Great News From Rutland

 More county treachery to report I'm afraid as Alan Shorrock and I travelled along to Rutland Water for a walk along the dam. With the prospect of seeing some good birds and the weather promising to behave itself things look set for a decent day.  Happily for us Rutland did deliver after a slow start and it almost made up for the eight quid parking charge - at least Dick Turpin wore a mask when he robbed people!

Goosander and Goldeneyes

First bird of note was a female Goosander that was feeding actively and spending more time under the water than above it. Small numbers of Goldeneye were also showing though duck numbers in general seemed low. Returning birders brought the welcome news that the long staying Slavonian Grebe was showing and we made slow progress towards it, Alan's having to hobble along on crutches at the mo due to major hip problems. Our efforts and Alan's pain turned out to be worthwhile in the end as we were treated to decent if distant views of the grebe though like the earlier Goosander it seemed to spend much of its time beneath the water. While it was great to get the grebe in the bag it was beginning to look as if the reported Great Northern Divers might let us  down due to plenty of boat traffic which looked as if it was keeping them away. We walked back towards the carpark stopping to check regularly but still drawing a blank until we got to the last stretch of the dam.

Slavonian Grebe and Great Northern Divers

One final check through the bins revealed a Great Northern Diver surprisingly close to the shore which I duly pointed out to Shozzer. Some confusion then ensued until we realised that we were watching two different individuals. Both birds proceeded to show very well indeed and we were able to get some decent pics. Eventually the birds began to swim away and happy with our haul we made our excuses and left popping into Eyebrook for a brief visit on the way. From Stoke Dry car park I saw at least eleven Smew, seven drakes and four redheads which was not bad until you learn that twenty one were recorded here by some lucky observer today. We didn't hang around for too long though did manage to see the three Avocets, a Redshank. plenty of Dunlin , a Golden Plover and lots of Pintail. All in all it was another very good day in what is proving to be a great year so far.

Avocet and Golden Plover