Rutland's Rockin'

 A fourth visit to Rutland in as many days, if I keep this up I may have to change the name of the blog! Today's destination was not Eyebrook however but its larger neighbour Rutland Water. Although Alan Shorrock and I had no specific targets in mind we were hoping to find a few decent birds. Setting off in good weather certainly made a change from my last couple of days and it was good to reacquaint myself with the sun.

Rock Pipits

We began at the dam from where I saw my first Goosanders of the Autumn, there was a close bird at our end of the dam and about half a dozen more on the other side. Checking through the other wildfowl did not produce too much of interest and we set off towards Normanton church. It didn't take long before I found a Rock Pipit on the shoreline and Alan, I and another birder enjoyed some half decent views. While watching this bird a second joined it and we were treated to the sight of two Rock Pipits picking their way amongst the rocks. It was at this point that news came through of a Red-breasted Merganser being seen with the Goosanders on the opposite shore. We decided that seeing this merg would be a good idea and so set off across the dam to check it out.

Scaup

There was not a great deal of birdlife to entertain us as we trudged the length of the dam other than a few more Goosanders. Continually scoping the roosting sawbills on the other side did not produce any sightings of the merganser though I did spot an immature drake Scaup. We were treated to some good views of this bird which made up for dipping out on the Red-breasted Merg. Deciding that enough was enough we made our way back across the dam and took the return journey to Corby. Not too much in the way of other wildlife was seen other than a Common Darter and a Red Admiral.

Duck selection.

Eyebrook Again

 The good stuff just seems to keep coming at Eyebrook, this morning nine Common Scoters and ten White-fronted Geese arrived joining the Cattle Egrets and both divers already on site. Such a shame then that Alan Shorrock and I arrived after the scoters, the geese and the Black-throated Diver had departed! The diver flew off in a south easterly direction which would have taken it over Northants, I'm guessing it would have been difficult getting that flyover accepted though..

Record shot dross, R-t Diver, Common Tern and Cattle Egret

On the plus side the weather situation was much improved and remained dry for the duration of our visit. We may have dipped on a clutch of goodies but the Red-throated Diver and the Cattle Egrets were still about though they were distant. The juvenile Common Tern is also still around, I hadn't seen it on my two previous visits but it's showing no inclination to move on just yet. Shozzer picked out a red tagged Marsh Harrier passing through and there were three Stonechats at the sharp end. Not much else to report but it's certainly been an eventful few days at the reservoir and I was glad to catch up with those divers. On the way home Alan and I checked out a few sites in the flooded Welland Valley where a pair of Mandarin Ducks were the only things of note.

Mad Ducks And Englishmen Go Out In the Midday...er Monsoon

 Lightning it seems does strike twice or at least it does when it comes to divers at Eyebrook. I'd resigned myself to a day of chores and daytime telly when a text from Phil Rogers caused me to cast those humdrum plans aside. A Black-throated Diver had joined its Red-throated cousin at the big E and despite the dreadful weather Phil was going to pop over to check it out. I alerted Alan to the diver's presence and then blagged a lift with Phil and Cheryl.

This is a Black-throated Diver - honest!

We dropped Cheryl off on the hill near Alec's Lane Gate so that she could take a stroll before we headed round to the carpark below Stoke Dry. A small group of soggy birders were peering out over the res but the news was not good. No sign of either diver but at least the Cattle Egrets were showing on the opposite bank. As we kept scoping the res the Red-throated was found and we had reasonable scope views despite the challenging weather. Afterwards we moved round to the Leics bank but the rain was fairly heavy and the viewing conditions dreadful. A strategic withdrawal to the Castle in Caldecott then followed as we waited for conditions to improve. Several pints later and we returned to the reservoir from where we struck lucky from Ketley's Corral near the island. The Black-throated Diver was picked out distantly as it swam close to the dam . Despite that distance and the poor light I attempted a record shot as Phil obligingly held an umbrella to protect my camera from the rain. The dubious result you can see above, I can only apologise but you can, if you squint, at least make out the white thigh patch! By now we were more than a little on the damp side and so we beat a retreat and headed back to Corby.

Babet's Bounty?

 An afternoon text from Phil Rogers alerted me to the presence of a Red-throated Diver at Eyebrook. After a quick call to inform Alan Shorrock we set off soon afterwards and arrived about ten minutes later. Phil was already watching the bird from near the car park and within moments we were watching it too. Always a scarce bird inland away from its breeding sites it's tempting to think that this bird was driven in by yesterday's inclement weather.

Red-throated Diver

We had a little taste of the wet stuff ourselves too as several squally showers blew in during our visit. Happily they were relatively brief and did not prevent us from getting good views of the diver through the scopes. While it was a little too distant for good pictures I did manage a few record shots, some of them are featured above. As the sky became darker and greyer we moved on hoping to find the two Cattle Egrets that had been reported here before the threatened rain came in. Both birds did show, an adult and an immature, quite well on the Leics bank between Hollyoaks Farm and the island. Although we didn't spend too long at the res we managed to get both Raven and Golden Plover before it got too dark.

Adult and immature Cattle Egrets

Barnwell Before Babet

 With storm clouds gathering out to the east and a forecast suggesting that the next few days might not be  best suited for  outdoorsy type stuff I popped over to Barnwell  for a pre-Babet walk. A mixture of clouds and pallid sunshine coupled with the seemingly ever present breeze did not make for the most pleasant of strolls but at least I'd already got back to Oundle before the rain moved in.

Kingfisher and Teal

Whether it was worth the effort is open to debate, best bird was a male Kingfisher which put in a brief and rather distant appearance from its namesake hide. A couple of Teal were also noted from here, they're quite scarce at Barnwell. Other birds seen around the site included Siskin and a small flock of Redwings. Strolling along the Nene near the marina did not add any more birds to the list but I did encounter some odes with Willow Emerald, Common Darter and Migrant Hawker being noted. The first few spots of rain saw me heading back into town where the Rose and Crown offered some shelter until my bus arrived. I wonder whether Storm Babet brings any phalaropes, skuas or any other wind blown waifs to entertain inland birders over the next day or two? Time will tell...

Record Breaker!

 A sunny morning was reason enough to tempt me into taking a bus along to Weldon this morning. After not seeing much in the way of insects yesterday I set out more in hope than in anticipation. There was a strongish easterly blowing so I had to seek out the more sheltered spots to stand any chance of success.

Banded Demoiselle and Willow Emerald

I began at the A43 pond where there was only a Grey Heron and some Gadwalls on view, moving swiftly on I went to the pocket park which was if anything even less interesting! A stroll along the stream near the Woodland Park then followed and this was where things most definitely picked up. Scanning the waterside vegetation on the opposite bank revealed a male Banded Demoiselle - my latest ever! This beats my previous record in 2017 by two days and shows just how hardy this species is.

Common Darter and ladybirds.

Around the nearby pond there was a number of Willow Emeralds active, I think there must have been ten or more of which all were males. Joining them were half a dozen Common Darters which as usual sought out the best basking spots. Several Red Admirals were seen battling against the breeze while the best birds were some Siskins. Not much else in the way of interest to report though there does seem to be quite a few ladybirds still about.

Ringing In The Changes

 A shock to the system this morning as I had to get used to cooler conditions after a week in the heat of Majorca. I braved the relative chill in the company of Alan Shorrock as we headed over to the Titchmarsh reserve for a look around. Autumn has most definitely kicked in now with a greatly reduced amount of insect activity which for the first time in a long time did not include any butterflies or dragonflies.

Dodgy record shots warning! Ring-necked Duck

Wildfowl starts to become a little more interesting as winter approaches with the numbers and the variety increasing. Reports of a Ring-necked Duck had us scanning the water in front of the north hide. Initially it looked a little unpromising, numbers of duck remain low despite the recent northerly winds and there were only half a dozen Tufted Ducks on view. More scanning eventually produced sightings of the female or immature male Ring-necked though it was distant. We watched it for quite a while though it never got any closer and my photographic efforts were correspondingly feeble. After a bit more squinting through the scopes we moved on.

GWE and Redwing

The rest of the reserve appeared to be rather quiet though there were at least two Great White Egrets on site and my first Redwings of the Autumn were noted. Several Siskins were heard at one point and there seemed to be Skylarks passing through too. We had several more distant encounters with the Ring-necked Duck which yielded some good scope views but no better chances of getting a good pic. Once we had decided to call it quits at Titchmarsh a pit stop at the Dukes Arms seemed like a good way to bring the day to a close.