Rutland Water Doesn't Disappoint

 Alan Shorrock and I crossed over the border today in order to visit Rutland Water for a spot of autumnal birding. Morning mist hampered our early efforts but thankfully conditions improved gradually for a while before rain brought things to a close later on in the afternoon.

Great White Egret

Our first stop was near Hambleton and it was here that the pesky mist really affected visibility, in addition to the unfavourable conditions there was a lot of boat traffic from assorted fishermen and canoes. Given this it was perhaps not surprising that we spent over an hour here with little to justify our efforts apart from an Egyptian Goose and some of the commoner wildfowl. Deciding that a change of scenery might bring about a change of fortune we moved on to Burley Fishponds and the north arm. Here the mist had mostly lifted and we were treated to a selection of decent birds. Five species of wader included a Curlew and several Dunlins while a small flock of Golden Plover passed overhead. A male Sparrowhawk spooked the collection of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits that were feeding on the shore while a little later on a Marsh Harrier did a similar thing to some of the ducks. Our attempts to locate the reported Slavonian Grebe came to naught though we did find a Yellow-legged Gull and a few Great White Egrets before we moved on.

Great Northern Diver

Our last stop was on the south shore near the dam where a Great Northern Diver had been seen over the past couple of days. At least half a dozen Goosanders were my first of the autumn and Alan found a small group of four immature Shags off the dam. I haven't seen any reports of Shags here recently so these may well have been new arrivals. I found the diver quite close in to the shore but by now the threatened rain had begun and I had to content myself with a few quickly taken record shots. With the camera safely stowed we enjoyed some decent views of the Great Northern as it swam off in the direction of Normanton church. Not wanting to get drenched we threw the towel in and headed back to the car for the journey home.