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| Male Osprey Pandion haliaetus |
Thursday 4 July 2013
Following on from yesterday afternoon's visit to Bradgate Park, Leicester (
Common Tern,
Green Woodpecker,
Spotted Flycatcher and
Yellowhammer)
with our friends Ron and Margaret, today was my final UK birding
morning with a second visit to my local patch at Rutland Water. Dry and
cloudy with the sun trying to break through and much shelter from the
gentle wind, in deed it turned quite hot by the time I was heading for
home, I was presented with a total of
50 species having visited both the "usual" Egleton Centre and taken a quick trip up to the neighbouring Lyndon site.
A
stop at the feeding station before purchasing my day ticket and then
having to walk back to the car to display my permit presented all the
usual small birds including
Great and
Blue Tit,
Chaffinch,
Greenfinch and
Goldfinch, Robin and
Dunnock plus both
House and
Tree Sparrow,
Jackdaw and even a
Mallard. In addition, the neighbouring trees and bushes also provided both
Blackbird and
Common Starling along with the occasional
Crow and numerous
Wood Pigeons. Even a pair of
Collared Doves put in an appearance.
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| Tufted Duck Aythya fulijula |
From the Visitors' Centre I could see numerous mallard and
Tufted Duck along with a handful or more of
Cormorant and a regular supply of
Great Crested Grebes.
Black-headed Gulls were the nominate gull but I did manage to find a couple of immature
Herring Gull
to add to the list. Then it was on to the northern hides calling at
all stations which certainly revealed the well-occupied artificial
Sand Martin colony and the first of the very many feeding
Common Terns. By the time I had arrived at the "Sandpiper Hide" over-looking
Lagoon 4 I had also added many
Mute Swans and then both
Greylag and
Egyptian Goose.
Coots were plentiful along with regular
Moorhens and I actually manage to see, as well as hear, a cock
Pheasant coming our of the long grass. Many more lapwings here but no other waders. It was also on lagoon 4 that I found the
Common Tern's scrape with a couple of fluffy chicks waiting to be fed.
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| Common Tern Sterna hirundo at nest with two fluffy chicks |
Once again the "Shoveler Hide" on
Lagoon 3 turned up trumps with a range of ducks including
Shelduck,
Mallard,
Gadwall,
Teal and
Tufted Duck. At least five
Green Sandpipers
and a single Little Egret followed by a juvenile Yellow wagtail in
front of me. At the far, northern, edge a chance to see the lone
Curlew and a lovely male
Black-tailed Godwit in glorious summer plumage.
Reed Warblers were darting in and out of the reeds to my front and left. Amongst the resting duck was a single male
Pochard and, by then, a small number of
Common Swifts had arrived to feed over the water's edge and reeds. Whilst checking out the water from the "Crake Hide" I had a single
Garden Warbler in the bush to my right and on the return walk managed to pick up a fleeting site of a
Reed Bunting.
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| Beautiful male Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa in summer plumage |
Next it was the relatively short drive round to Lyndon, but not before picking up a pair of
Blackcaps as I approached the car park, and before walking down to the "Waderscrape Hide" to check out one of five local
Osprey nests that was actually on public land, I took a look at the feeder outside the
Visitors Centre which seemed to be attracting a good number of
Tree Sparrows along with the regular
Chaffinches,
Goldfinches and
Great Tits. Even a gorgeous male
Yellowhammer
dropped in to pick up some crumbs. On arrival, both birds were perched
overlooking their nest with the male on a separate pole. below the
female could be seen the three chicks which had been ringed a couple of
days ago with numbers J1 , J2 and J3 respectively. Now you know who to
look out for on the return migration! meanwhile, immediately in front, I
had a couple of male
Reed Buntings and I also discovered where most of the
Little Egrets were feeding along with one of the main
Canada Geese flocks. Also, having seen a trio of
Oystercatchers on lagoon 4 there were yet more to be seen here.
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| Female Osprey Pandion haliaetus at nest, Rutland Water, with three young |
And that was just about it as the cloud cleared and
the temperature soared. It looks like being a hot fortnight to come
just as we start our long journey back to Spain! But not to be outdone,
I also had a lovely
Red Kite immediately overhead as I rejoined the main road back to Stamford.
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| Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegytiacus |
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| Mute Swans Cygnus olor arriving on lagoon IV |
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| One of five Green Sandpipers Tringa ochropus |
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| Common Tern Sterna hirundo |
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| Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis |
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| Little Egret Egretta garzetta |
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| Male Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus |
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| Tree Sparrow Passer montanus |
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| Robin Erithacus rubecula |
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| Juvenile Yellow Wagtail Montacilla flava flavissima |
Birds seen:
Greylag
Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall,
Mallard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe,
Cormorant, Little Egret, Osprey, Red Kite, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher,
Lapwing, Green Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Black-headed
Gull, Herring Gull, Common Tern,Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Sand
Martin, Barn Swallow, Yellow Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Mistle
Thrush, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Blue Tit, Great Tit,
Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch,
Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting.
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