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.