Busy times again at work, so less birding at the moment. Couldn't miss out on a juv Garganey at Kings Mill Reservoir, picture above. While at work I have been seeing more Buzzards around Hardwick and a couple of passes from Hobbies lured by the clouds of hirundines that hit us in late summer. Not a single Swallow nest was occupied anywhere around the hall this year, some were repaired but remained unused. Big shame that one. A family of Spotted Flycatchers turned up again in the Stableyard. Green Woodpeckers always a delight to see on my way through the estate.
For cuteness sake, here's a dopy Field Vole we found beside a path during a walk in Dovedale last months. The little fella scurried around my boots. Is it any wonder they are the number one prey item for dozens of predators?
The plan was to scooch down to Rutland to finally bag one of the many Cattle Egrets in the country these days, by the end of a very long day we'd scored a list of 81 species and some memorable views - this despite missing out several hides and the Manton Bay area.
Big surprise was the new lagoon on the north side of Egleton Reserve, even googling after the visit I find very little online to cover quite what an interesting development it is. Being Rutland it's another big area of water with islands and scrapes that are an obvious magnet for all kinds of waders, and crowning glory of this achievement is an Osprey platform with attending bird. To give an idea of what it's already getting we saw Sanderling, Sandwich Tern and Avocet on or around that lagoon (gales over the last few days certainly helped with that). At one point the two Avocets mobbed the Osprey, which really underlines two of the big successes in British bird conservation over the last couple of decades. Who'd have imagined that even 15 years ago?
On other lagoons, three Black Terns, a pair of summer plumage Black-necked Grebes, and dozens of Hobbies hawking high and low, are all birds to make any day. Early evening a Cuckoo finally showed itself after teasing with distant calls all day long.
Shouldn't forget the reason we travelled in the first place, the Cattle Egret. Always kind of distant, invariably gorgeous, and yes it was among the cows (substituting for the elephants and rhinos of Africa).
An apparently plastic* Ruddy Shelduck hybrid raised and disappointed hopes, and yet what a richly coloured bird nonetheless.
Get thee to Rutland!Osprey nidifying...
...Hobby... flying.
Ruddy/Cape/Egyptian Goose/Shelduck thing
Cattle Egret
Plus, a bonus video, shot from a good distance...
*plastic - noun, slang: A wild bird of dubious origin, usually an escapee from an ornamental wildfowl collection.
Quick update. My last decent birding foray was an evening stroll around Budby Common/Sherwood Forest Country Park. It's a National Nature Reserve up there, and the wildlife richly deserves that great distinction. Over the expanse of open heathland we saw 3 Cuckoos, several Woodlark, Tree Pipits, a Hobby screamed through, Yellowhammer, Green Woodpecker and Jays were about too, plus Red-legged Partridge and Yellow Wagtail in the farmland nearby. Wasn't all birds either, we spotted a fox, a couple of hares and a stunning sunset too. The reserve could be the finest wildlife destination in the whole of the county.
In a couple of weeks when the bird are more active the rangers do a guided Nightjar walk, I went on last year's and it was just brilliant. Be sure to give it a go if you can get there.
