Black Tern

 Eyebrook was once again my destination of choice when I made yet another visit this morning. Having blagged a lift I followed last Sunday's routine by beginning at the bridge before walking along the Leicestershire side of the reservoir. Today I was not alone as the Uppingham Rotary Club were staging a walk around the res and there were plenty of hikers braving the hot conditions to take part. In contrast to yesterday there was plenty of sunshine and heat haze made photography very difficult indeed.

Willow Emerald and Migrant Hawker

At the bridge a Kingfisher called as it sped past on its way along the Eye brook. I spent some time looking for odes and was pleased to find a female Willow Emerald in addition to a Common Darter, several Migrants and one Southern Hawker. A few Small Whites were flitting around and I also saw a Comma and a Gatekeeper. After a while I made my way towards the sharp end where the water level continues to drop. Not for the first time a Wood Sandpiper was the pick of the waders and there was also a Greenshank, nine Black-tailed Godwits, two Ruff and four Ringed Plovers. The now seemingly regular juvenile Cattle Egret was also noted associating with the cattle though it was quite distant. I couldn't locate the Black Tern found by Eyebrook regular Andrzej earlier this morning but hung around hoping that something might drop in. The gathered birds were flushed first by a couple of people walking along the waterside and then by a juvenile Peregrine. Deciding that a change of scenery might be just the thing I moved on and walked down towards the island.

Comma and Cattle Egret

From the gate just below Hollyoaks Lane I managed to find the juvenile Black Tern feeding between here and the car park at Stoke Dry. It flew around for several minutes before heading off up towards the inflow. Following in its tracks I saw it land on a branch close to one of the tern rafts, I tried to take a couple of record shots but the results were lamentable. A Common Tern forced the Black to take flight but I watched it feeding for several more minutes before deciding to move on. From now on my walk became fairly uneventful though I added Speckled Wood and Common Blue Damselfly to my list as well as seeing an additional two Ruffs and another godwit near Sam's Dyke. My lift arrived to collect me and my day of wildlife spotting was brought to a close.

Greenshank and Spitfire