Friday 26 January
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| Two drekes and at least one female Smew Mergellus albellus |
Somewhat of a rude awakening this January birding back in the UK. You very quickly realise that this is not the month or place for short-sleeve order as you scrape the ice off the windscreen at 8.15 and start off with the outside temperature at a rising 2C! Up to 3 but down to 1C upon arrival at
Rutland Water even though the sun shining. A couple of
Crows as I approached along the narrow lane to Egleton and then the resident
Jackdaws in the trees adjoining the car park where they were joined by both
Collared Dove and
Wood Pigeon. A friendly
Robin came to stand almost on my heels, obviously expecting some sort of titbit and across the fence a pair of
Egyptian Geese were busy feeding in the paddock.
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| Eygytian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus |
A short stop at the
feeding station produced a handful of
Pheasants feeding on the dropped seed along with good numbers of
Dunnnock. Lots of
Blue Tits along with
Goldfinch,
Greenfinch and
Chaffinch. A couple of
Robin doing their best to get in on the act and, finally, the appearance of the first
Great Tits as a drake
Mallard and
Moorhen paddled across the pond.
Next it was the walk over to
Lagoon 4 and no sooner through the first gated path and I picked up the small flock of
Canada Geese on the right. A stop to check out Lagoon 2 at the
Redshank Hide confirmed my suspicions that the water levels were very high and, I suspected, there would be few waders about. Indeed, I was proved to be right as other than the hundreds of
Lapwing seen during the morning just the one
Curlew when at the
Mallard Hide overlooking the
Lagoon 1.
Wigeons here, there and everywhere, both on the water and feeding/resting on the grass. Similarly, lots of
Coot about and more
Tufted Duck than
Mallard.
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| Hundreds of Wigeon Anas penelope on site |
Lagoon 4 seemed to be full to the brim so, other than more
Lapwing, no waders to be seen. About a dozen
Mute Swans including juveniles and then my first big smile as I watched a couple of male and a single female
Smew moving along to the right. Could well have been more females before the little mixed flock disappeared behind the small island. Then, no sooner getting over this delightful moment, and a male
Goosander was suddenly right in front of me. A good number of
Common Starlings in the trees whilst back on the water I could not but notice the small number of
Black-headed Gulls before finding a few of the resident (?)
Great Black-backed Gulls. A couple of
Cormorant flew over which led me to see the handful of
Shelduck and having found a couple of
Great Crested Grebe and preparing to move on to the
Shoveler Hide overlooking
Lagoon 3 and a
Little Egret decided now would be a good moment to visit the water.
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| A most handsome Goosander Mergus merganser |
Once in the above hide, and still on my own having arrived well before the official opening time, I encountered yet more
Wigeon and
Coot plus not a small number of
Moorhen,
Moorhen and nearby
Teal and
Shelduck. But scoping the water I soon found a dozen or so
Pintail and then added
Goldeneye before finding the
Common Pochard flock.
Gadwall and
Shoveler were added along with a single
Heron before making my way back to the
Visitors Centre via a quick check at the
Smew Hide where I added a closer pair of
Goldeneye, to check-in and have a short break before exploring the southern side of the reserve, And at this point I found a handful of
Reed Bunting resting in a bare tree.
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| Swans, Coots and Tufted Duck but do I see a Goldeneye Bucephala clangula? |
Time for a re-visit to the
feeding station where all the previous species were still to be seen along with a
Rat that also thought it was entitled to the free food on offer.
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| Even a lonely Rat Rattus norvegicus has to eat! |
Off to the
Mallard Hide where I was to find the
Curlew along with many more
Wigeon, an assortment of other ducks including three relatively close
Pintail. But first the sighting of the
Great Spotted Woodpecker that alighted on the tree trunk maybe ten metres ahead of me. Moving to the
Snipe Hide I found my first
Greylag Goose feeding with a handful of
Canada Geese. A walk along the muddy track took me to the
360 Hide where I managed to find a
Little Grebe then back to base and a final look at the feeding station from the opposite side with the sun behind me and a chance for more photos and, at last especially having missed out last year, a
Marsh Tit. The final bird here, standing out from the many
Blackbirds, was a single
Song Thrush.
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| Song Thrush Turdus philomelos learning to paddle |
Nothing new at the
North Arm other than a
Kestrel and a
Caspian Tern pointed out by a visiting birder and a stop at the deserted
Manton Visitors Centre showed that the feeders were still being filled and attracting lots of small birds but not, whilst I was present, any of the resident Tree Sparrows. I did, however, have a
Coal Tit drop in for a feed alongside the
Chaffinches,
Robin,
Greenfinches and both
Blue and
Great Tits. An added bonus was seeing a small flock of
Rooks as I passed through Manton and a single
Magpie as I drove down to the above Centre. A similar experience at a stop to scan the deep water in front of the dam. No sign of the visiting Great Northern Diver but a couple of
Great Crested and a handful of
Little Grebes were actively feeding along with a small number of
Tufted Duck.
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| Greenfinch Carduelis chloris |
My last bird of the day was a resting
Red Kite in a bare roadside tree as I turned back onto the main
road near Empingham. A most enjoyable extended morning with a total of
54 birds recorded.
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| Good to see a Dunnock Prunella modularis again |
Birds seen:
Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Smew, Goldeneye, Goosander, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Heron, Red Kite, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Rock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting.
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| This Robin Erithacus rubecula looks like he/she means business in the days to come |
Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information
