RUTLAND

Went up to Leicestershire to see friends for a couple of days during my well earned week off after my horrendous fortnight of 12hour shifts. 

Well we couldn't go all the way up to Leicestershire without popping into Rutland Water for a days birding.

 

map of rutland at the first visitors centre

I've got to say the place is massive, there's around 31 hides there and to get to the other side of the reserve you have to drive back onto the main road and travel 10 minutes to reach the other visitors centre at the north end. The staff there were very pleasant and helpful, inside the visitors centre there was a video feed of this years nesting Ospreys that was taken in the spring and early summer. The birds have departed now for Africa so we were to late to see them. There were feeders just outside a massive glass window where various tit species finches and other passerines were darting back and forth from cover. The staff told us they do get the occasional Marsh tit come in but although I sat there patiently for nearly an hour non showed up.

great tit at the feeding station 

We walked to some of the hides near the visitors centre where you could see out over the water, you do need a scope which I hadn't taken but I think lugging that around as well as my camera and bins would have been hard work.

looking out over the water you can see how distant the birds were

most of these are tufted duck

You can see how far off the birds were so to get any detailed images was going to be a bit of a challenge.

There's over 900 cormorants at Rutland and a lot of them liked roosting in this tree.

cormorant on their roosting tree

roosting cormorants

Here's the Osprey pole where they successfully nested this year.

the osprey post where they nested this year

After exploring some of the hides we decided to go up the north shore where hopefully we could get closer to the birds. Whilst going for one last look in one of the hides before we set off I managed to get a close view and pic of this WillowChiff.

couldn't identify this with any conviction so willowchiff it will have to remain

Up at the north shore we managed to get a little closer to the action but still only managed some record shots of a lot of the birds with the duck species being the most approachable.

eclipse male tufted duck

female teal

male teal

a moulting shoveler

male wigeon also in eclipse plumage

The hides at Rutland are very well kept and luckily for us very waterproof as we did have a deluge of rain at one point.

one of the hides at Rutland

the mountain birder

They were a pleasure to sit in and brought my thoughts back home to our own Llandegfedd Reservoir and how poorly kept the site is even though it's a SSSI. Just wish Welsh Water could do to Llandegfedd what the authorities have done here.

Anyway enough of pondering on things I can't do nothing about and lets see some more water birds. Here's some Egrets

little egret

little egret

great white egret

a bit of a distant great white egret

There were rumours that a Black necked Grebe was at the reservoir but I wasn't lucky enough to see it but did see Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe.

great crested grebe with chick

little grebe

There were a few Mute Swans there I captured this one as it flew by.

mute swan

Waders were very scarce at Rutland all I saw there were just Lapwings and Snipe, I managed to get a pic of a Snipe but I must apologise for this appalling photo but I think you can just make out what it is.

there's a snipe in there somewhere

Finally I must write about the birds of prey that were at Rutland Water, it was raptor central although most to far off for a photograph the selection there was very impressive with Buzzard, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Hobby and Marsh Harrier.

I did get a couple of very dodgy pic's of the Hobby as it streaked past the hide.

hobby

juvenile 

We had a great days birding at Rutland Water and saw some great birds even though my feet were in bits at the end of our visit. We never got to see all the hides but I think covering the site over 2 days would be a better idea especially for my feet. Hopefully we'll come back up in the spring where there would be a better chance of seeing and also photographing the Ospreys and seeing a lot more woodland birds in the woods that surround the reservoir.

That's it for this one thanks for calling by and hopefully catch you all soon.