towards the cottage and
disappeared. Many of the birds were
going into a fir tree and as we watched these we had at least three Common
Chiffchaff, a male Blackcap and two Goldcrest.
A Eurasian Nuthatch was then heard calling and shortly afterwards a
Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard, and we found it at the top of one of the
dead trees and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk then flew over.
I was planning to go to the Lyndon Reserve next but was having second
thoughts following a message from Andy that Shallow Water Hide would be closed
until further notice as it was being replaced. However, I decided to stick to
my plan seeing a Red Kite as I drove along Church Road towards Egleton.
When I went into the Lyndon Centre Rebecca was there and during a chat
she informed me that Wader Scrape Hide would be open, and I thought I would go
and see the impact on the birds in Manton Bay whilst the hide was taken
down. I spent a few minutes observing
the feeders before I set off and although there were plenty of birds there were
no Eurasian Tree Sparrows.
As I approached Deep Water Hide there were a few birds in the bushes and
I stopped for a closer look. Most were
Common Chaffinch, but I also had a Common Chiffchaff and a Lesser
Whitethroat. There were a few hirundines
over the fields and reservoir that included Sand Martin, Barn Swallow and
Common House Martin and just before I reached the turn to Wader Scrape Hide I
heard a Common Chiffchaff.
When I got into the hide I wasn’t surprised to find the western edge,
which is the best area for waders, almost devoid of birds. There were a couple of Little Egrets and I
eventually had five in the bay, along with two Great Egrets. Most of the wildfowl and moved closer to the
bund and as I scanned through them I found a Northern Pintail and eight Little
Grebes.
As I walked back to the centre there were far fewer hirundine with just a
few Barn Swallow seen. As I approached
the gate at the end of the path there were birds feeding in the bushes, again
mainly Eurasian Blue Tits but there was also a few Long-tailed Tits and a
single Common Chiffchaff.
After another brief view of the feeders where there was still no sign of
any Eurasian Tree Sparrows, although I did pick up a Common Buzzard over the
water before I went the Egleton car park for lunch, seeing a single Red Kite during
my lunch.
After lunch I went into the centre and found two Common Greenshanks and
another Common Kingfisher provided some nice views. Further scanning produced four Common Snipe
and there was a single Western Osprey on the man-made nest and a juvenile
Western Marsh Harrier resting in the vegetation near Harrier Hide. There were three more Little Egrets on the
lagoon and I found seven Northern Pintail near the long island and a final scan
of the exposed mud at the back of the lagoon produced two Green Sandpipers.
It was very quiet as I walked to the northern lagoons but as I opened the
flap in Shoveler Hide there were three Great Egrets flying around, which they
did for a while before disappearing.
There was another Little Egret feeding on the lagoon along with two
Black-tailed Godwits, a Ruff and nine Common Snipe. There were still eight Common Terns, some of
them juveniles, around the tern rafts but when I only found a single Common
Pochard I went to Buzzard Hide to get a different view. From Buzzard Hide I found one of the Great
Egret on the island and counted seventeen Common Pochard.
From Smew Hide on Lagoon Two there was just a single Common Pochard but a
visit into Crake Hide produced five Little Grebes and a Water Rail. There were three Little Egrets visible from
Lapwing Hide and a single Northern Pintail and four male and three female/immature
Red-crested Pochard, along with another three Little Grebes feeding in front of
the hide.
From Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four I found four Northern Pintail, two Little Grebe, two Little Egret and seven Yellow-legged Gull.
As I walked back towards the centre a found another Common Chiffchaff
close to Badger Hide and another visit into the centre produced two immature
Ruff and a Common Sandpiper.
There had been two reports during the day of the Wood Sandpiper at
Eyebrook Reservoir and I went back on the way home hoping to catch up with
it. When I arrived, I drove around to
the fence on the Leicestershire side where Daz, a regular visitor to Eyebrook,
was. When I asked about the sandpiper he
said he and someone who had just left couldn’t find it. I scanned the Rutland shore, which is where
it had been reported and found the two Green Sandpiper and two Common Greenshank
I had seen this morning and two juvenile Ruff but there was no sign of the Wood
Sandpiper. Two Common Ringed Plovers had
also been reported and after Daz departed I drove around to the Rutland bank
where I found the two Common Ringed Plovers along with the three Dunlin. With still no sign of the Wood Sandpiper I
went back around to the northern corral and began scanning the Rutland
shoreline again. There was some
disturbance that caused the Common Greenshanks to fly around and the two were
joined by a third bird. Two of them rose
high and flew off to the northwest but a few minutes later they were back
feeding on the far shore and the third bird was in the bay. The two Common Ringed Plover and Dunlin were
observed again but with still no sign of the sandpiper and the time approaching
17:30 I was going to have to leave. One last
scan produced the two Common Greenshanks but nothing else and then a quick scan
with the bins revealed a bird almost directly opposite. I suspected that it was the Wood Sandpiper
and was able to confirm with the scope and my efforts were finally rewarded.
As I drove home there were two Common Buzzard in a roadside tree just
after passing through Cranoe. Eighty-four
species were recorded during an excellent day’s local birding.
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