Return To Rainy Rutland

 With rain forecast for most of this morning a plan involving some form of shelter seemed like a good idea. For this reason Alan Shorrock and I paid a visit to the Egelton reserve at Rutland Water where there are plenty of hides as well as the possibility of seeing good birds.

Stonechat and Pintail

Beginning at the Visitor Centre we were treated to several fly passes by a female Marsh Harrier, we saw her or another at regular points during our visit. Also showing at several points on the reserve were Great White Egret and Pintails, there were good numbers of the latter present. A distant female Goosander was my first of the year and so too was a male Stonechat that Alan picked out in front of the centre. The neighbouring Lagoon 2 was fairly quiet with good views of a male Kingfisher the best on offer.

Golden Plovers and Redshanks

Lagoon 4 played host to a large number of Golden Plovers and Lapwings as well as a distant Yellow-legged Gull but there didn't appear to be much else on view. We moved on to Lagoon 3 where Redshanks and Snipe were added to the day list but there were far fewer ducks here than there usually is. From here we walked along to Lapwing Hide which overlooks the south arm of the main reservoir. We had been told that two Scaup had been reported from here but initial impressions were not looking that promising. There seemed to be very few birds on the water and most appeared to be Great Crested Grebes. Eventually after some searching the birds were found close to the shore near Old Hall, two immature drakes associating with several Tufted Ducks.

Kingfisher

We were on our way back to the centre when we bumped into a female birder who told us she had just seen redhead Smew on Lagoon 4. A hurried thank you was followed by a swift return to Sandpiper Hide where the Smew was quickly found. Unusually she was out of the water and resting on one of the islands doing a spot of preening. Apart from a brief swim she spent most of her time there treating us to some decent views. Apart from the duck there were a few Dunlins sharing the islands with the plovers and they completed our tally for the day. Nowadays a visit to Rutland always seems to involve some rain but at least it often involves some good birding too.