🌤 💨🌬 3C Tuesday 16th January 2018 ~ A pretty challenging days birding in a stiff and bitterly cold north-westerly breeze, meeting up with Geoff Hood from the Brandon Marsh team for a planned visit to Eyebrook and Rutland Water. Our first stop Eyebrook and by the time we parked up for a look across the reservoir a count of twelve
Red Kites had been recorded, with one group of six birds along the A6003 near Rockingham.
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| Record Image of two Drake Smew at Eyebrook. |
In choppy conditions, it wasn't long before a couple of Drake
Smew were located. These along with a selection of wildfowl which included a pair of
Pintail and good numbers of
Tufted Duck,
Wigeon and
Teal. Double figure
Dunlin and circa100
Golden Plover were sent up by yet another passing
Red Kite.
Buzzard,
Kestrel and a male
Stonechat also noted from one of the viewing screens. In the fields opposite the reservoir three
BrownHares enjoying the sunshine.
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| Well protected from the elements record shot of Little Owl |
Before heading on to Rutland Water a check of a well-known oak tree, which yielded one of the two
Little Owls which reside here.
Our first stop at Rutland Water was the North-Arm and after finding a good spot to shield ourselves from the elements we spent a good 45-minutes scanning. No sign at this point of the hoped-for
Black-necked Grebe but a single
Scaup, drake
Goosander, (2)
Barnacle Geese, (2)
Egyptian Geese and many
Great Crested Grebes.
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| First of two Great Northern Divers ~ This one from the fisherman's car park |
We did thankfully locate the
Black-necked Grebe while stopping at the fisherman's car park a short while later out towards the far bank and while here the first of two
Great Northern Divers for the day. Two more stops, firstly at the 'Old Hall', where we eventually picked out the
Red-necked Grebe despite the increasing swell and then on to the far end of Hambleton peninsula for our second
Great Northern Diver of the day!
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| Great Norther Diver ~ Far end of Hambleton peninsula |
Finally, another stop off back at Eyebrook on route home produced a single
Ruff, (4)
Redshank, (15)
Dunlin,
Little Egret, (6)
Red-legged Partridge and a
Muntjac Deer!
