Spooning

 A quick look at today's forecast suggested that the weather might present more than a few challenges but that did not stop Alan Shorrock or I from venturing out. The main problem we had was in deciding where to go, Summer Leys and Rutland Water were both considered but neither option appealed too much and we were left scratching our heads as to what to do. Last night I'd read on Neil and Eleanor's blog that White-legged Damselflies were out in the Welland Valley and so persuaded Al to head for Harringworth and hope that the forecast rain stayed off.

White-legged Damselflies

Happily the wet stuff did hold off and we had enough time to search for the damsels in riverside vegetation while enjoying views of the always impressive viaduct. It took a few minutes but the damsels did not let us down and we found a total of about ten hiding in long grass near to the Welland. Sharing the same habitat were numerous Banded Demoiselles and several Azure Damselflies. Other wildlife was in short supply but we did see a couple of Meadow Browns before moving on. Our next stop was at the weir near Gretton where further sightings of White-legged Damsels were had as well as views of several Large Red Damselflies. A sharp shower sent us scuttling for the car but it was relatively brief and did not stop us heading towards Eyebrook Reservoir.

Banded Demoiselle and Large Red Damselfly

Our first few stops at the res did not provide much interest, there were ten Egyptian Geese and a distant Osprey from the island bunker but little else and we soon moved on. Three Dunlin were present at the sharp end but there was no sign of any phalaropes which were the species that I was optimistically hoping might show up. At the bridge i saw my first Large Skipper of the year and more Meadow Browns while pick of the odes was a Large Red Damselfly. By this point both Shozzer and I were getting a little bored and so decided to head for the Wetherspoons in Corby, we packed up our gear and headed along the Rutland side towards Stoke Dry. Our plans were quickly abandoned as Alan spotted two birds flying across the road which he thought looked like Spoonbills. He parked the car and I leapt out in time to see two birds which looked as if they were dropping down at the sharp end. Eager to get some confirmation we headed round to the viewpoint on the Leics shore.

Large Skipper and Meadow Brown

On our way to the sharp end bunker a message came in on the Eyebrook WhatsApp saying that the county recorder had just seen two Spoonbills at the inflow. The birds were still present and feeding in the shallow water when we got there, Andy Mackay thought that they were both first summer birds. The arrival of a rainy squall sent us heading towards the car but mercifully it did not out stay its welcome and we were back looking at the Spoonies soon after. Another birder joined us and enjoyed some decent views before the birds took advantage of the improving weather conditions and decided to fly off in a westerly direction. A lucky birder got there just in time and caught sight of them as they flew off but a newly arrived Phil Rogers was just a minute too late. Having had the Spoons drop in to visit us we decided to repay the favour and head towards the Samuel Lloyd for a celebratory pint, all in all it had been a better than expected day!

Spoonbills