I called at Eyebrook Reservoir
on route to Rutland Water where I had three Shelduck, two of which were
escorting seven young. A single Little
Egret was observed and I saw at least three Common Terns but couldn’t see any
of the young on the rafts.
After parking in the Egleton
car park I set off to Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow seeing a male and young
Great Spotted Woodpecker close to the Bird Watching Centre. Just after coming out of the wooded area
alongside lagoon one I had views of a Garden Warbler but saw little else before
I reached Snipe hide. With just a single
Shelduck of note on the flash I soon moved on to harrier hide. There was a single Avocet feeding but I
couldn’t see either the second bird or the young. I then heard an Avocet call and saw the second
bird mobbing a Black-headed Gull and shortly afterwards the three young
appeared on the island.
Woodpigeon from harrier hide
I had seen two Redshanks as I
walked alongside lagoon six before going to harrier hide and on calling at tern
hide on lagoon six they were still present.
They had been quite vocal as I went by lagoon six and were still calling
and flying repeatedly when I first entered tern hide. They then both landed on at the far end of
the island in front of the hide and then moved to the next island, whilst
continuing to call. Two chicks then
appeared on the end of the first island and swam across the water between the
islands to join the adults. There were a
couple of Black-headed Gulls they passed, which didn’t show any interest but
they finished up passing either side of one of them and the adult nearest
appeared confused as to what to do. Both
of the adults then walked away from the gulls and one chick followed them
almost on the shoreline and then I saw the second doing the same but a little
deeper in the vegetation. There were
also three Oystercatchers and a Mute Swan with four young on the lagoon.
As I continued on towards
Shelduck hide on lagoon five there was a Whitethroat in the hedge alongside
lagoon eight where the Mute Swan was escorting eight cygnets, one having
disappeared, and three more Oystercatchers.
I viewed lagoon seven from the
ramp to Shelduck hide but all I could find were a pair of Shelduck escorting a
single duckling. All I could see of note
from Shelduck hide was a pair of Oystercatcher.
As I walked back towards the 360 hide I saw a couple of Chiffchaff
feeding towards the end of the hedgerow and from the 360 hide there was still
at least four Common Terns and a Great Crested Grebe with two striped young.
Great Crested Grebe with young
Great Crested Grebe with young
As I walked back in the
direction of snipe hide I saw a second Whitethroat and a Red Kite passed
overhead. There were two Sedge Warblers
as I walked back towards the cycle track but very little else before I was back
at the centre.
Goldfinch near the 360 hide
From the centre I viewed
lagoon one where there were plenty of wildfowl and Coot but the only things of
note was a Great Crested Grebe escorting a single young bird and a Little Egret
flying over.
Whilst having lunch Mike
Chester and Brian Moore arrived and after a chat regarding Brian’s successful
trip for the Cretzchmar’s Bunting on Bardsey I went to Shoveler hide on lagoon
three with Mike, where we were soon joined by Brian. There was a Black-tailed Godwit feeding in
the shallows to the left of the hide and a Green Sandpiper was on the island
directly in front of the hide. There was
also a couple of Oystercatchers that flew off on to lagoon four and I picked up
three Curlews as they flew in from the east and appeared to drop on to lagoon
four. Mike left but Brian and I stayed
quite some time, despite being invaded by a party of school children.
There were up to twenty-eight
terns feeding over the water and we had distant views of Red Kite and several Buzzards
and a Hobby was a little more obliging coming quite close on one
occasions. Reed Warblers were constantly
on view just in front of the hide and one allowed me to get pretty nice shots.
Grey Heron on lagoon three
Little Egret over lagoon three
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
We did eventually leave the
hide and met Erik as we did who had just come from sandpiper hide on lagoon
four. He decided to come back with us
and we found an Oystercatcher escorting the now well grown young bird, three
Little Ringed Plovers, eleven Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin. Erik then found an adult Mediterranean Gull
on island ten spit and so I phoned both Steve and Terry who were now back on
site after visiting Frampton. Terry
arrived in plenty of time to see the bird but Steve saw it from the ramp to the
hide as it flew off to the south.
Another Curlew then came in but there was no sign of the three seen
earlier.
Mediterranean Gull over lagoon four
We then had an invitation to
visit the new Volunteer’s Training Centre and Sarah gave us an escorted
tour. The views from the viewing gallery
of lagoon four without any natural barriers gave a totally different
perspective and its immense size was realised for the first time.
We were talking to Lloyd as we
were departing when Osprey 51 passed overhead with a rather large fish with the
head already eaten.
Osprey 51
Osprey 51
Osprey 51
Osprey 51
Osprey 51