Rutland Water 30th April 2017

We started a holiday at Rutland Water where we broke up our journey to Halesworth in Suffolk. This was part of a fortnight taking in Suffolk and Norfolk but having as “bookends” stopovers that allowed us to visit Rutland Water twice – a fortnight apart. “Bookends doesn’t quite cover it as on this first visit we managed to add twelve year ticks and saw fifty-three species in total, some of which were pretty spectacular.

We started out at the Egleton centre and headed straight to the furthest hides, starting with the “Sandpiper Hide”.
Here we got Black-tailed Godwit, Egyptian Goose and some nice waders including a pair or Grey Plovers, one in full breeding plumage. Also a Dunlin, a Ringed Plover and two Whimbrel. A Raven flew over as did an Osprey. There were Pintail, Gadwall and Teal on the water. Quite a start ! But not the best.
While we were in the hide, a chap came in and told us that a Nightingale had been singing from the woods at the end of the path leading to the Bittern Hide. We headed off there, getting a flyover from a Sparrowhawk en route, and we got confirmation at the Bittern Hide that it had been singing recently. We waited for a bit but nothing so we went to the hide overlooking the same bit of water as the Sandpiper Hide but from a different direction. This gave us a few other birds including Turnstone and another Ringed Plover. There were plenty of Common Terns flying about also.
As we left this hide we thought we heard a short burst of Nightingale song and so we stopped at the bottom of the ramp, just where we had been fifteen minutes previously. Soon a full burst of song came and then, incredibly, the bird flew out of the woods and perched about 40 feet in front of us on a fencing rail and gave us good views before it disappeared into the woods again. A really good year tick and quite a view !
We wandered back via some of the other hides getting a nice group of Black Terns, some Avocets, Warbler, Blackcap and Cetti’s Warblers – mostly heard.
We decided to try for more birds over at the Lyndon Centre and there we headed down to the main attraction – the nesting Ospreys. The female was on her nest as usual and the male was a short way off at the water’s edge perched on some recumbent deadwood.

Along the track and at the feeders we got a few Finches and some Tree Sparrows and in the fields a pair of Red-Legged Partridge – a year first – and a nice Skylark.
All in all a pretty successful visit with the following year ticks : Egyptian Goose, Grey Plover, Osprey, Ringed Plover, Black Tern, Common Tern, Common Sandpiper, Nightingale, Sedge Warbler, Red-legged Partridge, Whimbrel and Tree Sparrow. Twelve year ticks and fifty-three species made for a pretty good day so we left for out Premiere ina good mood and ready to get on with our holiday.
 

Bird Sightings : Rutland Water: Egleton, Sandpiper Hide

Bird Sightings : Rutland Water: Egleton Environs

Bird Sightings : Rutland Water: Lyndon