With two White-winged Terns and several Black Terns being reported at
Eyebrook Reservoir yesterday I headed there first today. There was a Common Kestrel along the A6 and a
Red Kite on either side of Blaston, but a quick check of the old oak produced
no Little Owl and after only seeing one just once this year I pretty sure they
are no longer in residence.
I drove around to the bridge where I heard a Blackcap and a Lesser Whitethroat.
Another birder then pulled up and said that the two White-winged Terns were
still present and that there was a Common Greenshank on the mud near the inlet,
I drove around and found the Greenshank on the mud and then went a little
further where I found the two White-winged Terns feeding over the
reservoir. I walked back down the road
to get a little closer and managed to get a few record shots of the birds, although
they were never that close, remaining in the centre of the reservoir.
White-winged Tern
White-winged Terns
There were at least twelve Common Terns and I heard a Whitethroat singing
and just as I was about to leave two Western Ospreys flew over but with little
else I moved onto the North Arm at Rutland Water.
There was a Blackcap singing in the wood as I drove down the unnamed road
to the North Arm and a quick stop to view the fishponds produced a Mallard with
six young. There were three Egyptian
Geese and six Common Shelduck in the North Arm but very little else and so I
went to the Egleton Reserve.
As I was getting my gear ready a Common Buzzard flew over the car park
and after a chat with Stephen in the centre I decided I would go to Plover Hide
on Lagoon Four hoping for a bit of protection from the cold northerly wind. There has been a spate of car break-ins in
the car parks around the reservoir, with at least two in the Egleton car park
and it was good news to hear that the police had apprehended someone as I was
beginning to feel uncomfortable leaving the car.
As I walked to Plover Hide I heard a Willow Warbler, three Blackcaps, a
Garden Warbler and a Common Nightingale before I reached the hide. There was a pair of Egyptian Geese with four
young that were quite well grown on the lagoon and when another birder joined
me in the hide, I found two Little Ringed Plovers, six Common Ringed Plovers
and at least three Common Redshanks. Two
Oystercatchers were still on island three, but I could see only one young and
there were twelve Common Shelduck scattered around the lagoon. I noticed a herring-type gull resting on one
of the near islands but it was looking straight at us and sitting down and so
it wasn’t easy to establish what it was.
I looked several times, but it had barely moved but when I looked for the
fourth time it had disappeared. I
scanned the rocky area and found what was presumably it amongst the Great
Black-backed Gulls and fortunately it stood long enough for me to get the scope
on it and establish that it had yellow legs and therefore a Yellow-legged Gull,
which was my first here in two months.
The other birder said he had been in Sandpiper Hide and that there was a
Grey Plover and what he thought was a Curlew Sandpiper on the island in front
of the hide and I therefore went to look.
When I got into the Sandpiper Hide I soon found the Grey Plover, which
was still in winter plumage, and the other wader. I got the scope on the other wader and found
that it was indeed a Curlew Sandpiper, which was showing quite a bit of red but
not in full summer plumage. I picked up
a Eurasian Hobby over the fishpond area and shortly afterwards all of the
Common Terns restring on the spit got up and on scanning the area I found a
Peregrine Falcon over the lagoon, which then flew off to the north. There must have been at least forty terns
come off the spit but less than half returned with most moving off towards
lagoon Three, but shortly afterwards I found a Little Tern on the spit. There was a Common Buzzard over the woodland
alongside Lagoon Three and two Eurasian Oystercatchers on island five and
another Eurasian Oystercatcher was on island four with escorting a young
bird. A Western Osprey then flew in and
eventually landed on the man-made nest despite the attentions of a single
Black-headed Gull. It hadn’t been there
very long when two more Western Ospreys came over and then all three were
observed in flight before they all drifted off to the south.
Grey Plover
Western osprey
I eventually left the hide and made my way back towards the car park for
lunch hearing two more Common Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap as I did so. When I returned to the centre with Mike he
picked up a Eurasian Hobby towards Lax Hill, whilst on the lagoon there were
six Common Shelduck and a pair of Eurasian Coot escorting two young and we also
heard a Little Grebe.
Azure Damselfly
I made my way back along the Summer Trail to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon
Three seeing a Hairy Dragonfly and several Speckled Wood as I did so.
Speckled Wood
There were eight Common Pochard on Lagoon Three and a single Eurasian
Reed Warbler singing to the right of the hide and I found the Little Tern
amongst the Common Terns feeding over the water. Norman Hall joined me, and I got him on the
Little Tern, which he had seen earlier on Lagoon Four and also a Common Sandpiper,
which I hadn’t seen.
Gadwall over Lagoon Three
Common Tern over Lagoon Three
I went back to Sandpiper Hide and found the Grey Plover and Curlew
Sandpiper still there and there was a Common Buzzard soaring well beyond the
Osprey nest. I eventually saw the Common
Sandpiper picking it up in flight as it flew from the left onto the eastern
bund.
I made my way back to the centre and went back up to the viewing area for
a final check on Lagoon One. As I scanned
an area of mud that had developed to the right of the viewing area I found a
Common Greenshank. There was a Common
Pochard, a Little Egret and two Eurasian Oystercatcher on the lagoon and
another Little Egret flew over before I called it a day.
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