BACK TO RUTLAND

As I'd hoped this year we were able to get back up to Rutland Water to hopefully see and photograph the Osprey's.

We stayed in a Wetherspoons in a town called Corby which is about 15 minute drive from Rutland.

We went to the Lyndon nature reserve side of the Reservoir first where we saw the Osprey nesting pole last year and to my shear delight they were there!!

osprey nesting site

The site is a long way off from the hides which is a good thing but I had come armed with my digiscoping gear and it turned out to be the best decision I'd made as the views of the birds were outstanding.

Above is a short video of both the male standing guard preening itself and female on the nest.

Here's some of the other Osprey images I managed to take on the day.

At the Lydon visitors centre there is a feeding station where we saw this Muntjac deer.

muntjac deer

Also a Greenfinch which was nice to see as they've disappeared from my feeding station over the last few years.

male greenfinch

Male and female Pheasant

male

and the female

There were some nice warblers about with this Lesser Whitethroat and Willow Warbler showing well.

lesser whitethroat

singing willow warbler

Rutland Water is a massive site and to get to the opposite side of the reservoir you have to drive there, it has another visitors centre with a shop and cafe area that sells refreshments and loads more hides. Here's some of the birds I photographed while over there.

common tern

buzzard

cormorant

avocet

nesting colony of black headed gulls

 Also spotted this pair of Gargany from one of the hides. The Gargany is quite a rare summer visitor to the UK from Africa so I was well pleased to get this photo.

male and female gargany

It was a long day at Rutland but well worth it. It was great to see and photograph quite a few nice species but for me the Osprey's were the stars of the show.

Ospreys at their nestsite

Rutland Water is a beautiful place and if you've got just a partial interest in wildlife is well worth a visit. The Ospreys at Rutland is on a constant video feed which can be seen on YOUTUBE.