I drove to David’s who then drove to Rutland Water where we met Malcolm
and Roger before heading to Frampton Marsh.
David and I had seen a Red Kite near East Norton and there was a Common
Chiffchaff and a Blackcap singing in the Egleton car park. We had a Common Buzzard and a Common Kestrel
near Market Deeping on route and arrived at Frampton Marsh at 08:45.
As we drove to the seawall car park a Black-tailed Godwit and a Spotted
Redshank flew over the car before disappearing to the west. I had a nice view of a Sedge Warbler as I was
getting my gear on, and there was a flock of Dunlin just to the west of the
road. There had been a Curlew Sandpiper
with the Dunlin yesterday but there was no sign today. We then went up onto the seawall to get a
better view of the marsh and found five Eurasian Spoonbills along with eighteen
Little Egrets. There was also good numbers
of Pied Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit and a South African Shelduck (Cape
Shelduck) was observed close to several Common Shelduck. We could see the Dunlin flock better from the
elevated position but there was still no sign of the Curlew Sandpiper, but we
did find five Little Ringed Plovers and two Spotted Redshanks, and two Eurasian
Curlew flew over. There was a single
female-type Western Marsh Harrier over the saltmarsh but with little else we
walked north along the seawall.
When we reached the corner of the wall, we found another nine Little
Ringed and six Common Ringed Plover feeding, and two Common Sandpiper initially
observed in flight before they also dropped in and began feeding. There were two Brent Geese on the saltmarsh
and after hearing a Whimbrel we saw two curlew-type birds flying out to the
Witham Mouth. There was also another
four Spotted Redshank and at least four Ruff along with several Common
Redshank.
We stopped again when we got back to the main track when a Whimbrel flew
over and I found a single Common Snipe, but there was still no sign of the
Curlew Sandpiper. When we got back to
the car a small party of waders included a Bar-tailed and several Black-tailed
Godwits and a Spotted Redshank.
Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwits and Spotted Redshank
We went back to the main car park and then viewed the Reedbed Marsh,
where we found an adult Black-necked Grebe feeding a young bird, but we were
unable to find the second adult or young, although they were all showing
earlier. There were also several Little
Grebes and young and a Common Sandpiper on the marsh.
We then drove to the reservoir where we were hoping to see a European
Turtle Dove. There were a few birders
gathered near the reservoir looking for the doves and had seen one briefly
before we arrived, but with no sign we had our lunch.
The other birders gradually dispersed, and we were left on our own and
after lunch we walked back down the path to view the area. There was a Eurasian Reed Warbler, Blackcap
and Common Whitethroat all singing intermittently and there was a Green
Sandpiper and several Little Grebes on the reservoir. Roger then saw a Turtle Dove fly into the
hedge, which then provided some nice views and I found a Western Yellow Wagtail
on the edge of the reservoir.
We had discussed going to Maxey Pits on the way back to Rutland Water,
where Malcolm had seen and photographed a European Turtle Dove on Thursday but
were now reconsidering what to do having seen one here, but we eventually
decided to go.
A Common Buzzard was observed before we reached Market Deeping and we
arrived at Maxey at around 14:00, parking at the end of Woodgate Lane. We walked the short distance to the
footbridge and looked for a Turtle Dove on the wireless tower but there was no
sign. There was several Banded Demoiselles
alongside the river, and we spent some time trying to photograph these.
Banded Demoiselle
As there was still no sign of the Turtle Dove we decided to walk along the footpath inside the fishing area and towards the tower. There was a Red Kite and two Common Buzzard soaring overhead as we set off and we heard a couple of Blackcaps as we approached the tower and found two Gatekeepers, which were my first of the year. There was a Eurasian Reed Warbler singing and as I walked back I found a Marbled White and then found a European Turtle Dove perched on the overhead wires. I alerted the others and we were able to get a few photos before it flew back into the lakeside bushes and out of sight.
Gatekeeper
European Turtle Dove
European Turtle Dove
European Turtle Dove
Having photographed the dove, we made our way back, when David went back
to the car while Malcolm, Roger and I went and stood on the footbridge. We heard the Turtle Dove calling again and
found it on one of the overhead wire poles and so Malcolm and I walked along
the track to see if we could get any further photos. Unfortunately, the bird moved to the far side
of the pole and we could only see part of it, although we did get closer.
European Turtle Dove
Satisfied with our time at Maxey we set off back to Rutland Water and on
arrival went up into the centre’s viewing area.
There was a Great Egret on the lagoon and we found three female Tufted
Duck with broods of eight, five and three.
A Western Osprey was perched in a tree on Brown’s Island but flew just
after we picked it up.
As we approached the bridge near Manton Bay a Common Buzzard drifted over and another was observed just beyond Billesdon.
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