I was out a little earlier
today as there had been two Great White Egrets on lagoon three at Rutland Water
yesterday afternoon. On reaching the car
park I set off down the service road towards lagoon three and met Richard
Bayldon, who had already been in all three hides on lagoon three without
success but was having to leave to go to work.
I decided to go to Smew hide on lagoon two to see if they were there but
on a quick scan there was no sign. There
were a few Pintail on the lagoon and I started to count them when I came across
one of the egrets and then found the second behind some reeds. I called Steve to let him know they were
still here, although he had seen them yesterday Terry had not. I went to Lapwing hide where I could see both
birds clearly, although they were rather distant. They appeared to be close to Osprey hide and
so I felt it would be worthwhile going there.
Great White Egrets from Lapwing hide
As I walked back towards
Osprey hide I met Steve and Terry who were on their way to Lapwing hide and after
a quick discussion we continued on our way.
A few minutes later Steve called to say that he had seen them from over
the fence and that they should be visible from grebe hide and so I continued on
beyond Osprey in the hope of seeing them from grebe. I spent a few minutes scanning without any
joy and met Steve and Terry as I was leaving the hide. Steve felt sure they should be visible and so
I went back into the hide with him and Terry carried on to Redshank hide. Again I scanned the area and couldn’t see either
of the birds when Steve said one was in full view. Another scan and still no joy and after a
brief discussion it became apparent that it was hidden by a willow blocking my
view. Terry had come back and one
eventually appeared, although the sun was now breaking through making viewing
less than desirable. A Kingfisher then
flew in front of the hide and landed just to the left giving reasonable
views. Steve and Terry decided that they
would continue with their routine, which was to visit several sites around the
reservoir and come back later to see the egrets hopefully in better light. I moved off to Osprey hide but on arrival
there was no sign but one appeared in front of the hide a few minutes later and
a I managed to get a few photos. When it
disappeared from view again I went to Shoveler hide on lagoon three were I
found at least eight Snipe, two Green Sandpiper and a two Greenshank. I advised three other birders as to where the
egrets were and remained in Shoveler before moving off back to the centre and
on to Snipe hide on the wet meadow.
Great White Egret from Osprey hide
Great White Egret from Osprey hide
Greenshank from Shoveler hide
Greenshank from Shoveler hide
Snipefrom Shoveler hide
There was very little on the
wet meadow although I did have some nice views of a couple of Chiffchaffs and
found a single Snipe on the edge of the flash.
Whilst I observed a Kestrel over the wet meadow I picked up a distant
Hobby over the centre, which then proceeded to hawk over the wood before
disappearing. I continued on to
Fieldfare hide and then to Gadwall hide, where there had been numerous duck
last week but there was very little today except for a single Little Egret, a
few Little Grebes and masses of Canada Geese.
Red-legged Partridge from Snipe hide
Grey Heron alighting on the wet meadow flash
Chiffchaff from Snipe hide
Chiffchaff from Snipe hide
Bkue Tit from Snipe hide
Mallard from Fieldfare hide
As I made my way back to the
centre a couple informed me that they egrets had flown off just after they had
opened the flaps in Smew hide and had not been seen since.
Cormorant over the Egleton Reserve
I called back at Snipe hide
and saw a couple of Hobbies but nothing else of note and went back to the car
park for lunch.
Whilst having lunch a Hobby
flew over the car park and a Buzzard was observed just to the north. I had been talking to Norman who was
disappointed that the egrets had gone but he had seen one as it headed off over
lagoon one. A few minutes later his
pager indicated that they had returned and were now back on lagoon two. We walked down towards Smew hide where we met
Brian who had seen them on lagoon two and as we talked Norman saw one fly over
and appeared to go down on lagoon four.
We walked back to the short distance and climbed the ramp to sandpiper
hide and Brian picked it up as it did its best to hide behind one of the
islands. It eventually came out and
shortly afterwards flew to the western edge of the lagoon. Ken then arrived and after observing it at
some distance decided to go to Dunlin hide for a closer view. A Red Kite also provided some nice views as it drifted over the lagoon.
Red Kite over lagoon four
Red Kite over lagoon four
Red Kite over lagoon four
Red Kite over lagoon four
I moved onto Shoveler hide on
lagoon three where there were now three Greenshanks but no sign of any Green
Sandpiper. A juvenile Marsh Harrier then
flew over the reedbed and after appearing to go over to lagoon four returned
and came very close to the hide, giving excellent views.
Juvenile Marsh Harrier
Juvenile Marsh Harrier
Juvenile Marsh Harrier
A few minutes later someone
indicated that there was a Little Egret flying over and as I looked it turned
out to be one of the Great White Egrets and after circling it flew off towards
the north arm. I called Steve who was in
the north arm and immediately picked it up passing directly over him and
Terry. Ken then joined me in the hide
and it wasn’t too long afterwards when I picked up the Great White Egret
returning from the north arm but it landed out of sight behind the reed
island. It was less than a minute later
when it reappeared being pursued by a Grey Heron. It then flew off towards lagoon two and
appeared to come down on the lagoon.
Greenshank on lagoon thee
Greenshank on lagoon thee
Little Egret on lagoon three
Gadwall over lagoon three
Great White Egret over lagoon three
Great White Egret over lagoon three
Ken and I went to Smew hide to
hopefully get further views of the egret.
When we entered the hide it wasn’t too far way and a few seconds later
we found the second bird close by. It
had been some time since I last saw a Great White Egret so well and it was
surprising how elegant they are and how thin their neck is. Colin then called to ask if they were still
about and shortly afterwards Dave called and he was a bit down as he had gone
to the north arm looking for one, only to find they weren’t there. He was surprised and relieved when I told him
that Ken and I were having good views from Smew hide and he said he was on his
way.
We had been watching both
birds strut around the lagoon and were surprised that neither of them appeared
to have attempted to catch anything.
When Dave arrived we explained what we had seen and he almost
immediately said that one has just caught a Perch and as we watched it caught a
rather nice second one, which it took longer to swallow. The second bird was then seen to catch to
smaller Perch in quick succession and we hoped they might stay a while if the
feeding was good. Colin had now also joined us as we continued to photograph and enjoy the birds.
Great White Egret from Smew hide
Great White Egrets from Smew hide
Great White Egret from Smew hide
Great White Egret from Smew hide
Great White Egret from Smew hide
Great White Egret from Smew hide
The birds eventually moved
further away with one making a short sortie to lagoon one and so we moved off
to Dunlin hide on lagoon four with Colin going to Shoveler on lagoon three.
There was nothing other than
seven Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the resting gulls but we did find three Ruff
and another Greenshank and an immature Shelduck flew in and a Sparrowhawk
over. Dave and Ken departed earlier than
myself but I had very little else, the best being another view of a Hobby and a
Marsh Tit near the centre.
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