Rutland Water 5th May 2012

Rutland Water 5th May 2012

We started our ten day holiday to the south and east of England by stopping off at Rutland Water which we had been meaning to visit for some time. We stayed at Finch’s Inn in Upper Hambledon which is situated in the middle of the peninsula that runs into the reservoir. We had rather hoped to go on the rspb organised Nightingale Walk at 11pm in Hambledon Wood. Unfortunately due to lack of numbers and a poor weather forecast this was cancelled at the last moment so our next main reason for visiting was to try to see some of the Ospreys that breed there.

We started off at the Lyndon Visitor Centre on the south side of the water. As soon as we  looked out of the window there we saw a Kestrel at really close range. We had been advised that with our own scope we would be best to head straight for the Shallow Water hide so we took the high road there which was also the drier road. Torrential rain all over England in recent weeks had made everywhere a bit soggy – even places that were under hosepipe bans due to previous months of drought. We stopped off at the Tufted Duck Hide en route and we saw a number of the usual suspects including fourteen Cormorants, some Gadwall, an Oystercatcher or two,some Greylag Geese and Shelduck. Over the water were Swifts, Swallows and House Martins. As we walked along between the fields on the left and woods on the right we also saw Tree Sparrows, Goldfinch and Greenfinch.

When we eventually got to the Shallow Water Hide we were not disappointed because right in front of us there was a female Osprey sitting on her (three) eggs and occasionally preening. The male was to be found idling around on the grassy bank of the reservoir, apparently not yet interested in giving us a flying display. We spent about half an hour watching these two birds before we thought we should get along to the next bit of the reserve which was the Egleton Visitor Centre.

At the Egleton Centre we had a quick look around before they closed their viewing platform cum shop and could see a couple of Little Egrets and a Black-Tailed Godwit. Anne also saw a Short-Eared Owl but I missed it. After the visitor centre had closed we took a quick tour of the hides and the highlights there were Common Tern and Avocet. In the woods we heard Chiffchaffs and a Woodpecker and saw a Blackcap and some Dunnocks.

We were running out of time and the weather was getting worse so we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up before dinner. In the end we didn’t think it likely that we could find the Nightingales in  Hambleton Woods ourselves and in any case the hotel would have had to make special arrangements to let us back into the hotel in the middle of the night so that one did not quite work out. Anyway we had seen our Ospreys so we were more than happy. We both agreed, however, that it would be a good idea to return there when we had more time because it is a very picturesque location with lots of birding potential.

Bird Sightings : Rutland Water : Lyndon Visitor Centre

Bird Sightings : Rutland Water : Egleton Visitor Centre