Rutland Water

Male Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus

Thursday 13 March 2014

Rutland Water

Back from over a month away from the UK on a New Zealand holiday and the first chance I have had since returning last Sunday to actually do a little birding.  What better way that on a bright, sunny morning following the clearing of early morning fog than to drop into my local patch at Rutland Water.

Male Greenfinch Carduelis chloris

Fortunately the dry weather of the past week or more had dried out the paths so that, even had I not put on the walking boots, I might have survived in trainers.  On the other hand, there was no shortage of water with all the ponds looking decidedly full.  So much for waders; the only species seen were the wintering Lapwing and a pair of Avocet.  On the other hand, the corvids were out in full cry with numerous local Jackdaws and Rooks along with regular sightings of both Magpie and Carrion Crow.  Of the smaller birds, there seemed to be a great number of both Blackbirds and Robins about the reserve but the feeding station numbers were much lower than on previous visits.  But not to complain as I had a couple of male and a female Reed Bunting in residence.  When did I last see more Reed Buntings than either Goldfinch or Greenfinch?

Male Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus

Arriving just before 10am I sat in the car doorway putting on my boots when a dark shape shot out of nowhere into the bush in front of me.  Retrieving my bins from the back seat I scoured the bust just the other side of the fence but without success.  Assuming the bird had already disappeared, I stood up to take a closer look when she dashed off from almost under my feet; a very powerful looking female Sparrowhawk and a cracking stat to the visit.  Lots of feeding Blackbirds, Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws as I made my way down to the Visitors Centre and, during a very brief stop at the main feeding station, I picked up both Blue and Great Tits along with a female Reed Bunting.  Payment complete, I spent a little more time at the feeding station trying out the new lens, including shots of both Mallard and female Pheasant.

Great Crested Grebes Podiceps cristatus all set for courtship display

Then it was off to the hides of lagoon 4 and 3.  All comparatively quiet compared with my last visit in January and most of the ducks seemed to have moved on.  Lagoon 4 provided a good number of Mute Swans along with both Canada and Greylag Goose.  A number of mallard but more Shelduck and then a pair of Avocet and a single Little Egret.  Also seen was a lone Pied Wagtail, the first pair of Great Crested Grebes and, of course, a fair number of Lapwing.  Lagoon 3 was no better with mainly Tufted Duck plus a few Goldeneye, Pochard and Gadwall along with more Great Crested Grebes.

Fieldfare Turdus pilaris

Making my way back to the start I then took a walk down to Lagoon 1 and this was even more disappointing, perhaps due to the on-going repair work which seemed to have disturbed the birds.  However, on my way back to the Visitors Centre I did chance to look up and see a lone Starling with a paler bird on the next branch.  Too big for a female Blackbird and closer inspection revealed a single Fieldfare.  Having already recorded a Song Thrush this only left Redwing and Mistle Thrush as the missing birds for the morning.

A trio of the hundreds of happily grazing Wigeon Anas penelope

Time to call it a day and head home via the Burley Fishponds and the Northern Arm.  At last I found the Wigeon flock which seem to have split into two sections with one on either side of the fishpond busy grazing the fields along with a solitary Egyptian Goose.  More Canada and Greylag Geese on the water plus a small number of Cormorant and the odd Heron.  Meanwhile, a quick walk down to the water’s edge overlooking the Northern Arm duly produced the already noted trio of Black-necked Grebes on the far bank in the company of a single Slavonian Grebe; very nice too.

Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus with Wigeon Anas penelope

So, along with the distant calling Great Spotted Woodpecker heard soon after my arrival at the site, that made a grand total of 47 species for the morning.  Great to be back amongst the birds again!

Male Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs

 

Birds seen:

Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Goldeneye, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Heron, Sparrowhawk, Moorhen, Coot, Avocet, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Rock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Fieldfare, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Rook, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting.

Rutland Water

Thursday 30 January 2014

Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major

A dull and dismal start to the day with the promise of the weather getting even worse!  But the last chance to visit the local site at Rutland Water so off early and passing Collared Dove, Rook and Little Owl on the way.  Arriving just before 9.30, and greeted by a pair of Egyptian Geese, at least it was dry, if somewhat cold at only 2C, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was on the far nut supply at the feeding station.  On the opposite holder both a single Greenfinch and Goldfinch were taking on food and, nearer to me, a constant movement of both Blue and Great Tits.  A female Peacock worked the ground below and there were numerous Jackdaws and a few Common Starlings moving around whilst, in the field behind me, a dozen Blackbirds were feeding on the wet grass.

Into the warmth of the Visitors' Centre to check out the water in front and see what was new in the "In Focus" shop; a rather lovely Opticron mini-scope (MM3) with ED glass and a zoom lens just on the market complete with carry-on case and tripod for a £449 introductory offer was very tempting.  Meanwhile, outside when it was possible to see anything through the gloom, scores of Lapwings were resting on all the available islands along with Mallards and a few Pintail.  Closer inspection revealed both Teal and Shoveler along with a single Cormorant, Black-headed Gulls and Moorhens.  Three Mute Swans swam into view and then the first of a pair of Tufted Duck along with a handful of Wigeon, a similar number of Coot and a single Gadwall.

Blue Tit  Parus caerulous

At this point I noticed that it was not just raining heavily but there was a "solid" look to the wet stuff and realised that the light rain had turned to sleet.  No point in the long walk up to the Lagoon 4 and the resulting soaking; why pick up a chill just before flying south to New Zealand, so I headed back to the car with a brief stop at the feeding station which duly produced both Chaffinch and Robin along with another Dunnock.

Dunnock  Prunella modularis

A final, brief stop at the top lane to check out the Northern Arm confirmed that the water was very high and very little bird life about.  That which could be seen through the snow included a couple more Tufted Ducks and Mallards along with a small number of Canada Geese and a pair of Great Crested Grebes.  The same was true at the dam where the only recognisable bird through the now settling wet snow was a single Pochard.  So, back in the car and home a few minutes after 11am having actually recorded 33 species in the short, wet time.

As can be seen, the light was awful so only record shots taken and even these are destined for the rubbish bin!

Birds seen:
Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose,Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing,  Black-headed Gull, Little Owl, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Jackdaw, Rook, Crow, Starling, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch.