Alan Shorrock and I enjoyed some cracking sunny weather at Rutland Water today with conditions considerably better than the dross that we endured for most of last week. With just the merest breath of breeze to contend with even a stroll along part of the dam was pretty hospitable - a far cry from the usual windfest. The reservoir was strangely devoid of birds with few ducks on view other than Goldeneyes and we did not manage to see any of the Scaups or the Common Scoter that were reported last weekend.
One species that bucked the trend was Great Northern Diver, at least four birds were present with two near the dam and a further two from Old Hall. While they were often quite distant we did get prolonged views of them and saw at least two different birds tackling large crayfish. One of the birds did eventually come in a bit closer and allowed us to get a few pictures from near Old Hall. As well as the divers we got rather distant views of an Otter which Alan picked out as it swam and hunted mid res. It caught us by surprise as it later climbed out of the water on to a buoy and took a little nap, not something that I've seen before.
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| Snoozing Otter |
There was not a lot else to report with a pair of Oystercatchers and a pair of Egyptian Geese the pick of the other birds. Despite the sunshine we didn't manage to see any butterflies though there were a few bees buzzing around. Other signs of spring included plenty of prunus blossom and also some Lesser Celandines. We finished the day in Oakham where a couple of pints in the Grainstore brewery tap went down very well indeed.
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| Egyptian Geese |
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