Stanford Reservoir 17/03/19

Apart from the pleasant weather, Sunday 17th did not start well. We found that we couldn’t access the Welford Road end of Stanford Reservoir. Consequently, we all headed round to the dam end, but not before Ken had seen a great egret at the pool on the other side of the road.

In the car park at the dam waiting for some latecomers to catch up we were treated to the sight of a chiff chaff singing it’s heart out, a grey wagtail, a small group of long-tailed tits, a buzzard and a first winter glaucous gull flew overhead. On the water, mute swans, coots, tufted ducks, great crested grebes, gadwalls and Canada geese were to be seen plus some moorhens on the far bank.

Finally eighteen members and friends gathered and began to walk down the eastern side of the reservoir. Although there was plenty to see on the reservoir Angie spotted a flock of tree sparrows on a hedge to our right on the other side of a small field before the gate. Another good spot were two pink-footed geese in a flock of twenty plus greylags on the field to the right at the gate. However, the geese were disturbed, fortunately they flew onto the water where we were able to compare the the two species side by side.

Further along the path we were watching a goldeneye diving amongst a group of tufted ducks. It was a beautiful bird. Julie then spotted a female goosander to the right of the tern pontoon. It was looking a bit dishevelled but set about preening itself in full view of us.

We continued walking past the feeders where several chaffinches, blue and great tits were having a feast. The fallow field next to them was filled with the sound of skylarks. It was a truly wonderful sight to see and hear so many birds in the air. Spring is here! Walking alongside this field both a buzzard and a kestrel appeared and on the far side a flock of lapwing.

Our last look at the water before turning back gave us a group of wigeon ending the day on a satisfactory note.

Birds sightings: Mute swan, Pink-footed goose, Greylag goose, Canada goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Pochard, Tufted duck, Goldeneye, Goosander (f), Red-legged partridge, Pheasant, Great crested grebe, Cormorant, Great egret, Grey heron, Common buzzard, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Black-headed gull, Herring gull, Lesser black-backed gull, Glaucous gull (1st winter), Skylark, Pied wagtail, Grey wagtail, Song thrush, Chiff chaff, Great tit, Blue tit, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Crow, Tree sparrow, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Reed bunting

40 species Madeleine Freeman

Rutland Water

It was a bright morning; the start of the mini heat wave for February. Eight of us started from the centre at Egleton but there was little of note listed on the board of recent sightings that we wouldn't see elsewhere so we moved onto the North Arm by Tim's Cottage. Having said that we did see a group of rooks in the trees by the centre. The aim of the day was to see all 5 grebes. From the road we had good views of little grebe, goldeneye, mallards, wigeon, Canada and greylag geese, but as we walked further along the road past Tim's cottage the variety of birds increased - 100+ lapwings on the bar with cormorants, drying their wings, and waders on the far bank including dunlins, oystercatchers and redshanks. A red kite appeared overhead and we were to have several clear sightings throughout the morning. In front of us a pair of great crested grebe had begun their intricate courtship dance, when a young peregrine falcon dramatically flew across our line of sight scattering the lapwings and ducks. It then landed at the water's edge on the far bank remaining there for several minutes. The three other grebes were proving very elusive. Someone would call out and we'd all look, but to no avail. Finally they were found, looking out across the water to the far bank two of the grebes we were searching for had appeared, two black-necked grebes and three Slavonian grebes. Watching them for some time we managed to get some clear views despite them diving regularly.

Our quest continued. We returned to the cars planning to go to the South Arm in search of the red-necked grebe. On the lane we saw many small birds in the hedgerows as listed below and more views of the red kites.

At the South Arm the wind was bitter. Here we had even better views of raptors - a buzzard, red kites and a sparrowhawk. As we stared out across the water, finally in the distance we saw what we thought could only be a lone red-necked grebe. It was the 'jizz' of the bird. It was seen so briefly, before it dived without reappearing in the lenses.

Although quite chilled, like icicles, we decided to go on to Eyebrook Reservoir hoping to see the reported drake smew, but unfortunately we had no luck. However, we were treated to a few new sightings of the day: golden plover, pochards, crows and linnets.

All in all, it was a good day. Lee took some excellent photos with his new camera.

If you go onto the LROS website and look at recent sightings for Rutland Water you will find the grebes are still there, several smew have moved there too and scaup. It's well worth a visit.

Madeleine

Bird sightings at the North and South Arms Rutland Water: Mute swans, Greylag geese, Canada geese, Egyptian geese, Mallards, Gadwalls, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted ducks, Goldeneye, Pheasants, Slavonian grebe, Black-necked grebe, Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Cormorants, Grey heron, Red kite, Common buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine falcon, Coots, Oystercatchers, Lapwings, Dunlins, Redshanks, Black-headed gulls, Common gulls, Lesser black-backed gull, Wood pigeons, Collared doves, Great spotted woodpecker, Pied wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Great tits, Blue tits, Long-tailed tits, Jackdaws, Rooks, Starlings, House sparrows, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Probable sighting of Red-necked grebe Bird sightings at Eyebrook Reservoir : Mute swans, Mallards, Gadwalls, Wigeon, Teal, Pochards, Tufted ducks, Goldeneye, Pheasants, Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Cormorants, Red kite, Common buzzard, Coots, Golden Plovers, Lapwings, Black-headed gulls, Common gulls, Pied wagtail, Long-tailed tits, Crows, Linnets

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Walk at Thornton Reservoir 20/1/19

Thirteen of us met at Thornton Reservoir on Sunday 20th January 2019. It was a cold, dull day with little wind. Our walk around the reservoir was uneventful apart from the sighting of a male Carolina or Wood duck. A beautiful bird with well marked plumage, demonstrating its relationship to the Mandarin duck. It's not as common as the Mandarin duck with less than 20 breeding pairs in this country; most are escapees.

Like the Mandarin, the Wood duck favours nesting in trees and as it's name suggests prefers an environment with plenty of foliage. Despite the quietness of the day 40 species were seen or heard, however no raptors appeared and the only wader was the lapwing.

Bird sightings: Mute swans, Greylag geese, Canada geese, Mallards, Gadwalls, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted ducks, Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Cormorants, Grey heron, Moorhen, Lapwings x20, Black-headed gulls, Common gull, Lesser black-backed gull, Stock dove, Wood pigeon, Great spotted woodpecker, Pied wagtail, Dunnocks, Robin, Song thrush, Redwing, Mistle thrush (c), Blackbirds, Goldcrest, Great tit, Coal tit, Blue tit, Long-tailed tits x6, Nuthatch, Magpies, Jay, Jackdaws, Carrion crow, Chaffinch, Linnets x4,

Carolina or Wood duck

Total: 40 species

Madeleine.